3 minute read
Chovu. Interview with Lord Preston
Interview by Andrew Stanton
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- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?
“Hi I’m Chovu vocalist, Lord Preston. Our band is a fouryear-old project give or take, we are pioneers of blackened doom and death in Kenya, we are a five-piece band based in Kajiado and Nairobi, towns in Kenya.
- What bands did you like growing up?
“I happen to know influential bands for our members which are hundreds but I can strongly highlight Darkthrone, Tool, Carpathian Forest, Tsjuder, Toxic Holocaust, Moonspell, Obituary, Bathory, Sarcofago among others.”
- Is Black Metal hard to discover in Africa?
“Africa has a lot of Black Metal, maybe because our cultures are full of voodoo and witchcraft and embracing darkness, in Kenya Death Metal was more common which is why Chovu took the sword of darkness.”
- What are your lyrics about?
“Chovu lyrics are about sorcery, traditional tales, folk tales and mythical stories borrowed from African traditional cultures. We even push an effort to use local and native language.”
- What other African bands should our readers check out?
“Let’s see African bands to recommend; Irony Destroyed, Seeds of Datura, Overthrust, Raven in Flesh, Osy Mainty, Boiling Point, Last Year’s Tragedy, among others, once you listen to these you’ll find the underground scene here.”
- What is your opinion on Satanic bands?
“Satanic bands are cool they show rebellion through art, I mean better than using bombs and guns right, Satanic bands open the mind past the moral fence not that a person be trapped to it but to realize the diversity of the world, ure bands should once on a while tease a provocation to expand field of imagination.”
- Have you toured much around Africa? Do your live shows go down well?
“We are yet to tour outside Kenya, we have been invited to shows but being underground finances hold us back from achieving, the Metal scene in south of Africa region is godly and active, we did a local tour in Kenya it was hell on earth, self-funded, we were homeless hungry and stranded in new towns, Metal in Kenya is still growing still something new to a lot of the population, but we are increasing the scene.”
- What does Chovu mean?
Chovu is native dead Swahili meaning Kiovu’’ something bad. Dead languages and traditions are what we are all about, and they are dead for being perceived to be bad.”
- How did the collaboration with The Witch happen?
“Collaboration with The Witch happened when Jay Pee approached Chovu inbox and had a conversation with me about his label and projects, as time went by we each shared our projects with each other and before we knew it, we were down for a collaboration, The Witch offered a single to collaborate on, Phantoms in the Dark, and after that collaboration, we became brothers in Metal.”
- Do you have a message for our readers?
“Message for the readers? Chovu is an effort supporting every underground initiative and watching how the march from the darkness leads to the light.”
