Hello and welcome to another interview from the prog underground. Now with Stephen gone, the rest of us reviewers are going to be picking up the blog’s interviews. This time we are going to be looking into the Brazilian progressive metal band Papangu. I (Sebastian) have had the privilege to review their debut album, Holoceno, back in early July. What they showcased in Holoceno is a brain-blasting combination of avant-garde metal, sludge metal, progressive rock, and zeuhl. The lyrical content of their album revolves around dark occult messages and lamentations of our impending doom due to ecological collapse.
They started out fairly unknown and under the radar but have been gaining a small but passionate following online as their viewership has increased over a thousand percent on Spotify and has garnered an array of critical success. They have been very busy lately with their music career, as well as surviving through this pandemic, which is why we are grateful to have Papangu join us for an interview. This is what they have to say!
Hello Papangu, thank you so much for participating in this interview. Your music has really grown on me since I started listening to it back in early June. Not too long after our review of your debut album Holoceno, your band has kind of exploded on rateyourmusic.com. Holoceno now stands at the 17th top album of 2021 according to rateyourmusic’s overall chart. This is quite an achievement and I want to congratulate you all on your underground success.
For our readers who have not yet listened to Papangu, how would you describe the band in your own words?
If you lock four musicians with different backgrounds in a room with a LP collection of Northeastern Brazilian music and tell them they can only leave if they agree on writing something both weird, heavy and yet cohesive, you’ll end up with Papangu.
So, you guys have been working on Holoceno for 7 years, what were your biggest roadblocks that you have experienced during the creation process?
The biggest hurdle of all was inexperience. We’ve been close friends for many years long before we started playing together, and when that happened at first it was only in cover bands just for the hell of it. Though it took us seven years to finish the album, the recording process mostly took place in 2019; the previous years were spent in learning how to use a DAW, how to sing and arrange for our voices, and how to play our instruments well enough.
The next two years were spent in post-production, with an initial mixing engineer in Brazil almost killing the project with a hack mix. We tried another engineer in the US who, albeit extremely talented, was not very aesthetically attuned to heavy music, and finally decided to send the record over to Jørgen, the engineer who recorded Torstein’s drums. He did a stellar job that fluently translated what we had in mind regarding aesthetics and sound. Had we had more experience with production, we probably would have settled with Jørgen from the get go, but that’s a lesson learned.
The other real hurdle was the budget. The four of us could only afford about six half-day studio sessions total (half-days because most of us had to work before going to the studio), so there was little room for experimenting in the recording process; for example, we couldn’t spend an entire day chasing the perfect guitar tone.
The music of Holoceno often feels like a mix of jam sessions + composition. How did you draw the lines between structured composition and more freeform or improvised repetitions? Was anything improvised on the album?
Most of the songs came out of jams and riff exchanges during rehearsals. When we did find something that the four of us liked, we would record that part as a keeper and we would work on it until it would become a full song.
With the exception of Água Branca, Bacia das Almas (which was written a month before we began the recording sessions and thus has never been rehearsed by the full band), and the last section of the title track, all of our songs were brewed during jam sessions in the rehearsal room, even the weirder riffs. We did improvise and go ad lib on our parts while recording, but that was a big risk considering our financial limitations, so we kept a tight lid on it.
How has the Covid crisis impacted you? Both personally and musically.
As you may know, the crisis hit Brazil hard and it did when we were beginning to record the drums for Holoceno. We didn’t feel safe enough to be in a closed studio environment while cases were high—and they still are—so we had to outsource the drum recording.
That was when Marco suggested we contact Torstein to do it for us. We think that the collaboration with him ended up working really well in the final product.
Personally, there were big changes when it comes to our non-music related jobs, our contact with family and friends and the feel of it all. Regarding the record, we preferred to be in the studio during the mixing process but that was impossible. Rather, we sent the songs over to Jørgen (Smådal Larsen, engineer at Studio Paradiso in Oslo), suggested what we wanted and Jørgen would mix them according to our aesthetic vision. We are extremely happy that he really nailed what we wanted, even remotely.
All four guest musicians you guys have featured on Holoceno did an amazing job, and their performances really heightened the listening experience. What was it like working with all of them?
All of our guests were completely on fire for Holoceno. First of all, Uaná Barreto is a classically trained musician from our hometown, João Pessoa. Marco invited him over to the studio to do the solo on Água Branca, and he simply went off and blew our minds with a first take after hearing the song once. He then told us he was just warming up, asked for a second take and that’s what you hear on the song. He was amazing. We got so excited we asked him to repeat the procedure on Bacia das Almas, which he hadn’t heard before either.
Benjamin plays in a Norwegian band called Seven Impale. Marco, always the proghead, gave us the idea to include some sax to give the last songs more color and we loved it. Initially, Benjamin was only to perform on Lobisomem but he was kind enough to send us a recording for the title track. Bless you Benjamin.
Luís Souto Maior is actually Marco’s cousin. As he has an arsenal of polyphonic synths and we thought the title track’s intro deserved more textural depth, he was kind enough to record those beautiful pads on his Prophet-6.
When the pandemic caused studios to shut down during the recording process, we only had programmed demo drums and even then we were already excited about how the drums would turn out. Marco had recently been on a trip to Oslo in which he attended a series of concerts by Torstein’s band Elephant9, which we all love. During those gigs, Marco got to know the band and kept in touch with Torstein. We kindly asked him to play drums for our record, and we were all surprised when he agreed, as he’s a monster of a drummer, really one of the best we’ve ever seen or heard. That guy managed to record all of his parts in a single studio session. We are very very thankful of him for helping us out and, in the process, shaping the sound of Holoceno.
King Crimson, Mastodon, and Magma are amongst your main influences for the composition of Holoceno. What are some bands that have influenced the writing of Holoceno that you guys have not yet mentioned?
Marco: Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, and the whole Norwegian prog scene were the biggest influence on me during the writing process, but I’d also like to mention avant-rockers Cheer-Accident’s “Enduring the American Dream”, which was on heavy rotation at home in the past few years, and though Magma has been mentioned before, I should specify that the “Theusz Hamtaahk” and “Emehntehtt-Ré” trilogies are respectively my Old and New Testament when it comes to composition.
Hector: When we started recording I was listening to Baroness latest album, “Gold & Grey”, that had just come out and I had recently seen them live touring for that record in São Paulo. I was also listening to Black Sabbath’s “Vol 4” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, Elephant9’s “Psychedelic Backfire” and Caetano Veloso’s “Ofertório”.
Raí: Silibrina and Banda Black Rio showed us that you can make a sound that is both different and yet close to your regional roots and I believe they taught us a lesson on how to bring the familiarity of the music of your home to the complexity of progressive music. Then there’s the classics like Sepultura, Black Sabbath, Rush and Pink Floyd. Those artists, using the analogy that Marco made, are a part of my Old Testament in music and are responsible for my ever-growing music taste.
Nichollas: I guess Cangaço opened our eyes to the fact that it is possible to mix Northeastern Brazil’s folk music with modern metal. Of course, more traditional groups like Siba (Mestre Ambrósio), Chico Science & Nação Zumbi, Quinteto Armorial, Cabruera, and Hazamat are part of our influences too.
As a Mastodon fan myself, I’m curious to know what are each of your guys’ favorite Mastodon tracks?
Marco: Aqua Dementia.
Rai: The Czar.
Nichollas: Black Tongue.
Hector: Iron Tusk.
Do you guys keep up with the modern progressive metal scene? If so, what are some of your favorite albums to come out within the past few years?
Deathspell Omega – Paracletus
Kayo Dot – Hubardo
Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory and Injury
Gojira – Magma
Elder – Omens
Enslaved – E
Mastodon – Emperor Of Sand
Leprous – The Congregation
Black Peaks – All That Divides
Intronaut – The Direction of the Last Things
The Ocean – Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic/Cenozoic
Baroness – Purple
Ihsahn – Arktis
What is the meaning behind your band name “Papangu”? Why did you choose this name?
Papangu is a folkloric character from the region of Brazil we come from. They’re a part of the carnival festivities of the state of Pernambuco and they’re basically people dressed like monsters going out on the street playing tricks and asking for money. It’s kind of like Halloween if you think about it.
Being some sort of folkloric beast, we thought it would be good to name the band like that, because a huge part of our sound comes from Northeastern Brazilian music.
Your music has an overall very occult aesthetic, are there any occult messages buried in Holoceno?
Yes, there are, though they might only be discernible to Portuguese-speaking listeners, or even just to people acquainted with the folklore of our region. Lots of the content is rooted in Brazilian religious syncretism (which blends African, Native Brazilian, and Catholic themes) and a tongue-in-cheek sneer at gnosticism. It’s mostly just for show and spice, though: the real meat lies in the political content, which is deeply anti-fascist and anti-oppression.
Holoceno has some very strong political themes and existential undertones as far as where we are going as a species. Is ecological collapse the greatest threat we face? Are there any other great injustices that you would like to shed light on?
We believe that the ecological disasters that we are facing all around the world are the greatest threats to mankind and are being fueled by mankind’s unstoppable consumerism and the “I don’t give a shit” attitude that is fueled by corporations and fascists like the current president of Brazil. From where we come from, there’s a huge relation between man and the land. Economically, spiritually, etc. The Northeastern Brazilian is, above anything else, a survivor. Not only because of ecological factors like droughts but, most of all, because of the abuse that the oligarchy inflicts upon farmers, workers, and the poor. We come from a land of extremes. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Extreme climate. All of that is present in our record and we hope that the political message, albeit not being sung through slogans and common cliche political talk, reaches our audience.
Speaking of consumerism, many people want to know if there will eventually be a physical release for Holoceno (Vinyl or CD) Possibly any other merch like band shirts? If you guys released a band shirt I’d certainly order one.
A CD release is already in the works, and if it does well so will be a vinyl pressing. We’re making a small batch of T-shirts for the Brazilian market and are working on a way to distribute them worldwide.
Holoceno would not be the same without Shining drummer Torstein Lofthus. Living in Norway, it might be difficult for collaboration in the long term. Will you guys eventually be recruiting a new drummer from Brazil or can we expect to hear more of Lofthus in future albums?
We actually have our own drummer, Nichollas, who only had the chance to provide backing vocals on this record. None of us make a living out of music, so he had to finish some academic work within a tight deadline before he could record his parts. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit when we were finally able to set a date for his recording sessions. That’s when we decided to make contact with Torstein—whom Marco had previously met in Oslo in January 2019 during his Elephant9’s “Psychedelic Backfire” recording concerts—and asked him to help us out, as things were much safer in Norway. We intend to have more layers of percussion moving forward, so maybe Nichollas and Torstein could even team up on the next record, and if we ever tour Norway or play festivals in Europe, it could even happen on stage.
Are there any other potential guest musicians that you guys would like to have on a future album?
Marco: These are purely hypothetical scenarios, but I’d love to have Chris Potter, Ståle Storløkken, or Hermeto Pascoal as guests.
Hector: Scott Kelly from Neurosis, John Dyer Baizley from Baroness, Siba (formerly of Mestre Ambrósio), Mestrinho (accordion player), Lúcio Maia and Toca Ogan from Nação Zumbi.
Raí: Zé Ramalho, Andreas Kisser from Sepultura, Mario Duplantier from Gojira, Brent Hinds from Mastodon, Les Tambour du Bronx.
Nichollas: I am thrilled about Brazilian percussion. Thus, a maracatu group should be a heavy, doomy, and weirdy addition to our next album. Besides that, it will be nice to have famous local musicians as guests such as Escurinho, Chico César, and Pedro Osmar.
The band has mentioned that there will be a much crazier concept album coming up sometime in the future, what are your current visions for that album? What are the most significant ways in which your sophomore album will be different from Holoceno?
We don’t want to spoil anything, but the concept will be much more ambitious, and we intend to do some things differently: try and record most of the parts live in the studio, use more time to experiment, and count with the guidance of a seasoned producer that’ll respect our artistic vision.
In the future, would you guys ever want to go on tour? If so, what would be some bands that you’d like to tour with?
For sure! Way before Holoceno, we have played gigs in our hometown and other cities around it, but we have never been on a full band tour. That would be awesome and all of us are excited with the idea. Well, we’d love to tour with some of the Brazilian artists like Bríi/Kaatayra, Jupiterian, and our local friends from Hazamat. Of course there are way bigger bands that we’d love to share a stage with, like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Mastodon, Baroness, King Crimson, and Motorpsycho.
Our members of TheProgressiveSubway are spread throughout the world but none of us know what it’s like to grow up in Brazil. What is the Brazilian prog scene like?
Other than a dozen of bands in the 70s, Brazilian prog is scarce. There are some groups like Caravela Escarlate and our hometown colleagues in Augustine Azul and Hajem Kunk, but modern Brazilian prog is neither popular nor much cared for by Brazilian progheads. That won’t stop us from doing our own weird shit, though.
Are there any smaller bands (from Brazil or just in general) that you’d like to shout out?
For sure! There’s Bríi and Kaatayra, two projects from the same Brazilian mastermind Caio Lemos, Finland’s Skyjoggers, Norway’s Seven Impale (whose sax guy Benjamin guested on Holoceno) is a must hear, and of course Torstein’s Red Kite, a brilliant power trio.
Again guys, thank you so much for the interview it has been a pleasure. Is there anything else that you would like to add in closing?
We would like to thank Sebastian and all of the Progressive Subway team for reaching out to us. It’s been a pleasure. Keep your eyes peeled on our social media pages and our Bandcamp page. There’s more Papangu on the way. We are only getting started.
Papangu social links:
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