Singapore is a fine city. Those who’ve been there will understand that pun… Axis Mundi are, I think, the first band we’ve featured from the city/island state – and they’re certainly fine also! Vinod took over question-answering duties.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We hail from the sunny island of Singapore! Right smack on the equator for that sun melting goodness.
How did you meet?
The 3 of us met each other at local shows more than a decade ago!
How long have you been playing as a band?
We only formed in early 2018, however my drummer and I (guitarist) have been playing in a death metal band since 2008, and I have sessioned for our vocalists other band so all of us have been sort of playing together for many years and that’s why I chose to rope them in for this band!
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The term Axis Mundi hit me after getting into the study of symbols and their significance to the human mind. I had always found them interesting and the deeper I read into them the symbol of the World Tree kept reappearing in art and media i resonated with, especially during the writing phase of this EP so I let things take their course. Its basic idea is the center of the universe, the connection of higher and lower, heaven and earth, Consciousness and the Unconscious.
What are your influences?
There were a few key factors in the formation of this band, one was watching Weedeater live for the first time, another was finding live footage of Melvin’s Hellfest 2011 set. That is a fucking live show right there. The whole band are big fans of artists such as Nails and Cult Leader so we like to bring that element into the sludge style.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We are a three piece and I am the only guitar player so its quite a challenging experience to try and compose and write for a single guitar to fill up the sonic space as well as keep the riffs interesting. But its an intensely creative experience as well, to keep things simple yet heavy and fresh!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
The lyrical themes mostly dwell on the subject of the self and transcendence from a symbolic and psychological sense, relating personal problems and how we rise above them through symbolic images and forms.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We are currently sculpting out our live show and it has been an exciting and creative experience as we are a three man band, we are pushing the envelope to see how much can each person bring to the sonic landscape of the live show! As this is a fresh band with a fresh release we have not played our first show yet however, all members in the band have played countless shows in previous bands both locally and overseas.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Playing in this fucking band.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I am a left handed dude so looking for guitars have always been a problem especially with the limited selection available in Singapore. But I was lucky enough to find someone selling off a Schecter Exotic Star and that has been my main guitar for this band as well as a Stagg Les Paul. We are a three piece so I run my guitar signal through a radial splitter on the guitar and bass amp to keep the sonic space full!
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We just dropped our EP on bandcamp as well as Spotify together with a music video of our take on Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissings”. Do check them out!
What are your plans for 2019?
We are currently working on our live set as well as finishing up the writing phase for our full length album, which should be done by the end of this year! Looking forward to play shows as well!
