Oh, we are so in love with MAQUINA. right now. João, Tomàs & Halison make epic, noisy, snarly, riotous, disturbing, dirty, claustrophobic, Industrial escapism. Music so intense that it refuses to take its foot off your neck. The group’s first album was entitled Dirty Tracks for Clubbing which was exactly that.

The trio are now gearing up for the release of the follow up entitled PRATA and out on 5th April via Fuzz Club. First single ‘Denial‘ is everything with Tomás’s relentless bass pulling you in, João’s guitar/FX cranking up the tension and Halison on drums while exploding all over the track with blood-curdling screams. The whole album is a lot of fucking fun.

Loverboy caught up with Halison to find out more about being the BM in EBM, crowd diversity at a MAQUINA. gig and this punk’s love for Drag Race – ‘I love Dawn’s aesthetic. But Plane Jane and Nymphia are my favs!’

Halison, congrats on MAQUINA’s second album, PRATA. Your debut had clear inspiration in the title! How did you name the follow up?
Thank you! We really like the color PRATA (silver), and that’s also João’s alter ego. It’s a fun inside joke for us and really shows how João manipulates and expresses his sound over his guitar & pedals. Making this album was a blast, it felt like PRATA was coming to life at every take, with the guitars & pedals just igniting. Also, this is our second album, and silver is often associated with being second, so it fits perfectly.

‘Denial’ is about conflicting emotions right? Was there a specific story that inspired it?
Yes, that’s right! I don’t remember specifically, but I had something on my mind which led me to externalize the feelings I was experiencing, almost like screaming out loud. It’s hard to see things clearly when you are blinded by your emotions. So, expressing them can make it easier to understand. Sometimes you just need to take a step back, take a breath, avoid overthinking and let it go.

It’s only two minutes but ‘Desterro’ is my favourite right now. Can you tell us more about it?
Aww, that’s fun! In fact, I’m singing in Portuguese on this song. We used to, and still sometimes do, go to this place called Desterro. We had awesome nights there. It’s a dark place with good music and it smells like cigarettes and spilled beer.

PRATA is your second album, one that is coming out so quickly after your debut. Does this mean your third is set for September and will be even harder?!!
Hahaha…we wish! We like to create, produce and release music quickly. I think if we could, we’d release one album every semester. Not sure if we are releasing another one in September, perhaps a new song.

You spent a lot of time together in the depths of lockdown listening to EBM/Industrial music which is apparent on this album. How were you feeling?
Yeah, it was quite a ‘dark’ time, the contact with people was almost null. I felt a lot of things were about to change and maybe I wasn’t ready. I felt quite alone, not completely because my girlfriend was there with me, but I mean, coming from Brazil and living across the Atlantic in another country was tough at that time. Electronic music became a good way to channel my emotions. It provided relief from everything happening outside. We threw parties – almost illegal ones –  and as hard as it was to get people together and dance, people wanted to go to our parties and have fun. I also produced some completely electronic songs for fun on my computer. I never finished those songs, I mean it’s almost done, maybe one day I can put ‘em out.

EBM features electronic production a lot, but you don’t use any! Tell us about making that decision. Will it apply for the future albums…
In a way it wasn’t a decision, it was what we had available to make music. We’re not thinking of adding electronics so far, we feel there’s still a lot to explore with our current setup. I think our explorations into electronic sounds will happen naturally and organically. We’re curious, of course, but so far, we’re having so much fun doing this with our instruments. So you could say we are more the “BM” in “EBM” for now. Hahaha…

Your voice was originally going to be an instrument and then you switched it to vocal last minute. With only three of you in the band, what were you originally going to use instead of vocal?! Would you have had enough hands?! Haha…
Yes, in the beginning it was just instrumental. I wouldn’t say that I use my voice in a traditional singing manner. I have short lyrics for long songs and I repeat the words a lot, at some point it gets groovy. We considered using robotic voices or samples or anything that could to establish a connection with the audience. Ultimately there’s no substitute for the human voice in creating diplomacy, a bond between the band and the crowd. So, I ended up ‘screaming’ into the microphone. Haahaha…

You’ve had comparisons from Chemical Brothers to The Beatles and Nine Inch Nails. We’re adding out own comparison of Kasabian into this mix!
We always have good and funny references for our sound. Definitely! I went to a Kasabian concert once, and it was crazy – a sea of people all dancing in unison.

You played three shows in Spain last year and not one was in Barcelona?! Why do you hate the Catalans?!!! Any chance of a last minute Primavera Sound Barcelona addition?
Yes, we did, and it was always amazing! I think the Catalans might hate us though, they never invited us to play a concert there. Hahahaha. But if we get an invitation that we can add to our tour schedule, we’ll definitely be there for a great party. No Primavera BCN for us, but we’re excited to be going to Primavera Porto this year. We’re playing on the same day as Lana Del Rey. We’re so happy!

You stepped in last minute at XXX festival and replaced The Last Dinner Party which would be a very different set for people expecting baroque, Florence and the Machine vocals! How was that show? Did you feel under pressure?
It was memorable, something I will cherish for the rest of my life. I love that festival from the bottom of my heart. I’ve seen so many good bands on that stage, and suddenly, there was us performing. It was incredible. The concert went insanely well. Most of the festival-goers didn’t know us, so the impact was different; we felt that onstage. The energy was pure; it was a big and perfect party from beginning to end. To be honest, I don’t think any of us felt pressure. We had been camping there for almost a week, living the festival vibe. So, when it came time to perform, we just wanted to deliver a good show and have a great time.

We hear there are more likely to be hugs happening in a MAQUINA. mosh pit than fights. That sounds the best. Is that right? And you’re encouraging stage invasion too?!
How amazing is that, right?! It’s such a pleasure to see lovely people attending our concerts, having a good time filled with love instead of rage. If they want to invade the stage and dance with us there’s no problem, we love it.  It’s a great feeling when people tell me about our concerts and mention that the mosh pit was healthy, with elbows down, just dancing, respecting each other and spreading love.

It sounds like your audience are a mix of all demographics! I’m sure there is a little group of queer fans totally crushing on you there!
Yes! We’ve never felt that we belong to one specific group. Using our music as a catalyst to bring people together is something we’re passionate about. It’s amazing to see people of all ages and from various groups attending our concert, like goths, punks, old school rockers, new generations, young ravers, old ravers, and so on. Yesss, we also have our queer friends who know how to throw a good party. It’s beautiful to witness the frontline filled with authentic people, dancing and expressing themselves freely, feeling embraced by everyone without any pretensions.

We hear that you are not only a Drag Race fan but a Trixie Mattel one at that?!!! How does this EBM rocker become a fan of this retro pink Barbie country-singing drag queen? Love this…
Yes, I am! It all began with an EBM song by Black Dahlia called ‘Trixie Mattel.’ You’ve got to listen to it. I became curious about the name, then my girlfriend told me about her and introduced me to the show. We started watching together and I instantly fell in love with Trixie and with the show. I had a sense of empathy for her because of the song I guess, but beyond that, I found her incredibly fun and unique, especially with her distinct makeup style. Her authenticity and branding also drew me in; it wasn’t difficult to admire and root for her. By the way, let’s talk about this season; I think Sapphira will be the winner, she’s good! I love Dawn’s aesthetic. But Plane Jane and Nymphia are my favs! What’s yours? Tell me!!

Sister, we’re 100% with you. We’re named after 2001’s #1 selling single so we always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song. Um…do you have one?! She’s turned a lot of ‘rock’ songs into ballads, maybe you could turn a Mariah track into a dirty EBM banger?! What do you think? Haha…
I may pick ‘Fantasy’; that song is fun. I’ve never thought about turning a Mariah Carey song into an EBM banger, but that’s exactly what I’m going to try next in the studio, thanks for the idea. Hahaha. We might end up completely ‘destroying’ the song, Mariah probably wouldn’t be proud of us.

The new single, ‘body control‘ is out now with the album PRATA being released on 5th April via Fuzz Club.
Photography: Daniel Jesus