Interview: Paura
by Rafael Karasu (rafael@karasukiller.com)

2014/08

Paura - Tameless
PAURA is a 5-piece band from São Paulo, Brazil, which musically blends hardcore and metal. Imagine a cross between Sepultura and Sick of It All or between Slayer and Bad Brains, and you'll know where to start. A band with the "do-it-yourself" spirit and the integrity of hardcore, with the heaviness of metal. Founded in 1995, the band released six albums, two EPs, and some splits and compilations, and has always been one of the most representative bands of extreme music in South American.

PAURA has extensive experience in national and international tours: 5 European tours and 6 south american tours, performing over 20 countries.

01-Tell us a little about the band’s history, the discography, the first shows. And also, what’s the meaning of the band’s name?
Paura means fear, terror. The band started in 1995 by friends who wanted to make a sound heavier than the bands that played, and different of everything that was going on at that time. We went through many line-up changes in these 19 years, we have released a lot of stuff, did countless shows in places we never imagined to be, and made a lot of real friends in this journey. Paura represents the best of what we build in life.

02-Do all the band members have a day job, or do you live off your music? What’s the hardest thing about having a band in Brazil?
Fernando (the drummer) is the only one of us who make a living. All others have regular jobs. The greatest difficulty is the lack of respect about art in general in Brazil.

03- What are the themes in the lyrics? How’s the writing process?
We talk about what we live. Our vision of what happens in our lives, the people we know and what happens in the world. Generally, someone brings an idea to the reharsals and we start to work from there.

04-The Album "Tameless" was the last work of Paura and will be released in Japan by Karasu Killer, Brazil by Karasu Killer / Equivokke, Conspiracy Chain, Travolta and Spider Merch. How was producing it and you were satisfied with the result?
We started the pre-production late last year, recorded at Lamparina studio and the result is very nice. We believe that is a record that will please those who always followed us as far as who have never listened to Paura too. There´s a sense of renewal in the air.

05-What are your biggest influences?

Basically old stuff: Sick Of It All, Bad Brains, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Napalm Death. But we like to discover new bands and one thing or another always can become an influence.

06-What does punk/hardcore mean in your lives? Can Paura be considered a punk/hardcore band in sonority as much as in attitude ?Nearly 20 years of the band, which motivates you to continue?

It´s our lives. But our commitment is not to punk or hardcore, our commitment is to our truth. The posture and the sound are the same thing of course, because their source is the same. The best things we live are because of the band. We love what we do and quitting is something that never really crossed our minds.

07-What’s the difference between hardcore when you guys started and what it is nowadays?

The difference is basically the structure, the greater amount of serious people involved and the ease to get real information. At first, everything was more complicated: concerts, equipment, bullshit gangs and crews, the difficulty of obtaining information (much arrived late and completely misleading), but there were good references, including here in Brazil.

08-What’s the band’s opinion on the punk/hardcore scene in São Paulo and Brazil in general? What's good and what’s bad? Is there support?

There are many cities that have a rich history in the punk/hardcore scene. Sao Paulo is probably the main one, but fortunately, there are many others. I have a good opinion about the scene: many local shows, many foreign bands touring, a lot of people contributing to strengthen, labels, fanzines, shops, webradio programs, etc.. The downside is the lack of support from public institutions. But as it was never part of our reality, is not a crucial problem. No one stops doing what love for lack of support. If this happens is because it was never true.

09-Many Brazilian bands want to play in Japan, what’s the possibility of Paura coming here for a tour?

Bro, it's a dream! We know that the difficulty to make a tour of this magnitude is very large, but if there is a possibility, we work hard to make it happen. PMA, always PMA.

10-What do you know about the Japanese hardcore scene? What bands do you like, and what impresses you about them?

Honestly, I'm not a connoisseur of Japanese scene. But what do I know, I think very powerful. I like Loyal To The Grave, Vivisick and S.O.B. (since I was a kid ... hahaha). Japanese bands have a peculiar sound and it is essential to create an identity in music. Another band that is not punk/hardcore but I really like is Maximum The Hormone.

11-What message do you have for Japanese readers ?
Thanks to everyone who red the interview. We're crazy for your country and want to know better the Japanese punk/hardcore scene. Send us stuff because we are always looking for music that is new to us. We hope one day to show our work on Japanese soil. Stay strong, support local bands, buy merch, make and support fanzines, labels and stores. Anyone who wants to send any message, information or just say fuck off to us, send an email to paurahardcore@gmail.com

Contacts:
paura.bandcamp.com
paurahardcore@gmail.com
facebook.com/paura3rdworld