TRAUNOMAFEST

There are several national festivals of Extreme Metal that take place during the year, but there are hardly any charity proposals. Traunoma Fest is one of them, so we got in touch with their thinking heads Fran (organizer of the Noma Fest) and Raúl (organizer of Trauma Fest) to find out a little more about this charity event.

First of all, thank you very much for your time. Let's start with the typical introduction questions. Introduce yourself a little and how you got into the world of organizing concerts.

Fran: My love of putting on concerts comes from my addiction to music, and more specifically to the extreme. The first concert I put on, the 2004 Noma Fest, was inspired by the Trauma Fest of that same year. The idea was to make a festival of extreme music, unlike the Trauma only of national bands, with the groups that I liked the most from the national scene.

Raúl: I have been organizing concerts, individually and collectively, for about twenty years. In his day, we talked about 1990-1991, either you had your own concerts or you didn't play anywhere. And that's where it all started. I got a taste for it, I accumulated experience working for professional promoters, and I ended up carrying out my own events and tours.

In the last edition of the Noma Fest, in terms of attendance, it did not work at all well, the Trauma Fest itself. How come there was no continuation of the festival, Raúl?

Raúl: Because the years don't go by in vain and I no longer have the same passion or the same desire to continue risking money and to continue spending hours and hours on all the preparations and details that surround a festival like Trauma Fest. I don't make a living out of it but I only know how to deal with it from a "professional" perspective, that is to say, serious, responsible, organized and coordinated. And that exhausts a lot emotionally and physically.

How did the idea of doing a charity festival come about? And to join for it?

Fran: Some time ago I proposed to mount something to Raúl. After seeing him at a concert, I reminded him and he called me a few days later, commenting on the idea. I thought the idea of setting up something with national and foreign groups seemed great and also being able to help someone who is having a really bad time.

Raúl: Well, as Fran says. He proposed it to me in his day and he reminded me a couple more times, but the truth is that at that time I was not in the business of co-organizing anything with anyone. It is very difficult for me to delegate responsibilities to another person / s because my tendency is not to trust the performance and involvement of people. Experiences to think that way I already accumulate a few. But this year, however, that Fran told me about it again reactivated me and I decided to try my luck since, although it is a charity event with the risk of economic loss reduced to its minimum expression, I did not see myself with the strength or the will to carry with all the work by myself. The idea of charity itself came from me and my concern for the situation of Dennis, a person for whom, in a relatively short time, I have developed enormous affection.

In case anyone is still clueless, who is Dennis Dunn and what unites you to create such an event?

Raúl: Dennis Dunn is a Canadian in his early forties who was, more or less, in charge of the street promotion of the Wild Rags label (Impetigo, Blasphemy, Nuclear Death…) back in Canada. I met him a little over a year ago because he was selling a lot of original vintage records. When I say outrageous I mean both the quantity and the quality of those records. I bought him several times and little by little we were gaining confidence and talking about more things. One day I asked her why she had given up selling such jewelry and she told me about her fucking medical situation, both physical and mental. He is a man with a bascular pathology that affects the rest of his body and that, among other things, prevents him from working on a regular basis. Without work there is no money. Without money you cannot afford treatment or medicine. So he began selling all kinds of belongings and possessions until he reached his beloved record collection. And yet the expenses always far exceed the income, which made him develop other pathologies such as anxiety and depression. I was sending him money on a monthly basis and even several friends of mine also sent him money, but it was still not nearly enough. So one day I came up with the charity fundraiser to send to Dennis. That is the broad story: trying to raise as much money as possible so that he can hold out for a good season.

Is it a festilogoekuval exclusive for groups of Crust, Grind and derivatives?

Fran: In principle it is open to all the groups that we like and that make extreme music. But the charitable nature of the event, and the fact that the groups will not charge caches, only the costs of transport, food and accommodation, take us away from some styles in which it is not very "fashionable" to do that. Honestly, I can't imagine "Nile", for example, collaborating on something like that. Although who knows.

Raúl: I will say it even more clearly: the extreme-metal groups that are large enough, which are the ones that we would need to try to obtain the maximum possible benefit for the cause, pass on these types of stories because there is no money involved. It is what the world of Ruacanrrol has and what the world of Punk lacks. That is why I very much doubt that any later edition will stylistically turn towards extreme Metal. The Traunoma Fest is an exclusive event for musicians with heart and empathy who want to do their bit to help financially individuals / groups / causes in need.

I have seen in the official forum of the festival that you are already planning the next edition without having held the first. Isn't it a bit hasty?

Fran: No, I don't think so. The intention is to continue it.

Raúl: No, because the expenses to be covered are minimal and there will be a profit yes or yes. Much or little, but it will come out. It would be hasty in the event that it was a non-charity event that depended on covering expenses. But is not the case.

And speaking of future plans, have you thought of organizing it in other places?

Fran: No, we haven't talked about it. In principle it will always be in Madrid.

Raúl: It would not seem prudent to me because here, in Madrid, is where we know how to move and we have absolute control of all aspects that affect the production of the festival. Organizing it elsewhere would mean having to depend on third parties. And that's something that makes me itch just thinking about it.

By way of marujeo, is it a state secret or is it possible to know the groups that, for various reasons, have not been part of the definitive cartel?

Raúl: It's not that it's a state secret, but I prefer to keep a prudent silence about it because many of the bands that are not on the bill are because they haven't been able to, even while on the job. That means that for next year or later editions it will be possible to try again if it is possible by then. Let's keep the mystery, which is always nice, hehehe.

What would have been your perfect line-up if there were no financial limits?

Fran: Captain Cleanoff, GridLink, Looking For An Answer, Wolfbrigade, Phobia, and Unsane Crisis.

Raúl: The economic limitations above all affect when it comes to bringing non-European bands, because even if they don't charge for playing, their travel expenses make it unfeasible to invite them to participate. At the end of the day, the goal is to get the maximum amount of profit possible to allocate it to the cause in question. To name a few, Phobia, Coffins, Pig Destroyer, Unholy Grave ...

Come on, sell us the festival for those who don't know it. What can be found in it? Introduce ourselves to the bands with a few words.

Fran: I think it is a quite original festival for what is usually given around here. with mythical bands that have been in this for a few years and with Spanish bands of a high level.

Yacöpsae : Pure hysteria and grindcoreta surgery.

Nashgul : An old-school grindcore with nothing to envy from outside bands.

El Kaso Urkijo: Just being able to say that you've seen these insane freaks already deserves the entry.

Under Vultures : Young band of very extreme grindcore-death in which the Human Mincer drummer plays.

Raúl: The festival is going to be an orgy of dreadlocks, manes and crests, having fun together with very special bands on stage. I sincerely believe that the atmosphere will be absolutely playful-festive-freak and that even people who do not have a father of these musical styles could even have a good time. About the three bands that Fran has left me:

Extinction Of Mankind: First-rate metallic crust with attitude.

Hellbastard: Rabid and combative Crust / Thrash by a mythical band within the roll.

Deviated Instinct: direct inheritors of fundamental bands like Amebix or Antisect. The Stenchcore made band. Very very mythical.

And finally, apart from organizing concerts, do you have any other projects? Group, distributor ...

Fran: I sing in Under Vultures and I have in mind to start releasing the odd cd or vinyl.

Raúl: I run a label / distributor called Memento Mori. The distributor has been operating for a few months now. The label, however, will debut next October with two simultaneous old-school Death Metal releases. More info, shortly, visiting www.memento-mori.es

Thank you very much for the interview, Xènia, and a greeting to all the readers. In grind we crust!