A few weeks ago, Auckland sewerpunks Mucus Kids unveiled their unruly debut EP Mosh For Jesus through local label Powertool Records. The trio, made up of Loz L'estranja (human sounds), Madison Von Uber Rothschild (banging) and Sebasschin Cumball (hitting), have been carving out a name for themselves with sprawling live shows, but have also managed to successfully transfer that electric energy to their seven-track EP. UnderTheRadar decided to drop the three-piece a line and find out a bit more about the band, and how they put the album together...
UTR: First off, can you tell us a little bit about how Mucus Kids came together?
MK: Loz and Madi met on the bus in 2013 and began a typical teenage romance almost immediately. But soon, sweet turned to sour and Madison found himself chained in, forced to play the deeply personal and insulting songs that Loz had written about him. Seb wandered into the tumultous ménage à trois somewhere along the way.
And how did you guys get together with Powertool Records?
Powertool Records and The UFO are the most supportive and original munters we know. They pretty much let us do whatever the fok we want and we are all mutually in love with them. We broke their stage the second time we played there and they offered us a record deal.
You're gaining a strong reputation for dynamic live shows. How do you get into the right headspace to go perform?
Sanguinarianism, dark magick and sacrifice. Along with somethings that we should not say to the public...
Madison needs at least 20 minutes to take his face off.
You play a lot of all ages shows, especially at UFO out west. How do you find the all ages scene in Auckland? Do you have any thoughts on what could make it better?
More venues ! Just more more more ! We're greedy and we can't get enough !
Loz : I reckon there should be R15 BYO clubs in Auckland. Political, I know, but I need to slip it in there.
When it comes to Mosh For Jesus you seem to have translated your sound from live to recording well. How did you manage to capture that kind of energy to tape?
Loz got drunk.
There is a definite scuzzy element to your sound, but the recording itself isn’t so lo-fi. Was clarity something important to you before you went into the studio, or was it something that emerged as part of the process?
We've recorded albums onto tape using an answering machine before. We're in luv w the lo-fi but the biggest problem is that we WANT YOU TO HEAR THE LYRICS. Whether you do or not.
Can you tell us a little bit about the recording process?
We did it at Zero Studios with Danny Manetto and Andrew Maitai. Pretty straight forward bogan-ass shite. One special guest that we did happen upon was a certain Julian Hanson of The Spelling Mistakes. Loz turnt up at the studio one time and there was Julian, drunk, asleep, passed out on the couch. Danny and Loz began to record vocals for 'Old Man, Cool Van' and it woke Julian up. We are first aware of this in the recording where, after Loz sings "inside my aSS!" we hear the Old Man chuckle from the dark, dank insides of his Cool Van.
What’s the biggest lesson you learnt from being in the studio?
Just let it flow man.
Loz, your lyrics are pretty confrontational, especially tracks like ‘Your Dad’ and ‘Masturbation Bloodbath’. Is that something you had to think much about before putting out in the world?
I try not to think much at all. It's a part of my transcendental meditation.
As a lyricist, what’s most important for you to convey when writing a song?
My geeky, dorky, pathetic feelings.
Did you have a lot of material to trim down for the EP, and how did you go about choosing which songs to put on?
This is all our real old songs.
How do you feel about the EP now that it’s out?
We use it to make love by and look at our muscles.
What’s next for Mucus Kids?
We have a placenta full of spawn on it's way for you. Just wait and see.
Mucus Kids are part of the epic line-up for next month's Bloodfeast IV, see below for more details.
