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Interview
by SashaS
9-12-2001
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| Ill Nino |
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Extreme attitude adjustment
Ill Nïño aim at general mental uprising with Latino passion
Being fortunate enough not to have been exposed to Ill Niño, the violent tropical weather cycle (although have ‘survived’ Hurricane Andrew), if it’s anything like its metalling namesake, it’s a formidable force indeed. The New Jersey-based band’s power, on record but live in particular, is devastating, an extreme provider of adrenaline pumping, blood boiling and soul liberating sounds that equally make you run for cover. You feel aggressed by it and attracted to it in a hapless manner, it is being in the eye of the storm and being tossed by it as well.
Few hours earlier singer Christian Marchado, a basketball-sized man with braids of hair reaching his lower back, talked about the band, its history, its dreams and philosophy at the time when world appears to be totally confused with its own social creations or, perhaps, deformations. We need a mind revolution and suggestions can be found on the band’s debut album, ‘Revolution Revolucion’,
“We worked really hard on this record,” Marchado speaks from under his sun-visor, “it is a representation of all our lives. It’s the story of our lives… We came together about two-and-a-half years ago; Dave (Chavarri, drummer), Marc (Rizzo, guitar) and I were playing together; then, Dave had to go off and do a tour with Soulfly (as a fill-in drummer) and when he got back we decided to form a band. I’m a bass player but they asked me to sing and I decided to give it a shot. The rest of the members, we pinched from other local bands of the same genre.”
Waiting room
Chavarri, former member of Pro-Pan, had a band El Niño that amalgamated metal riffs with Latin rhythms, English and Spanish lyrics, power with Hispanic trimmings. It transformed into Ill Nino that is often compared with Sepultura but they appear to be more related to Soulfly for its brutal force. The Max Cavallera’s mob is actually named as the inspiration during shows and it is obvious that both outfits have cultural and literal reference points of South American origins, as well as a shared ideological standpoint.
“We come from New Jersey,” Marchado explains, “and some of us live there and some in New York. We come from across the Hudson River where there is the largest Hispanic community per square mile in the US; it is in Hudson Country, Union City. There is a great community there now which wasn’t when I arrived at the age of 12 (from Brazil). It really used to be like a ghetto but it has become really multi-cultural.”
Racism and dissing humans are part of the band’s lyrical devotion and it was motivated by the frontman’s early experiences.
“You later understand that kids are racist,” Marchado opines, “because they are kids. (More likely because they parents moulded them so, author oppugns.) Later on it gets more different because they can think to themselves and when you don’t speak the language, you get into situations. There was a language barrier, and it’s very sad that kids are not taught foreign languages in America, but once you overcome it, there is no problem. You have a chance to adopt and go for it (American dream?) as everybody else.”
Inside life’s surgery…
The line-up is rounded by Jardel Paisante (guitar), Lazaro Pina (bass) and Roger Vasquez (percussion) who lay the basis for topics that are not your usual metal-fare but of deeper social and individual nature. Ill Nino are searching for a soul of humanity and it sounds like there is an ideology-reality clash here.
“If I have any philosophy,” Marchado explains, “and I can’t speak for the rest of the band, then it is that we, this world, need a revolution. It’s not the bloody one, it is not social or religious but individual. We need to look at ourselves, individually and affect the change from within. We need a mind-revolution and right now; we need to start making decisions as human beings. It is very attainable but not the way we are trying to go about. We can’t change groups but each individual has to make an effort.”
The first step is to un-teach greed…
Ill Niño (supporting Machine Head) tour:
07 December - Academy, Manchester
08 December - Brixton Academy, London
10 December - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
11 December - Barrowlands, Glasgow
12 December - Rock City, Nottingham
13 December - Center, Newport
SashaS
9-12-2001
Ill Niño’s album ‘Revolution Revolucion’ is out now on Roadrunner
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