 Interviews - Dragonauta
09-10-2005, 06:55 PM
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by Chris Barnes
September 10th, 2005
 Inspired both by Black Sabbath and vintage 70’s Argentinean hard rock bands such as Vox Dei, Orion’s Beethoven and Pappo’s Blues, Dragonauta has been cranking out the doom in their native Buenos Aires since 1999. With their amazing 2003 release Luciferatu and their recent split with long-running US doomsters, Abdullah, they’ve created their own niche of 70’s prog influenced old school doom. We talk with vocalist Federico Wolman about Dragonauta’s recent split CD with Abdullah, the bands new forays into sound and the Argentinean heavy music scene.
Hellride Music: It's been a few years since we checked in with you. Aside from your split CD with Abdullah, what's new with Dragonauta? Are you still a five piece band?
Federico Wolman: Well, yes, we are still a 5 piece band, with the double SG machine! At this moments we are making the arrangements for the coming full length and trying to play some live shows, which is hard now in Buenos Aires after the shit that happens ending last year (in a rock concert where more than 190 died).
Hellride Music: Yikes! Sorry to hear about that…Regarding the new split, it seems like you guys have changed your sound a bit on this. You're last full length, Luciferatu (which was amazing, by the way) seemed to have a 70's progressive element to it, recalling maybe Wishbone Ash or Goliath or some of the other great bands of that period. This time, it sounds like you added a heavier, more direct Venom-ish vibe. What was the reason for the change in sound?
Federico.: Well, as always happens, it is a spontaneous process. I think that at the time we became a sort of extreme-doom band, in our shows we go with an assassin attitude and so with the new compositions. We love Venom, Celtic Frost and those old and pure evil bands. Of course we have still those prog elements in some of the new tracks, and I think that we always enjoy exploring with the compositions, not so much with the sound, which is very classic. With the time and the hours playing together we can do and create all the things we want to create, but without thinking too much about what kind of thing is it, I mean we have some new tracks that are very progressive and others that are very, very heavy, and it is always sounds like Dragonauta,
Hellride Music: Do you think you'll continue on with this sound? What can we expect for the next full length?
Federico:  As in the previous question I think that yes, this is the sort of songs we are creating now. Of course in a full length there are lot of spheres and mixtures that can´t be done in the split, as it will consist of about 11 tracks. But I think that the split is an approach of what Dragonauta is and what kind of music we are playing today, Heavy Doom, some NWOBHM, some FastEvilDoom, some progressive, etc.
Hellride Music: On Luciferatu, you recorded everything on analog tape, making the whole album sound warm and rich. Did you record the songs for the split in the same way? Would you guys ever consider recording digitally? I imagine that all-analog studios are hard to find...
Federico: To be honest, Luciferatu was recorded in a digital studio and the final mastering was done with some analog stuff. We like the result with Luciferatu. For this split, we decided to go back to a full analog studio. We did it quick and we also like the result. The deal is that good analog studios are really expensive, and of course we cannot pay for them. I think that also with the time we learned that, besides some "fetiches", the most important thing is to catch the groove and the power of the band, especially if the tracks are as cool as ours (jejejejeje). And we know how much can we spend, and this is where we start. We have to decide for each recording what will have a better result according to the bucks we can use.
Hellride Music: * It seems to take Dragonauta a long time between albums. I know the tough times you had releasing Luciferatu initially. How has Hugo Garcia and Dias De Gararge Records been to work with? When can we expect a new full length from you guys?
Federico: Well, working with Hugo is just perfect for us, he is actually another Dragonauta member. He is the one responsible for many of our shows, which are getting better and better with the time (with more people coming). And we can trust on him in every decison. And the most important thing is that he loves Dragonauta and the heavy music.
The new album will be recorded in November-December of this year, so we hope that in early 2006 it be ready.
Hellride Music: Tell us about the current scene in Argentina - aside from bands like Taura and Buffalo, tell us about some of the other bands you play with. Is the scene growing or sort of staying the same?
Federico:  Well, there are some new bands, as Poseidotica (incredible instrumental music, with lot of heaviness, technique and feeling), Especies (with Ex-Coda guys), Honduras (other band featuring ex-Coda members), we play with some more death metal bands as Avernal, even some wild surf bands as Zorros Petardos salvajes, etc. I don´t know. In my personal opinion there´s a sort of underground "superwild" scene growing. In our last show (with Poseidotica, Buffalo and Taura) about 400 people came, which is something that we never thought!
Hellride Music: That’s great to hear! How many yerba mate's have you had today? 
Federico: mmm... I´m not as good Argentinian guy as I should be, I prefer coffee... nothing like a heavy black and hot coffee mixed with nicotine. But I eat meat every day, so I don´t feel so bad about not drinking too much mate!
Hellride Music: for the interview, you guys really are an amazing band. Any last words?
Federico: Thanks Chris & Hellride for your constant support! Visit us again in summer this time!!!! Eat Meat and Do the Doom! And of course our best wishes for those (all around the globe) who are suffering and dying without any sense! We also want thank to Abdullah for doing this split with us!!!!
 Purchase the Abdullah/Dragonauta split and Luciferitu at Hellride Music Superstore
Read the Hellride Music review of the Abdullah/Dragonauta split and Luciferatu
Visit the Dragonauta website www.dragonauta.com.ar
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