IDIOTEQ is pleased to give you the newest co-feature with one of our beloved French labels Solar Flare, an interview with sludge noise rock act BARDUS, haling from Philadelphia! The band has just released their new record “Stella Porta” and hit a whole new level of their signature grungy psyche noise treatment. Step into the sea of their sludgy heaviness, launch the full record and scroll down to read the full interview with BARDUS!
If the Melvins, Eyehategod, Unsane, and Queens of the Stone Age all somehow co-fathered some ungodly offspring “ has been written by Metalsucks as an accurate description of what Bardus sounds like.
Formed in 2011 in Philadelphia, PA, Bardus has been daring listeners to define their sound, which has been described as “genre-defying impetuosity” by Heavy Planet. Citing heavy, sludgy, groove, psychedelia, noise rock influences, Bardus continues to challenge listeners.
Following their debut full length “Solus” self released in 2013, Bardus has been creating a name for themselves through DIY touring and playing support for national acts. Bardus was chosen by Metalsucks to take part in their collaboration with Converse Rubber Tracks in 2014 which helped them reach more people ears.
Continued touring and support has brought them to where they’re at today. Through their hard hitting style of music, Bardus has continued to develop a sound of their own and it can be heard on their newest full length, Stella Porta, which will be released on Solar Flare Records.
Artwork by FTG Illustrations.
Hey there guys! Thanks so much for taking some time with IDIOTEQ. It’s always a pleasure to welcome artists from Philly, a thriving area of various music and art related endeavors, right? How are you and how’s Philadelphia?
We are well. Currently in Florida on tour promoting Stella Porta and Solar Flare. Philly is pretty good. They’re promoting it as a “World Class City” so things are being cleaned up (a little) and built up around the city. It definitely still has its charm to say the least. To me, it’s still a no frills city, so it keeps ya honest at the end of the day.
So, you’ve just unveiled a new record “Stella Porta” and apparently it’s no joke! Please drop us a couple of lines about the record, your pairing with Solar Flare Records and how happy of the final result of this project you are.
We recorded the record at The Gradwell House Studio with Steve Poponi who recorded Constantly Off by FIGHT AMP. We were sitting on the songs for a little while, shows and touring kept coming up, so when the time came, we were ready to lay them down with Steve. We got in touch with Solar Flare a while ago, just dropping a line to introduce ourselves and kept up a correspondence with Mathieu and he said he would be interested in hearing the new record when it was done. We were already fans of Solar Flare’s releases/roster, and we couldn’t be happier to be apart of their roster with a diverse line up.
Sonically, how do you feel you guys have evolved since your debut full length?
I feel like we’ve evolved in the sense that we feel comfortable to explore all the different ideas we come up with. It’s not like, this record HAS to sound this way, or that way. We all trust each and share the same brain when it comes to writing. We take our time and breakdown all the things we like or don’t like and keep building off of them. We all listen to tons of different genres of music, so it turns into a melting pot of sounds.
Do you approach composing differently than your other works?
Yes in the sense that we wanted to fully develop a bigger sound and sonic presence. We get labeled a noise rock band, which is cool, but we enjoy experimenting with other styles and sounds and kind of piece together like a puzzle by the end of it.
How about the lyrical part? What are some of the themes you’ve decided to cover on this new record?
For Stella Porta, we felt like it was a good idea to have a theme so we could focus more on sticking to the same guidelines for the songs. I’d say most of the theme has to do with extraterrestrial beliefs, self-worth, endless possibilities, that there is no ceiling to how high a person can go if they focus on themselves and cut out the outside bs that brings them down.
Apart from other music inspirations, how does surrounding yourself with the particular people and visiting particular places help or affect this work?
We probably come off as pessimistic, although it’s due to sarcasm most of the time, but generally we surround ourselves with people/bands that are positive and doing really good things themselves. Visiting different places gives us good insight to tap into different parts of our psyche. You take in all these different sights, and sounds and get to add the soundtrack you desire or how you want to remember them.
You’ve just returned from your US tour with GRIZZLOR and are currently on the road again, this time with THE GLORIOUS REBELLION. Please tell us a bit about both bands, how it went the last time and how it’s going now.
The trip with GRIZZLOR was great. We’ve known them for a couple years and they’ve become near and dear to our hearts. Great guys, great band, can’t say enough good things about them. I hope people reading this go give them a listen. It’ll be worth their time. THE GLORIOUS REBELLION is a noise rock band hailing from Orlando. Loud and noisy, just the way we like it. Our first night of tour with them is tonight in Tallahassee FL and I’m sitting in the van outside the venue writing this in a torrential downpour haha.
Any plans to see you guys live in Europe?
We would love to get over there and tour. We don’t have plans as of yet, but it’s something we definitely want to do in the very near future.
Ok, so what else will you do to support the record? What are your plans for the rest of the year? Should people keep an eye out for any surprises from BARDUS in 2016?
After this tour is done we have a couple shows in Philly, one with MUTOID MAN, another with YAUTJA and WHORESNATION from France. We will probably do more touring over summer and the fall. We’ll be recording in late May for a split that’s a part of a 4 part series that SOFY MAJOR is included in as well.
Photo: BARDUS, 2016.
You are celebrating the 5th anniversary of the band this year. How has your relationship to BARDUS changed since you formed it in 2011?
Not much, but we’re definitely more focused and know what we want, can expect, and get out of the band. We’ve grown from 3 musicians playing together into 1 band trying to accomplish good things together.
Apart from this new record, what would you say are your biggest achievements so far?
I’d say getting chosen to take part in Metalsucks Converse Rubber Tracks collaboration in 2014. We submitted our songs and got picked for our music and not who we know. That gave us the confidence and belief that we can do bigger and better things and helped us recognize that.
Photo: BARDUS, 2014.
What challenges have you faced since you began?
How much time ya got?
Haha, ok, fair enough :)
Where do you see BARDUS in another 5 years?
Continuing on our same path. Recording, writing, touring, hopefully going bigger, better, faster, harder. Keep on keepin on.
Lastly, are there any particular records and music related events you’re looking forward to this year?
There’s always a lot coming out, but I’m forgetful when it come to remembering dates and bands releases haha. For the near future, I’m looking forward to seeing our homies FIGHT AMP killin it with EYEHATEGOD in Philly in a couple weeks.
