By Jason Jordan
What is your name? What are your band duties?
Dendura. Our band duties are to compliment one another and to be a unity.
I began my review of New Life by mentioning everyone’s favorite Egypt-lovin’ metallers Nile. What do you think about their preoccupation with Egyptian culture? Do you find it odd that no one in the band has any formal ties to the country, or has ever been there? Nevertheless, do you like their music?
Nile. I heard of them for years but never listened to them till earlier this year. I bought the CD
Annihilation of the Wicked. I believe Karl Sanders is an Egyptologist. I don’t find it odd that no one has been to the country, though I heard Karl has. I don’t know him so I cannot answer that. You can hear the Egyptian sound in their intros mostly, and occasionally in a solo. I think they are incredible musicians and have a great thing going for them. Obviously…as for them not being actual Egyptians or from that country does not seem strange to me. As long as someone knows what they’re doing when combining the music and lyrics into their writing, that’s all that matters to me. They know what they are doing.
Have you ever visited Egypt?
I have never been to Egypt. It is my dream to go, though. I have dreams of visiting the Alexandria and Cairo all the time.
Have you ever been out of the country? If so, why’d you go to the destinations you went to?
No. I had a chance to go to Tivoli Italy with my Nona (g-ma in Italian) though something came up for me. She goes every other year. When
Dendura was born, we immediately used the Egyptian sound (I’m part Egyptian, Lebanese & Italian) into our music. Ancient Egyptian music uses lures, sistrums and wooden harps, but we don’t actually use those types of instruments so we aren’t “REAL” Egyptian music. We use scales that give it that sound. I have always been fascinated with the culture and read constantly about the history and mythology of Egypt. Plus, a part of it is in my blood, though I never had the luxury of being there.
Being a female in metal definitely has its stigmas. What are some things people assume about you, and how do you combat those assumptions?
The only thing I have experienced is some people saying they think women shouldn’t sing in metal. If there are other assumptions out there, I haven’t heard them and I don’t really pay attention to negativity anymore.
I find it interesting that the songs of Dendura have landed spots on various movie soundtracks. How did that originally happen? Do you find yourself pursuing directors for soundtrack inclusion, or are you the ones usually approached?
The first movie we received was a film called
Buck Moon. This movie is now being redone, though we still have our soundtrack deal. Then after we had that one, we got in the paper and other filmmakers approached us. It’s like a snowball effect. I later was cast in a film called
Broken as a heroine junkie and we have our song “I Have a Gun” in that film, too. All the leads actors are singers.
I don’t mean to keep harping on the “female metalhead” concept, but it’s not every day that I get the chance to talk to an actual female metalhead in a band! Anyway, I’d like to ask you what you think about each of the following female-fronted bands:
Arch Enemy
Lacuna Coil
Madder Mortem
Tapping the Vein
Walls of Jericho
Honestly, I myself don’t listen to a ton of female metal bands. I know that’s strange, but it’s mostly because I am in one too and don’t want to consciously get them in my mind, then sound like them. Out of this list here, I have heard of all these bands except
Madder Mortem.
Arch Enemy are good musicians and
Lacuna Coil are really ethereal and unique. I think Cristina Scabbia has an awesome voice.
Which label or labels have you been eyeing? Which one do you think you’d fit in with the most?
We haven’t been eyeing any labels really. But I will say, Century Media is one I think we would fit best with.
Do you consider New Life to be completely finished? To pose a similar question, if you were signed, do you think you would revisit New Life and spruce up the production, artwork, and perhaps even length?
On an independent level,
New Life is finished. If we were to be signed to a label, they would make us redo it with more budget and bring in a producer for those little things we didn’t think of. I am very proud of it, though we did do it on a limited budget. The band wanted to produce it themselves being this is our debut album, though Steve Hopton (producer) wanted to produce the whole band. I ended up using him for those little things I didn’t think of. Little things that make a world of difference. I’m sure we would have added about 3 to 4 more songs to the album as well. With the artwork, we could have filled up more of the space in the layout and put in all the lyrics instead of pre-choruses and choruses.
Dendura, as a whole, have received a fair amount of good press. Do you like rating scales in general? If New Life doesn’t fare too well in that department, does it make you want to improve in certain areas?
We always want to improve. There is always more to learn. With rating scales, everyone has a right to their opinion and you take the things they say constructively and think about it. But you cannot dwell on it. Live and learn.
New Life so far is selling mostly in Egypt, Brazil and Italy and at our shows. Mike (bass), Steve (guitar) and I have been together for 2 years. Duffy (drums) joined in September. Things are progressing now that we have a stable drummer.
Is there anything I haven’t covered that you’d like to address? Last words are yours!
If you’d like more information please visit us at
www.dendura.com and see our most recent movies. You can hear 2-minute samples at this site off the full album,
www.cdbaby.com/cd/dendura . If you’re new to being in a band and dealing with drama, remember to take things with a grain of salt. You have to believe in yourself or you’re doomed for failure. As long as you’re not being ignored in this business, you’re doing ok!
UM’s Review of Dendura – New Life
Official Dendura Website
