Part 1

Name: Bruxa Maria
Members: Dave Cochrane (bass), Gill Dread (guitars/vocals), Paul Antony (drums), Robbie Judkins (noise/effects)
Interviewee: Gill Dread

Nationality: British
Current Release: Bruxa Maria team up with MoE for their collaborative album Skinwalker via ConradSound.

[Read our Guro Skumsnes Moe interview]
[Read our Robbie Judkins interview]

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to stay up to date with Bruxa Maria, visit them on Instagram, Facebook, and bandcamp.



For many artists, a solitary phase of creative development precedes collaborative work. What was this like for you: How would you describe your own development as an artist and the transition towards your first collaborations?

This collaborative piece came together as a result of Bruxa Maria and MoE being on tour together for I think the 2nd time. We are good friends with MoE, so when we had a day off on the tour whilst up in Newcastle, the band we were staying with, 'Lovely Wife' offered to let us sleep at their place an extra night and James Watt's, of 'Lovely Wife', suggested we record a jam together at First Avenue Studios with his friend Dave Curle at no extra cost to us, which was an offer and opportunity we could not refuse.

It seemed like the perfect most logical way for us to spend time together, on a day off from tour. What else would we want to do? We are all together, we all have our instruments and time and space to play, so of course we would want to play together. I mean it seemed so obvious and logical, I started to wonder why we had not facilitated this possibility before.

So in terms of development and transition from solitary working to collaboration, it just needed time and a place for it to happen, no big lead up, no big prep work, just the opportunity to do the most logical, enjoyable thing in the world ... play together and press record. My take away from this experience is to be less afraid of a day off, or a missing date from a tour, just plan for it and make it productive and low cost. Being creative is not just about Art etc, it is also the ability to creatively problem solve.

The biggest issue with a day off is having to pay for food and board on a day you won't be paid, coz you're not doing a gig. Ask one of the promoters either side of the day off if you can stay an extra night and use their kitchen to cook. Go to the supermarket, and if you have an excellent cook like Guro in your crew, feed the promoter, too. If you are already in a DIY scene, then contact people, pull in some favours, make it work, I mean this is what DIY is about, so people will be receptive to being part of something creative. Find stuff to record with, it doesn't have to be high end.

Where do you want to record? It could in someone's basement, or some nearby caves with mad acoustics. Film the experience maybe, so if it does not become all that you want, you have a record of the experience to share, that you cannot fail to learn something from.

Tell me a bit, about your current instruments and tools, please. In which way do they support creative exchange and collaborations with others? Are there obstacles and what are potential solutions towards making collaborations easier?

I'm a guitarist and vocalist, and not particularly schooled or techy in either. I mean I learnt guitar music theory at guitar lessons in my early teens, but true to what my guitar teacher said, I learnt it to never really use it again. I think it can give a confidence boost to know the math of something, and how others may work with that. But it's just not how my creative brain works, no judgement, each to their own.

In terms of obstacles and potential solutions that can make collaborations easier ... I don't tend to do the type of collaboration we did with MoE very often, as I do not have the ability to just automatically play something in my head, on guitar, as I think of it. I'm just not that good LOL. I would have to sit and work it out and craft a song that way. So that massively effects my input to improvisation. The rest of Bruxa are much better musicians than me so they are great at that stuff. I try to blend in and not make a dogs dinner of it. Play for the piece, not to show case the self.

Plus my short term memory is awful, so I can't return to the 'cool riff' I was playing earlier as I won't remember how it went. So for me improv is like damage limitation noise playing and trying to fit in/compliment, and not fuck it up LOL. It's not my strong point, but at least I know that. Not having a dog in the race, as I can always think up something new, IS a strength for me though I think.

But yeah main advice is, play for the piece, don't show case. It's about not all about you. LOL.

What were some of your earliest collaborations? How do you look back on them with hindsight?

When I first started playing in bands we would write together by jamming and recording the jam sessions on mini disc LOL. Then we would listen through and pick out sections we liked and try and put them together.

I used to be much more confident with this way of writing, than the way any of the Bruxa stuff was written, which was mostly me writing a song vocally and on guitar and passing it onto the rest of the band for them to write their parts. I do not write other peoples' parts. The only thing I would do, is say when something did not fit the dynamic of what I intended, which did not happen that often to be honest.

It's difficult to objectively tell if what you have written by yourself is any good in real time. Whereas if one is writing together from the off with jam sessions, it's easier to feel that if something was sounding bad it would be ditched quicker in a more collaborative way of writing. However, the massive bonus for me and the way my brain works is that, if you want something doing, do it yourself and it will speed the process up no damn end. LOL.

My problem is with maintaining focus on something, rather than lack of creativity. So with Bruxa it was about having the balls to just get on with writing, with the possibility of failing, yes, but also with the much greater probability of learning along the way and improving my skill set in doing so.

Besides the aforementioned early collaborations, can you talk about one particular collaboration that was important for you? Why did it feel special to you? When, why and how did you start working on it, what were some of the motivations and ideas behind it?

I think this collaboration with MoE is the most important and special to me. I first met Guro when she played bass in Arabrot, as I was driving them on tour.

When I heard MoE and saw them live, I was in love with that band. They are just so inspiring. I remember driving Arabrot and MoE together and watching the merch stand, and Karin Park (Kjetil's wife and now member of Arabrot) walking out of the room MoE were playing in and just saying to me, she found Guro so inspiring to watch perform ... and as a women, watching Guro perform made her feel proud to be a woman ... which may sound a little cheesy, but she is right and I totally agree.

Watching MoE play to audiences in Spain and their response to MoE's performance, I remember really well. I could see, particularly women, feeling really empowered by Guro in particular. I think it's the genuine passion, power and amazing skill set in her performance. You cannot fake that shit, Guro is the real deal, she works fucking hard and puts everything into it, and it's just so fucking inspiring.

Once Bruxa started moving as a project, I got it in my head that I really wanted to at least do a split single with MoE, which did come to fruition when we did a split 7" single for GodUnknown records.



I was so chuffed that this came to be, that this extra collaboration we got to do was such an added bonus. Thank you James Watts for the suggestion of jamming and recording and making that happen. This would not have happened otherwise. Strange but true, so Thank you James, Dave Curle, and First Avenue Studios.

What are some of the things you learned from your collaborations over the years?

With collaborations I just chuck ideas into the pot and see what gives. If one invests too much in their own ideas, when it's a collaboration, they will either be disappointed by compromise or will change motivation to control, rather than collaborate. So I tend to be relaxed about it.

I can come up with creative ideas all day long. So if people don't like the ideas, I always have more and that's fine. And when they don't need anymore ideas I stop giving them. It's that simple lol. Let things evolve rather than control. Yeah facilitate the project moving forward and get stuff done, but one can do that with out having to creatively control an outcome, which can then become a lot less collaborative in a true sense. Have some faith, let things unfold, and remember, that what ever becomes of the piece of work, one cannot fail to learn something from the experience.

So I guess be present and in the moment enough to learn and appreciate the experience, and you are on to a win, what ever happens from there.