Ngana Interview

 

 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band? 

We’re a black metal band hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina. This band started in the summer of 2021 as a two piece gradually evolving its way into a full band roughly a year later. We come from many past and current projects throughout our musical careers, with some having even crossed over.

2.In September you have a new release coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous demo? 

Given it’s the first release as a full band, the writing feels more cohesive with more influence being drawn from compared to the demo, where it was a mashing of riffs we had come up with in a short amount of time that we were waiting to use for something or on the spot at practice. Being a two piece at the time, there was only so much influence to draw from that was limiting us.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music? 

Phthisis explores subjects such as living under oppressive systems, suicide/bleakness of life, environmentalism that all coincide with the album’s themes. “Vacuous Dream” actually is about the video game Bloodborne, which does associate with the aforementioned themes. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nganga'? 

The name has several different meanings- famously defined as a spiritual healer or a ritual cauldron of animal and human sacrifice originating from Palo Mayombe practice in Cuba. Actually, the song “Nkisi” off De Muerte is about the ritual practice. We were actually given the name by a friend who planned to use it for a side project of his own but ended up not having the time for it.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

 The artwork was done by Feltnan Art who we found on Instagram. We believe it’s the best representation of our album’s core themes, death and decay. 

6.Originally the band started out as a duo, what was the decision behind expanding into a full line up? 

The plan from the beginning was to become a full band, we just weren’t sure about the timing and it worked sooner for us than we anticipated. 

7.Has the band had any opportunities to do any live shows? 

Yes. We went on our first run end of June last year, did a weekend run beginning of this year in January, opened for Witching end of May, and our next show we'll be opening for Crossspitter and Sacramentum at home August 22nd.

8.Currently the band is unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? 

To us it seems a bit of an outdated question. Times have changed, and getting signed is no longer a metric for success, or even an enviable goalpost most times. There are still some truly great labels out there, but unless one offers something absolutely amazing, our plan is to remain independent and in charge of ourselves for the foreseeable future. 

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

 Surprisingly, we have been received very well both online and live. Our demo managed to gain so much traction purely by word of mouth on the internet, there was no PR whatsoever for De Muerte.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Stylistically, I think we’ve found our distinct sound- it sounds genuine the way we want it to, we’re not trying to copy anybody. We will continue to write as ourselves and see where our music takes us in our future.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Biggest influences that immediately come to mind are notorious USBM bands like Krallice, Yellow Eyes, and Weakling. As a full band, the influences are more vast coming from technical/experimental backgrounds. Our sound has been described as unorthodox.

12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

In support of our record release, we will be touring the east coast starting in late September, come out and see it live!

Instagram: @nganga_nc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nganganc

Bandcamp: https://ngangaband.bandcamp.com