[Interview] Boar God
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It was last year that Boar God started to blast our speakers with the tremendous Forma, the first album of the young group. Initially led only by the current guitarist and singer, Eric Bent, the project quickly became a trio with the addition of Sabrina Côté-Poitras and René-Olivier Duchesne who respectively take care of bass and drums. A few days ago, the group presented their first release created by the three members, the powerful EP Near Extinction, a new benchmark in the fields of heavy and engaging post-punk and noise rock.
This most recent work adds to the fact that Boar God is one of the most imposing and efficient bands in the city. The four songs that make up Near Extinction reveal the full extent of the talent and possibilities for the Montreal based band. Whether it is the energetic guitar riffs, the haunting vocals of Eric, the intense percussions of René-Olivier or the heavy bass line of Sabrina, all the elements show an extremely accomplished work. Although Boar God is only in its third release, their future is very bright and will be one to watch closely.
As part of this publication, we wanted to talk to two of the members of the group to learn more about their history, their approach and to know what the future holds for them. See what Eric and Sabrina had to say. Have a good read!
I’m curious to know how you met each other and what were the main motivations that pushed you to work together? Also, what is the origin of the name Boar God?
Eric: I started Boar God as a kind of “bedroom project” back in 2016ish, and met Sabrina a year or so after putting an ad on Kijiji looking for bandmates to actually make Boar God a real band (our current drummer René-Olivier joined the band the same way a while later). The name Boar God is a reference to the film “Princess Mononoke” and I thought it would make a great name for a loud and noisy band (something “crushing”), but it also had a sense of the supernatural that fit something more ambient and dreamy. Plus I just really like animal imagery.
Sabrina: Eric and I met four years ago via Kijiji. When I listened to his demos, which were mostly recorded by himself (guitar, drum and bass) at the local, I was immediately impressed by his ideas. The mysterious ambient sounds of the guitar, the heavy rhythm of the drum and the bass intrigued me greatly.
© Photo: Brooke Rutner
Your new EP Near Extinction came out on August 4th, this is your first release since the incredible Forma in 2019. What is the story behind this record, which I find heavier and intense than its predecessor?
E: All the songs on our first album were written pretty much just by me (even the bass and drum parts), so the aim with the EP was to write songs as more of a «band» effort, where everyone could have input in the writing and arranging. We would have done another whole album but life got in the way for all of us at various points last year (work, playing shows, etc.), so our productivity was a bit slow.
S: We had a lot of fun working on the first album. There was a lot of exploration of bass sound effects and improvisations between songs. Most of the songs were already thought out by Eric, from there me and René adopted them and shaped them to our comfort and style.
For the EP, the writing process was really different. Eric came to us with an idea of ambient noise and guitar rhythm and we had to build around that. We left a lot more room for the drum. The «times signatures» are highly valued in this EP. René shared with us a lot his vision of the drum and it was very interesting! In addition, Eric produced the music with two very different tuned guitars and for the bass I went with a much more fuzzy and overdrive touch! Since the first album, I could say that we have discovered each other a little more and we have been able to pick up the best of our ideas.
This is your second release on Montreal based label Cuchabata Records, how did this collaboration started and do you see yourself continuing to work with David in the future?
E: I got in touch with David through a mutual friend of ours; just sent him the music we had at the time and he was super interested in helping us put it out! I already had a few friends of mine in the scene who have also worked with/put stuff out on Cuchabata, so I knew it was a cool thing to be a part of. It’s been great and really fun to see our stuff get out there, get more involved in that scene, and to play Cuchfest last December (and hopefully play again).
Of course we have been thinking about getting in touch with other, more “known” labels at some point in the future. We think we are good enough and ready to take that next, scary step.
Your music combines different styles, including drone, post-punk, noise rock, all with a good dose of psychedelia. I would like to know the influences behind the universe of Boar God, whether musical or not?
E: There’s a lot haha. Some major musical ones are feedtime, Band Of Susans, Bailterspace, Sonic Youth (duh), Hüsker Dü (major duh), Loop… I could go on, though the premiere influence for me to write songs was Killing Joke. Another big influence for me outside of music is the Canadian landscape; just being out in the natural world gives me ideas for mood and sounds. Reading on topics such as history, mythology, folklore and psychology is a big influence on my lyrics and songwriting.
© Photo: Brooke Rutner
You participated in the Live Sessions of the Studios de Rouen during the month of June. How did you enjoy the experience and do you plan to do something similar for the launch of Near Extinction?
E: It kicked ass. Felt really good to finally play live again (our last show was in late February) and it was the first time we had actually gotten together to play since the start of the pandemic. Felt a bit rusty for me at first but just kinda felt like putting your winter boots back on after a long while, you know? Would be very cool to launch the EP like this too, but it would have to be organized really well and it would be nice to play with some other bands we like.
S: Pierre (Pite) Gaillard likes otherwise LOVES our group! He asked me if the band could participate. I was really excited to announce it to the guys. We had a downtime after recording the EP (January) on top of the COVID situation and we hardly seen each other before the show. We were really happy to be back playing together and also to be the first band of the Live Sessions of the Studios de Rouen.
What does your future hold in this new pandemic world? Do you have any ongoing projects, whether with Boar God or not?
E: Still figuring it out haha. We definitely want to use this time to write new material and promote the hell out of this EP. While it definitely sucks that we can’t play shows for a long while we’re still pretty excited to see what the future holds once everything gets back to a sense of normal. Boar God is my only real musical project, and to be honest I don’t really feel the need to play in another band because this is the only kind of music I’ve ever really wanted to play. Every other project I have is more in the visual arts/filmmaking realm.
S: With the result of the EP, we wanted to stay in the same writing spirit. We found a good direction with Boar God! We continue to work on new songs for Boar God. Otherwise, my personal post-production projects take on a little more importance!
Thank you for your time!
© Photo: Brooke Rutner