We’re thrilled to be publishing our first ever interview with a Brazilian band! Enter Broken Gate…

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH BROKEN GATE

Hi guys, how are you doing?

We’re good, despite this complicated moment that we’re still living in with the pandemic. It’s especially difficult for the band, we’re really missing the shows and being with our audience in an offline capacity.

Tell us about how and when Broken Gate formed.

I [João Vicente] was about to move in 2017 and I knew I wanted to keep having a band and doing shows, just like I was doing in my hometown from 2013 until 2016. So, since I knew that finding three or four more members for a band was not an easy task (particularly in a city where you practically don’t know anyone). I started thinking about a format that would be simpler to find the necessary members. That’s when the idea of a rock duo came up.

This in mind, I began to think that I should do a test to check if I would adapt to this new setup with Leandro, with whom I played for years in my first band. I just wanted to see if a duo would be an interesting side project.

We had such an affinity as both musicians and friends that, when we did the first rehearsal, it was like, “That’s it!”. It felt so good playing in that format that the side project quickly became our main musical venture, and Leandro and I kept it from 2016 onwards, although I’ve moved a few times in the past few years.

What a journey! Now, you’re based in Brazil – how has the last year been for you pandemic-wise? What did you have planned that you’ve had to postpone or cancel?

Well, 2020 was definitely a tough year, and 2021 is continuing that way here in Brazil. For musicians in general, it was a period that, in some way, froze their work and made planning virtually impossible.

In Brazil, it was a very bad prospects period, with extremely poor management of the pandemic by our federal government. There’s a lot of unpopular opinion around our current president.

About our plans, first of all, our idea was to release our album ‘Fake North’ and start doing shows playing the songs in 2020. But the album release was postponed to 2021 and any plans to be on stage soon after its release have been cancelled.

That’s so hard! It really has been a tumultuous time.

Which bands and artists have influenced your sound the most?

There are a lot of outfits that have influenced our sound in different ways. But the ones that have inspired us the most are: Royal Blood, Muse, Queens of The Stone Age, The White Stripes, Jack White, Black Pistol Fire and Reignwolf.

If you could headline a show and have two supporting acts, who would they be?

That is a difficult question, but we’d go for Royal Blood and Jack White.

Talk us through your latest release, the album ‘Fake North’.

‘Fake North’ is an album in which we try not to sound pragmatic or like any other artist we already know and listen to, despite being influenced by several artists. It’s a modern rock album that brings dynamics songs, with striking guitar riffs and tones, plus a lot of fuzz.

In terms of the lyrics, ‘Fake North’ is inspired by how we see interpersonal relationships. We like to sing about the conflicts, problems and agonising situations that everyone can have in their lives; some bad moments that everyone has probably faced or will face.

Is that all you have in store for 2021 in terms of new music or can you tease any other news? 

‘Fake North’ is our main body of work for 2021. There are already some new songs we’re working on, thinking about an upcoming album, but something that will be realised later. In 2021 and early 2022, our main focus will continue to be the recent songs and, as soon as possible, return with our concert schedule, playing our first album for many people.

You’ll want to keep tabs on the band’s upcoming news, so head to Instagram for all the latest, and check out their tunes on Spotify.