From chaotic punk roots to carbonated cult lore, this interview dives into Twiza’s genre-smashing EP, absurd mythology, masked unity, and their furious, fun-first approach to heavy music and community.
1. “Praise
Be the Carbonation” evolved from Roscoe’s solo project White Picket Offence
before being rebuilt by the full band. How did that transition reshape the
identity and sound of these songs?
Roscoe was
dying trying to play the drum parts and do vocals simultaneously, so then
Braden and Roscoe made a joint (and beer) decision to find new members, most
importantly a drummer to free up Roscoe for vocals and chaos.
After some searching, Steve and Lee joined the congregation. Bringing influences with them from outside the punk world. It didnt take long for the band to develop a "yeah fucc alright lets do it" attitude to any and all ideas brought up, morphing the pre-existing material into something new and refreshing.
2. Steven, Braden, and Liaan all reworked their parts extensively. Can
you walk us through how each member’s reinterpretation added new personality to
the EP?
We are all from different parts of the scene. Roscoe being the punk guy, Braden is heavy into old school metal, Steve does the Death metal thing, and Lee is wicked into Jazz and bedroom pop. So while Roscoe keeps the whole project anchored, the guitars took on more of that metal tone and attitude, mostly thanks to what the guys are already into musically. Lee just took the drums and ran with them, adding tons of weird spunk and dynamic. It took us a minute to get everything dialed and for us to get on the same page but the unorthodox mash-up paid into the bands ethos hugely.
3. Your sonic DNA pulls from hardcore pillars like Hatebreed and Dead
Kennedys, but also heavy metal forces like Sepultura and Gojira. Where do you
feel those worlds collide most clearly on this release?
We pulled from what we know, from 80s hardcore punk to newer metal, The whole EP kinda fuses metal and hardcore, chaotic vocals, chuggy stuff and occasional gutterals. Heavy and chaotic is what we are gunning for. That, and being down in Gqeberha, South Africa, there is no shortage of political kak to write about. The bridge for "Burn Down the Mall" even references an old south african folk pop song as a commentary on consumerism (Ag Pleez Deddy). Everything pisses us off and we're angry about it, and thats what really drove us while writing. Making the most out-of-pocket and fucced off noises we can. Old school hardcore, newer metal stuff. Its all in there.
4. The Twizzarian religion and scripture are central to your universe.
At what point did the band shift from being “just for fun” to building actual
mythology around The Carbonation?
Roscoe and
Braden were living together, they adopted a scruffy AF German Sheppard street
dog from the local shelter. At the time, these muppets were drinking at least 2
litres of guava flavored Twizza a day, so they decided to name the dog Twizza.
They then formed the band and decided to name the band after the dog, which was
named after the cooldrink, and changed the spelling for copyright
purposes.
Later on when the full band eventually formed, we spent a ton of time getting drunk and bullsh*tting eachother, just trying to make each other laugh and forget about the existential dread taht is life. No one really remembers when or how it turned into a cult from wish.com, we dont really know how it all got to this point. Just banter and laughs. Its not slowed down either, we keep developing and adding to the lore, we have so many insane ideas, but somehow it's become a brilliant vehicle to build comunity and bring everyone together, and to point fun at ourselves and at the world.
5. You perform masked to “kill the individual” and welcome everyone
into the carbonation realm. How does that philosophy influence the way you
write lyrics, perform, and connect with your audience?
It’s not to hide our identity or anything, everyone knows who we are within the scene. The masks are there to take away from our individuality and show the audience we are one with them, we are all twizzarians. The majority of our music is edgy 3 chord bullsh*t anyway that anyone can make, and we want to inspire people to make more!
6. The EP is described as relentless, chaotic, then progressively
absurd. Was this structure intentional, and does it reflect your own sense of
humor or the energy of your live shows?
Ja.
7. If you had to choose one or two tracks that best represent the
essence of the Twizzarian universe, which would they be and why?
Oof, thats a rough one. We would say Twizzarianism is best represented in the juxtaposition. Take "Wasted Days" and "Every Pop Punk Song Ever", its in the dichotomy, its in the chaos.
8. The recording process used ASMR vocal techniques and even a parody
voice note that closes “Live Faster.” How important is experimentation and
satire in the way Twiza creates music?
We have a fucc around and find out approach to the project as a whole. The band has a "Yes Man" attitude, whatever crazy or weird, or left-of-field idea comes up, we run with. Caution to the wind. If we find something funny or thought provoking, or theatrical, we go full-send. The music culture these days has lent itself so far into perfectionism that music has become a sterile product for consumers, wrapped up in plastic. Art is nothing without experimentation, without satire; without carbonation.
9. The band often claims to be from Queenstown to stay aligned with the
cooldrink lore. How do fans react when they realize the mythology blends
fiction, humor, and commentary?
For the most part, the twizzarians revel in the holy juice, its a jol! Everyone gets into the effervescent spirit. We are not without descenters and nay-sayers however. The conservative and religious folk have been vocal, some guys just dont want to see people have fun. We are just trying to forge a space where people can find a sense of comunity, of family, and of flavorful hydration. (also maybe same-sex partner).
10. You launched the EP with the “Carbonated Christmas” event. What can
attendees expect from a Twiza ritual in the flesh, and how does this
show celebrate the arrival of Praise Be the Carbonation?
We had a jolly carbonated Christmas, the holy juice poured indiscriminately, a communion of Nik-Naks and Twizza was had. Stickers and hugs were given freely. The bar staff were terrified and concerned. Steve left straight after the set to drive a boat on the ocean.
Praise be the carbonation.
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