interview with Mouflon
Have any of you played in other bands? Yes we did and we still do. Some old bands are: Curb, Resystem, Strike First. Bands we are still in: Dead End, Into the arcane, Lifelong and Landmine heart
How is it that you started playing music?
For me it started when I watched tv and the Sex Pistols came on, pure fuckin magic. I think for the others it’s a similar thing but with different bands.
-What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
RJ-vocals 40 (answering these questions)
Richard-Guitar 43
Peter-Guitar 45
Tijl-bass-43
Rutger-drums 40
Have you had other previous members? Yes, we had a line-up change with the drummer (Ed 2015) and singer (Melvin 2017).
Did you make music even when you were young? Yeah most of us started in their teen years playing music. Some of us even shared a band when we were teenagers. Throughout the years we all played in different bands and played a lot of shows. It’s great to be in a band together after all these years. We`re determent to make the best out of this. Work hard and play hard. We all know what we want and how to get it. Past bands and experiences with touring all helped us to make the best out of this band. Shit just got started.
Where are you from? Most of us come from the Arnhem area, the city of cities. It’s in the eastern and best part of the Netherlands.
What year did the band form? We started in 2012 but knew each other for many years and played in other bands together before Mouflon. Rutger replaced Ed in 2015 and I joined in november 2017. January 2018 we started the recordings of “Devastations”. The music and some lyrics were already written so I didn’t participated in the writing process except for some vocal lines, lyrics and re-wrote some old lyrics coz it didn’t fit the concept. Since the release of the album we wrote new songs together and they will be recorded this year for a new 7” EP and a split release. More info on that soon.
What's your style of genre? Old School Death Metal with a touch of Doom.
What inspires you?
Music: Entombed, Dismember, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Grave. The old euro masters.
Lyrics: For the first album (“Devastations”) the main inspiration was WW 1 and devastations in general (body/soul/mind). For the new EP lyrics will shift a little to other subjects and influences like the will to power, joy before death, amor fati, Bataille, Nietzsche, De Sade, Foucault, Mishima. It will be more about breaking boundaries and questioning morals.
How often and where do you rehearse? We rehearse every week on Friday in a village called Oss. It’s a 45 minute ride from Arnhem but it’s a great rehearsal room for us. And because it’s on Friday it’s a great opportunity to hang with your friends before the weekend kicks in. Make some noise, create some new monsters, drink some beers and smoke some Dutch vegetables. But it`s something we take very serious, to stay tight, work on the live set and writing new songs.
How have you developed since you started with the music? I think you always develop when making music. But we played a lot of live shows since the release of the album and that makes the band more tight and we developed into a war machine not to fuck with. The writing process is a group effort and with this “new” line-up we now write the best songs in our history. We know what we want and how we want it, determent to get it all. We don`t care about technical progression or shit like that. It has to be dark, hard, raw and filthy.
Do you have other interests or work outside the band? We all have our day jobs and the rest of the time is filled with making music and band stuff. Besides making music (I speak for myself now) I read a lot, watch documentary’s and films about serial killers, the human mind, philosophy, BDSM, death, suicide, seppuku and other kinks. Don`t care much about other shit or human interactions in general.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We had one but now we do it our self. If there is an agency who would like to work with us on our terms and conditions we are open for that for sure. But we want to keep a certain freedom with this band and if that’s ok with the agency they are more than welcome, otherwise stay away and move on to the next band who you can control. We don`t pay to play.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We released the cd by ourselves and the vinyl version is on Lawless Lewdness Records. Soon there will be a tape version of the debut album on Headbanger records, Formula for failure and Big bad wolf records. For the new EP we want to work with a label and we are working on that as we speak.
What made you decide to make this music? It’s the style we grew up with. In the past we made some other style of music like hardcore, punk, metal but for this band we wanted to get back to our roots and make the music we grew up with and love. It`s the perfect outlet for us.
What are your songs about? Most songs on the album are about WW 1 and some others have a nihilistic touch and deal with gaining and reclaiming personal freedom without boundaries or moral values. The will to power so to speak and amor fati. Inspired by the works of Bataille, De Sade, Nietzsche, Foucault and Mishima. The earth is overpopulated and we are one of the species that has become a plague with keeping every genetically and intellectually degraded individual artificially alive. There`s no more room for the weak. Survival of the fittest!
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? For the album most of the music is written by Richard, Tijl and Rutger. Some lyrics are written by Tijl (those about WW1) and the other lyrics by me. I rewrote some of the lyrics of the old singer for the album because they didn`t fit with the concept we had in mind for the album (Devastations in all it forms)
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Mostly the music is first but I write all the time and have books full of lyrics and pieces of lyrics. When the song is finished I listen a lot to the song and I get a certain feeling and that’s when I start writing or flip through my textbooks to see what lyrics fit with the feeling I feel when listening to the song.
Do you compose in a certain environment? I work on the lyrics in the night. For me it’s the best time to work on the songs and make the lyrics fit. A bottle of whisky, a couple of joints and I’m good to go. For the music it mostly starts with a riff by Richard or Tijl and we work from that point on to form a song in the rehearsal room. Peter adds his parts and I try to arrange some of the parts to fit some vocal lines. It’s a real group effort writing songs with Mouflon. Those dudes know how to write some skull crushing riffs to kill some bystanders in the moshpit. No limits, no taboos, no mercy
Have you done any covers live? Nope and don’t think we will do that in the near future.
What language do you sing in? English, don’t think the Dutch language will work on death metal hahaha I leave that to the black metal bands, K3 or Ploegendienst.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? It`s really diverse. I think between 14 years old and 60 years old males and females.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We try to vary with the setlist but most will come from the album and some new songs that will be released on our new EP/7”. We don’t play the old demo songs that often anymore
Do you have a regular place you play live often? With that we also try to vary. We don’t want to play to much in the same city or venue.
What was your first gig like? I can only tell you how my first gig was with Mouflon. My first show with them was in Athene, Greece in October 2017. I would fill in for just 1 gig coz they were without a singer at that time. Just before the Athene gig they found a replacement for their old singer and did 2 shows with him but it didn’t work out so I took over and never left. That show was great. It was like coming home after years traveling because we already knew each other and did bands in the past together. Like a jigsaw puzzle that fits perfectly.
What was your latest gig? Last show we did was on may 5th in Wageningen (The Netherlands). It was a festival and it was a blast. Lots of people showed up and the sound was HARD. Next gig is in our hometown Arnhem (may 30th) and we are looking forward to that. Last show we did here in Arnhem was when we did our release show six months ago so it’s good to be back and wreck the place again and play some new tunes from the upcoming release.
Have you had to cancel a gig? No, not that I’m aware of
Where have you played live this year? We played around 13 shows since January (its may now) and more shows coming up.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? We have some shows in the Netherlands and working on shows in Germany and Belgium for this year. We also go back into the studio to record our new 7” EP
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We started it right away with t-shirts and sweaters. We now have shirts, cd`s, Vinyl, stickers and soon a tape version of the debut album “Devastations”.
Where can people buy your merchandise?
https://mouflon.bigcartel.com/
https://www.cosmickeycreations.com/
https://www.rebellionshop.com/
https://www.dawnbreed.com/
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I don’t really care. You can`t do a thing against it so it’s useless to spend your time and energy on things like that. People are people. Humanity is a waste.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? It has changed a lot. The future will learn of its for better or worse. People tend to have difficulties when it comes to change but if one never change it will never see its full potential. Change will force you to be creative and to find ways to overcome the change and make it a challenge. If you deliver a great product it will find its way to those who really want it and want to pay for the product you made. You have to stand out from the herd and the throw-away products/music that comes out every day
What do you think of my work? I think you do great work with supporting bands and their music. Its people like you who keeps the scene alive. Plus you have some cool questions. Keep on going and keep the scene alive
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I think every outlet you do with a band will help you in the business. In this time and age it’s important to do as much as possible to spread your name across the net, be it interviews like this or any social media outlets
Do you have any role models or idols? For me personally no idols or role models. I like to pave my own path without the influence of others to keep it pure. Stay free from old morals and regulations forced upon us by society, role models or idols.
Why do you think that they exist? Because people are weird. Why idolize a human? Stay free and be who you want to be. Pave your own path and erase the old footsteps of others.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? For us as a band I think we find it easier to find inspiration in the old bands coz that’s what we grew up with and still love. There are some “new” bands we like but we always get back on the old ones
What have been your biggest obstacles? Humans in general
What advice would you give other bands or artists? DON`T GIVE A FUCK AND STAY FREE
How do you get psyched for a gig? It starts with the ride to the show and hanging with some of your best friends, drink and smoke some together. We are a pack of wolves going for the throat.
Do you have any new material? We now have 3 new songs and still writing some more for the new EP/7” and maybe a split release with another band. This summer we want to start pre-production and before the year is over we want to be back in the studio to record them properly for the EP and split.
What are your web sites?
Facebook.com/mouflondeathmetal
Mouflondeathmetal.bandcamp.com
Mouflon.bigcartel.com (webshop)
Instagram.com/mouflon666
https://open.spotify.com/artist/75S0L1sMv9ynU2paKaPu1l
www.mouflon666.com
How can people reach? Best is FB, dm on insta or [email protected]
What are your plans for the future? World domination and destroy it when it’s ours.
Do you have something to add? Stay free! Show no mercy, no limits, no taboos, no morals and stand alone
How is it that you started playing music?
For me it started when I watched tv and the Sex Pistols came on, pure fuckin magic. I think for the others it’s a similar thing but with different bands.
-What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
RJ-vocals 40 (answering these questions)
Richard-Guitar 43
Peter-Guitar 45
Tijl-bass-43
Rutger-drums 40
Have you had other previous members? Yes, we had a line-up change with the drummer (Ed 2015) and singer (Melvin 2017).
Did you make music even when you were young? Yeah most of us started in their teen years playing music. Some of us even shared a band when we were teenagers. Throughout the years we all played in different bands and played a lot of shows. It’s great to be in a band together after all these years. We`re determent to make the best out of this. Work hard and play hard. We all know what we want and how to get it. Past bands and experiences with touring all helped us to make the best out of this band. Shit just got started.
Where are you from? Most of us come from the Arnhem area, the city of cities. It’s in the eastern and best part of the Netherlands.
What year did the band form? We started in 2012 but knew each other for many years and played in other bands together before Mouflon. Rutger replaced Ed in 2015 and I joined in november 2017. January 2018 we started the recordings of “Devastations”. The music and some lyrics were already written so I didn’t participated in the writing process except for some vocal lines, lyrics and re-wrote some old lyrics coz it didn’t fit the concept. Since the release of the album we wrote new songs together and they will be recorded this year for a new 7” EP and a split release. More info on that soon.
What's your style of genre? Old School Death Metal with a touch of Doom.
What inspires you?
Music: Entombed, Dismember, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Grave. The old euro masters.
Lyrics: For the first album (“Devastations”) the main inspiration was WW 1 and devastations in general (body/soul/mind). For the new EP lyrics will shift a little to other subjects and influences like the will to power, joy before death, amor fati, Bataille, Nietzsche, De Sade, Foucault, Mishima. It will be more about breaking boundaries and questioning morals.
How often and where do you rehearse? We rehearse every week on Friday in a village called Oss. It’s a 45 minute ride from Arnhem but it’s a great rehearsal room for us. And because it’s on Friday it’s a great opportunity to hang with your friends before the weekend kicks in. Make some noise, create some new monsters, drink some beers and smoke some Dutch vegetables. But it`s something we take very serious, to stay tight, work on the live set and writing new songs.
How have you developed since you started with the music? I think you always develop when making music. But we played a lot of live shows since the release of the album and that makes the band more tight and we developed into a war machine not to fuck with. The writing process is a group effort and with this “new” line-up we now write the best songs in our history. We know what we want and how we want it, determent to get it all. We don`t care about technical progression or shit like that. It has to be dark, hard, raw and filthy.
Do you have other interests or work outside the band? We all have our day jobs and the rest of the time is filled with making music and band stuff. Besides making music (I speak for myself now) I read a lot, watch documentary’s and films about serial killers, the human mind, philosophy, BDSM, death, suicide, seppuku and other kinks. Don`t care much about other shit or human interactions in general.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We had one but now we do it our self. If there is an agency who would like to work with us on our terms and conditions we are open for that for sure. But we want to keep a certain freedom with this band and if that’s ok with the agency they are more than welcome, otherwise stay away and move on to the next band who you can control. We don`t pay to play.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We released the cd by ourselves and the vinyl version is on Lawless Lewdness Records. Soon there will be a tape version of the debut album on Headbanger records, Formula for failure and Big bad wolf records. For the new EP we want to work with a label and we are working on that as we speak.
What made you decide to make this music? It’s the style we grew up with. In the past we made some other style of music like hardcore, punk, metal but for this band we wanted to get back to our roots and make the music we grew up with and love. It`s the perfect outlet for us.
What are your songs about? Most songs on the album are about WW 1 and some others have a nihilistic touch and deal with gaining and reclaiming personal freedom without boundaries or moral values. The will to power so to speak and amor fati. Inspired by the works of Bataille, De Sade, Nietzsche, Foucault and Mishima. The earth is overpopulated and we are one of the species that has become a plague with keeping every genetically and intellectually degraded individual artificially alive. There`s no more room for the weak. Survival of the fittest!
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? For the album most of the music is written by Richard, Tijl and Rutger. Some lyrics are written by Tijl (those about WW1) and the other lyrics by me. I rewrote some of the lyrics of the old singer for the album because they didn`t fit with the concept we had in mind for the album (Devastations in all it forms)
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Mostly the music is first but I write all the time and have books full of lyrics and pieces of lyrics. When the song is finished I listen a lot to the song and I get a certain feeling and that’s when I start writing or flip through my textbooks to see what lyrics fit with the feeling I feel when listening to the song.
Do you compose in a certain environment? I work on the lyrics in the night. For me it’s the best time to work on the songs and make the lyrics fit. A bottle of whisky, a couple of joints and I’m good to go. For the music it mostly starts with a riff by Richard or Tijl and we work from that point on to form a song in the rehearsal room. Peter adds his parts and I try to arrange some of the parts to fit some vocal lines. It’s a real group effort writing songs with Mouflon. Those dudes know how to write some skull crushing riffs to kill some bystanders in the moshpit. No limits, no taboos, no mercy
Have you done any covers live? Nope and don’t think we will do that in the near future.
What language do you sing in? English, don’t think the Dutch language will work on death metal hahaha I leave that to the black metal bands, K3 or Ploegendienst.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? It`s really diverse. I think between 14 years old and 60 years old males and females.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We try to vary with the setlist but most will come from the album and some new songs that will be released on our new EP/7”. We don’t play the old demo songs that often anymore
Do you have a regular place you play live often? With that we also try to vary. We don’t want to play to much in the same city or venue.
What was your first gig like? I can only tell you how my first gig was with Mouflon. My first show with them was in Athene, Greece in October 2017. I would fill in for just 1 gig coz they were without a singer at that time. Just before the Athene gig they found a replacement for their old singer and did 2 shows with him but it didn’t work out so I took over and never left. That show was great. It was like coming home after years traveling because we already knew each other and did bands in the past together. Like a jigsaw puzzle that fits perfectly.
What was your latest gig? Last show we did was on may 5th in Wageningen (The Netherlands). It was a festival and it was a blast. Lots of people showed up and the sound was HARD. Next gig is in our hometown Arnhem (may 30th) and we are looking forward to that. Last show we did here in Arnhem was when we did our release show six months ago so it’s good to be back and wreck the place again and play some new tunes from the upcoming release.
Have you had to cancel a gig? No, not that I’m aware of
Where have you played live this year? We played around 13 shows since January (its may now) and more shows coming up.
Where do you plan to gig the coming year? We have some shows in the Netherlands and working on shows in Germany and Belgium for this year. We also go back into the studio to record our new 7” EP
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We started it right away with t-shirts and sweaters. We now have shirts, cd`s, Vinyl, stickers and soon a tape version of the debut album “Devastations”.
Where can people buy your merchandise?
https://mouflon.bigcartel.com/
https://www.cosmickeycreations.com/
https://www.rebellionshop.com/
https://www.dawnbreed.com/
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I don’t really care. You can`t do a thing against it so it’s useless to spend your time and energy on things like that. People are people. Humanity is a waste.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? It has changed a lot. The future will learn of its for better or worse. People tend to have difficulties when it comes to change but if one never change it will never see its full potential. Change will force you to be creative and to find ways to overcome the change and make it a challenge. If you deliver a great product it will find its way to those who really want it and want to pay for the product you made. You have to stand out from the herd and the throw-away products/music that comes out every day
What do you think of my work? I think you do great work with supporting bands and their music. Its people like you who keeps the scene alive. Plus you have some cool questions. Keep on going and keep the scene alive
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I think every outlet you do with a band will help you in the business. In this time and age it’s important to do as much as possible to spread your name across the net, be it interviews like this or any social media outlets
Do you have any role models or idols? For me personally no idols or role models. I like to pave my own path without the influence of others to keep it pure. Stay free from old morals and regulations forced upon us by society, role models or idols.
Why do you think that they exist? Because people are weird. Why idolize a human? Stay free and be who you want to be. Pave your own path and erase the old footsteps of others.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? For us as a band I think we find it easier to find inspiration in the old bands coz that’s what we grew up with and still love. There are some “new” bands we like but we always get back on the old ones
What have been your biggest obstacles? Humans in general
What advice would you give other bands or artists? DON`T GIVE A FUCK AND STAY FREE
How do you get psyched for a gig? It starts with the ride to the show and hanging with some of your best friends, drink and smoke some together. We are a pack of wolves going for the throat.
Do you have any new material? We now have 3 new songs and still writing some more for the new EP/7” and maybe a split release with another band. This summer we want to start pre-production and before the year is over we want to be back in the studio to record them properly for the EP and split.
What are your web sites?
Facebook.com/mouflondeathmetal
Mouflondeathmetal.bandcamp.com
Mouflon.bigcartel.com (webshop)
Instagram.com/mouflon666
https://open.spotify.com/artist/75S0L1sMv9ynU2paKaPu1l
www.mouflon666.com
How can people reach? Best is FB, dm on insta or [email protected]
What are your plans for the future? World domination and destroy it when it’s ours.
Do you have something to add? Stay free! Show no mercy, no limits, no taboos, no morals and stand alone
