On June 1st, IRA! made a triumphant return in the eyes of critics and fans alike, releasing Ira , the legendary band's first album of new material since 2007's Invisível DJ .
Wikimetal had the pleasure of speaking with IRA! vocalist Nasi , and future of the band, music, and democracy.
Wikimetal: The album Ira is the band's first album of new material since 2007's Invisível DJ . Thinking about the creative process of making an album, what do you think has changed since then, and what remains the same?
Nasi: Look, we're from the album generation, now we're in the singles and digital platforms generation. So in that sense, we still think of musical work as a complete piece. We saw the end of vinyl, and now we've seen the return of vinyl, not as in the heyday of the recording industry, but vinyl has returned as a new way for artists to do their work. So we still think in that sense. We think of this album as a collection of songs that have a homogeneous style where the lyrics and arrangements converse with each other. So for us, this is still an album; we're still a rock band that does this, and that hasn't changed.
In those 13 years that IRA! went without releasing an album, you have to take into account that we were separated for 7 years, so that also takes half of that time away. Not to mention that we came back and released a project called Ira! Folk , which in a way wasn't entirely new material, but it was already a chapter in a new IRA!, right? All of this contributed to us not being in such a hurry to show yet another new album, since today we are independent artists, we don't have the pressure of fulfilling a contract, so we have the freedom to create a good collection of songs for our projects.
WM: Why, at this point in your career, did you feel the urge to release a self-titled album?
N: Ah, there are several reasons! First, we asked ourselves why not, right? Practically all bands have a self-titled album, right? Legião Urbana, The Who, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin , it's usually the first album, it's true, but since it's a new phase for IRA!, a new lineup. That was one point, the first point.
Secondly, because I think it reflects, not the feeling of the entire album, but it has some more angry, more political songs. But it's a reflection of our time, it goes along with the cover we chose as well, but we are living through a moment of crisis, conflict, and confrontation in the world. So for us it's like a portrait of an era.
And there's also a rather bizarre detail, let's say, which is that we're huge fans of The Who, right? Perhaps they're IRA!'s biggest influence, and we realized, quite coincidentally, that The Who released their twelfth studio album at the beginning of the year, and it's also our twelfth, just like us, they hadn't released anything in thirteen years, and the album's name is Who , so! (laughs) And then the fan side kicked in too, let's call this album Ira as well.
WM: So, thinking about this new phase of IRA!, what would be the main influences on the new album?
N: Look, I think there have already been experimental IRA! albums that flirted with electronic music, with hip-hop culture, there were reinterpretations of great Brazilian popular songs, and on this album, and that's also why the album is called Ira mod vibe , the English 60s scene, there are songs with a more punk , post-punk , all in that wave that was a great phase of IRA! And there's also the more lyrical, more romantic side, the ballads, songs that talk about love. So I would say that what we tried, I don't know if it worked, but what appeared to us at this moment, was not to seek any great modernity or new reference, it was just to be as IRA! as possible.
WM: One of the songs on the album that caught my attention the most is "Mulheres Na Frente da Tropa" (Women at the Front of the Troops), which is a beautiful song with an music video . What were your motivations for making a song like this at this time?
N: Look, it's not that this discussion about combating femicide and violence against women is a new issue, but in the times we live in, we've been very concerned about not appropriating someone else's agenda, you know? This is a women's struggle that men have to support, and they have to learn to be increasingly supportive and less functionally sexist. All men, all of us are [functionally sexist], some more so, some less. So this is a necessity, especially in the times we live in. And especially now that we are experiencing a regression, we saw so many important things happening in the 60s, 70s, even the 80s—counterculture, civil rights, the fight against racism—and it seems that in less than five years all of that has been pulverized, in a world that is increasingly returning to fascist, authoritarian, neo-Nazi narratives. That was a great inspiration.
And I think you can see from the video, the case of Marielle Franco moved us deeply, because behind the Marielle Franco case, which is very emblematic because it wasn't just a femicide, it was a political attack, because she was a left-wing activist, a feminist activist, and a Black woman. So, John Lennon wrote a song in which he says that women are the Black people of the world, so for us, in her case, it was very… how should I say… it was very emblematic of everything that is worst in the world, it wasn't just violence against a woman, it was a Black person, a left-wing activist, so it was a political crime, a femicide, and an act of racism. So all of this ended up being condensed into a song that we allowed ourselves to speak on behalf of women. I repeat to you: we don't want to appropriate someone else's agenda.
WM: Living in a Brazil that is so politically polarized, what has been the public's response to the music?
N: It's been really good! I mean, unfortunately we can't go on tour and experience this in a more personal way. But, when we finish an album, even though we're happy with it, you're so involved that even if you're satisfied, confident, like we were, saying 'this one is up to par with our best albums', we don't know exactly how it will be received by journalists, by fans who express themselves on social media. And we're super happy because it's perhaps one of the most unanimously praised works I've seen from IRA! so far, all the major media outlets, newspapers that are usually more critical like Folha, Estadão, Globo , because they're big outlets they tend to be a bit more critical, you know (laughs). And they all gave it top praise, and on my Instagram all the fans who follow me are very emotional. So we're very satisfied, the promotion has only just started, but the first signs we've had have all been excellent.
And for us, at this point in the game, it's a band that's about to turn 40, and we hadn't released a new album in 13 years, so there's a responsibility that we try to avoid. This idea that there's nothing left to say, that doesn't exist. In fact, you can have had great albums, won awards, but a bad album at this point in the game condemns you. So this comeback couldn't be done haphazardly. We had to show that IRA! is very much alive.
WM: Was the carefully planned production and release of this album somehow altered due to the pandemic?
N: Look, the album production, Pétala, we recorded the album last year, we did the mixing at the end of the year, and we went on vacation and we didn't intend to release the album between Christmas and Carnival, because it's a period when people are very distracted, and so on. We came back to change some things in the mix, I recorded some things on vocals, we tweaked some mixes, and then, after that, with dates set for the release, that's when this whole tragedy happened. So now we're seeing what the tour plans will be, in the best-case scenario, at the end of the year, November, December, if we don't have a new wave.
WM: And you, in a way, anticipated my last question! (laughs) A somewhat bittersweet question about what IRA!'s next plans are after this whole situation we're going through.
N: Yeah, our current plan is to stay alive! (laughs) And it's not something that depends on us, nor on whether the authorities responsibly or irresponsibly allow public activities; we don't know how the public will react to it. To give you an idea, we have shows scheduled for September, a good portion of them in public squares. Now, I'm going to get to September and they're going to say it's been moved to October, then November, so we're just hoping and hoping, and recommending to the public, listen to the album a lot, memorize the lyrics, so that when we can be together again, we're ready!
WM: Nasi, it was a great pleasure talking to you!
N: Likewise, Pétala. Is your name real or a nickname? (laughs)
WM: It's a nickname! But it's become so widespread among my friends and at work that I think it's practically become my name now. (laughs)
N: So, that's a stage name, a good name for a singer! (laughs)
