Interview mit Bestial Mouths: Wie klingt der Sound der letzten Dekade?

Bestial Mouths ist das Projekt von Sängerin und Songwriterin Lynette Cerezo, Bestial Mouths sind die mühelose Kraft ihrer Stimme und einnehmende Präsenz ihrer visuellen Kunst. Die Musik ist intensiv, bewegend und eine wunderschöne Bühne für Lynettes einzigartige Stimme, die selber zum tragenden Instrument der vielseitigen Songs wird.
Die beiden letzten Bestial Mouths-Veröffentlichungen sind unter Lynettes kreativer Federführung entstanden. Unterstützt wird sie von den Bandkollegen Brant Showers (AAIMON/S’LVE) und Balzs Képli (nullius in verba) sowie Alex DeGroot (Zola Jesus).
Das aktuelle Album ResurrectedInBlack (VÖ. Juli 2020 bei Rune & Ruin) ist ein dunkel glänzendes Gesamtkunstwerk – ein eng verwobenes Netz aus Emotionen und zeigt einmal mehr Lynette Cerezos Gespür für fesselnde Kompositionen aus nebligen, finsteren Atmosphären, düsterer Elektronik und kraftvoll mürrischen Rhythmen, die von ihrer markanten Stimme getragen werden.

(Foto: VOID.EXE_BERLIN)

In unserem Interview sprechen Lynette Cerezo & Brant Showers über den Sound der letzten Dekade, ihre Lieblingsalben, den Sound von Bestial Mouths und die Entwicklung der Musik-Szene in den letzten Jahren.

The past decade has best been represented by the broken silence and shared experiences of the oppressed and underprivileged…
… Right around 2010 is, when we started to see a cultural shift away from “irony” in all of its forms and began to see a more invested interest and need for sincerity and the earnest representation of our authentic selves as a society. This shift brought a lot of important social movements to the public light as well. We had Occupy Wall Street, a larger awareness for Trans and LGBTQ+ rights as a whole, Black Lives Matter, as well as the #MeToo movement. All of which stem from the abused and marginalized standing up to be heard.
With that cultural change, we also came to see a much larger, wide-spread introduction of dark and cathartic themes in music – not just in the subgenres but from mainstream as well. So I would say that the past decade has best been represented by the broken silence and shared experiences of the oppressed and underprivileged. Our favorite sounds of the past decade come from the artists that have reflected these ideologies wholeheartedly.

There is no shortage of impressive and confrontational music coming throughout this past decade…
… Many artists using their platform to give an unflinching and gut-wrenching portrayal of trauma have received our utmost respect. Lingua Ignota’s Caligula album especially, and Castration Anxiety by HIDE are a couple that immediately come to mind. Zola Jesus’ Okavia album is always worth recommending, as well as the transgressive metal and ritualistic noise releases from The Body, Uniform, Trepaneringsritualen and Nordvargr. Of course beat heavy music is cathartic as well – and we can’t discount the important releases in the dark Berlin electronic scene from the Fleisch and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe record labels such as Zanias, Kontravoid, Blitzkrieg Baby, Codex Empire, and on and on.

(Foto:  Elemental Eyes)

If we had to describe our music in terms of not music… 
… Our music is diving into the subconscious – confronting our shadow, …and recognizing its face. A siren’s song and glass on the beach. So much of it is personal, but reaches from universally familiar experiences. A shattered world – the environment greatly abused – and our interpersonal connections, fraught with uncertainty. Is there a future for us? Do we even deserve one? – Some pretentious metaphors, to be sure, but we’re pretty self-aware and extremely grateful that our listeners have followed along with what we’re doing.

A lot of what we seek out in music…
… is confrontational art that addresses our unpleasant reality as already discussed, but we also seek out anything with complex and layered emotional depth. Music should be moving, whether it is ugly, nostalgic, ecstatic or melancholic – and by exploring these shared experiences, we learn to feel empathy and compassion. With our music we just want to express what life is for us – to put ourselves out there so others will know us and maybe recognize that they’re not alone. We broach a lot of dark subject matter in our songs, but it all comes from a place that is very human, albeit flawed, hurt or defeated. We look to validate those feelings as real and necessary so we can grow from them.

Looking back…
It’s a bit difficult to have an unbiased point of view, but to us it feels like the focus has simply hardened into a finer point. Every release has been a captured moment, so each one has felt correct for that time and place. It wouldn’t be right to judge them against each other, but to speak of the through line between them – the scope of the project and its sound has definitely focused its aim on Lynette’s vision and voice – with the instrumentation and production all working together in a tighter, deliberate and more immediate fashion to elevate the emotion being expressed.

(Foto: VOID.EXE_BERLIN)

Our band is currently spread out across the seas and each member brings a little of their surroundings into the mix…
… So we get inspiration from the dark electronic scenes in Europe, the Wax Trax! and Invisible Records influenced sounds of the midwest post-punk and industrial scene, as well as our connections to more remote areas. Our music is greatly impacted by nature, and we aim to reflect a lot of the empty and isolated experiences we know from the affinity we share for the ocean and forests. With the current state of our society, it turns out everyone is getting to know that same feeling. It can’t help but leave us changed.

The underground scene in the 2010s…
… The underground scene has finally begun ousting a lot of the gatekeepers and abusers from its ranks – and with that, has become a lot more inclusive and diverse. There’s still more work to be done, but we’re excited to see those changes happening. This opens up space for new blood from outside the scene who offer fresh perspectives and bring a lot more experimentation into the mix. We love to see the too-cool attitudes fall by the wayside so people can just enjoy doing their thing. That’s definitely something that we’re more than happy to hear more of – folks getting strange and staying true to their unique weird selves. Please be weird, be imperfect. We love it and it’s amazing.
Even long-time favorite artists like Cosey Fanni Tutti, ANOHNI, Test Dept. and Cabaret Voltaire are still taking huge steps into the future with their new releases. We’re totally here for it.

(Foto:  Elemental Eyes)

Having our tour postponed for the foreseeable future has definitely been a huge change, …
… but the lasting effects of isolation, the anxiety and concern for our friends & family, as well as the uncertainty of it all, has been a lot to work through. We’re doing our best to re-adjust our creative output to best reflect the situation we’re all in. While in quarantine, we’ve put together a few music videos shot entirely in isolation that definitely feel like an encapsulation of this moment we are all in together.

We’re excited to continue to experiment together and see where things take us…
… At the moment we’re in the stages of putting together a remix album to compliment our two most recent releases (INSHROUDSS and RESURRECTEDINBLACK). We already have an amazing selection of artists who will be contributing remixes and have even received a few submissions back already. So that’s shaping up very nicely. We’re also finishing up more videos and collaborations as well. After that, we shall see. Hopefully we’ll all be able to reconnect and tour again once it’s safe enough to do so.

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