UK / Swiss prog metallers Toloache are named, rather aptly, after the fabled hallucinogenic plants used in rituals by Mexican shamans. Drawing a parallel between such intense experiences and the complex, progressive music they create, Toloache recently captured the attention with the release of “Watching Close” (10th Sept), a track that takes a hard look at the overconsumption of media to which we all fall victim. With the single still ringing in our ears, we were lucky enough to catch up with singer Andrina Travers who talked us through the formation and development of the band.
The name of the band seems designed to elicit interest, even from the casual listener. What initially drew your interest to Toloache?
Toloache is a plant that is used during rituals by shamans, and it’s known for its intense hallucinations. Some say that when it’s used as a love poison it will either work or kill you straight away. We love that extreme contrast because we saw ourselves and our music in that. For example, when you look at the fact that the guitars are super heavy, but the vocals are soft at times. Or when you look at how I absolutely love metal but also obsess over Taylor Swift and all her albums every day.
The promotional materials reference Andrina’s upbringing in a Swiss forest “surrounded by witchcraft, tarot and crystals”. That kind of upbringing must provide an amazing muse?
I am definitely very lucky that my parents’ backyard is basically a forest, so I spent a lot of time there as a child, connecting with nature. My aunt would lay tarot cards for me when I was upset or needed guidance and my grandparents taught me a lot about crystals and other things that still inspire me daily.
How did you come to start writing with Dennis Russ?
I had already known Tommy Vetterli since I was 12 years old and him and me went for dinner and drinks in Zurich. That’s when he told me about Dennis for the first time and how we could be a great match musically. We then organised another dinner but this time with Dennis (and a lot of wine) and already started writing together two days after that.
Having veteran musicians like Tommy Vettereli on board must have made the process of developing the music easier – how did he come to be involved and did you have specific people in mind when you started formally working on the project?
I must have been at Tommy’s Studio for the first time when I was around 12. I used to do pop music and Tommy did a few Mixes for me (we are talking about proper Britney music here!). I remember him showing me some of the Metal stuff he did, and I remember thinking that he was one of the coolest people I ever talked to, different than everyone else I worked with in the industry. We stayed good friends over all those years, and I don’t even want to know how many times I called him to ask for advice because I was overwhelmed by the music industry. When I decided to start a new project, I knew that the only producer I wanted to work with for Toloache was Tommy.
The single, Watching Close, deals with the seeming addiction people have to 24-hour news, disaster, and tragedy. While fertile ground for song lyrics, it’s a difficult topic with which to engage without becoming preachy – how did you initially approach the lyrics and then develop them to the point that they handled the topic in a way with which you were comfortable?
When I started to write those lyrics, I wasn’t in a very good place mentally. I was working like a lunatic and then went on a bender whenever I had the chance to distract myself from my thoughts. At this time, I was exhausted from scrolling on social media, weird tinder dates and the paralyzed woman I had become in general. The only person I really talked to was Dennis, so a lot of our writing sessions were super long chats about social media addiction, obsessing about news and tragedy, online dating and so on, and we decided to pack it into the songs we wrote. We were never worried that it could be too preachy because that was never our intention in the first place.
Writing from a dark place can be hard but, presumably it’s also a form of catharsis for you wherein you can effectively purge those emotions from your system?
Exactly. And this is probably why I never wrote one happy song in my entire life.
Who developed the artwork for the single? The hazy image for the cover is both atmospheric and enigmatic – it sets the tone neatly for the music within?
The photographer for “Watching Close” is called Manon Ouimet and she is incredible. As soon as I saw her work, I knew she was a perfect match. Her and her partner Jacob then also directed the music video which I couldn’t possibly love more. Now we are already planning the “visual work” for our next single!
One of the aspects I’ve always enjoyed about progressive music is the way the videos, art and packaging is a part of the experience of the album – was that something you had in mind from the outset and is it something with which you engaged as music fans?
Yes, definitely. As soon as we wrote the first song for Toloache I already got excited and had a million ideas in my head of how to express ourselves in photos and in the video. Progressive music is such a journey and I love how much room it offers for creativity.
People often talk about musical influences for bands, but it’s interesting to consider other influences such as nature, architecture and literature – are there elements that are important to you as songwriters in which you find inspiration beyond contemporary events?
I think one of the things that inspire me most are Conversations with people.
Obviously, everyone reacted to the various lockdowns in their own way, but did you find that the situation, although challenging, provided inspiration and space in which to work on the studio side of things?
I packed up a car and moved to London with only my dog during the pandemic in Summer 2020. It was a very odd time but of course also exciting. I had all the nice parks in London to explore, wrote songs and recorded ideas in my living room. Now looking back, I really enjoyed the fact that I was finally able to breathe, away from everything I’ve ever known back home. I needed that. Tommy’s’ studio is in Zurich and the problem was, that there was still a bit of vocal recording to do and they needed me in person for that. Due to the pandemic, I couldn’t fly back for months which is also why we released “Watching Close” way later than planned.
What are the next plans for the band?
We are releasing our next single pretty soon, so I am super excited for that. We won’t play live before 2022, but I can’t wait for that. Honestly, I’ve been in the industry since I was a child and I have always been quite obsessed with planning everything out and setting specific goals – this time I just want to enjoy and see where it goes.
Thank you for your time – any final words?
Thank you so much for your support and for having me!
