The Devil's Trade - Interviews

Deutsche Version lesen Dávid Makó is a fitness trainer, martial artist and solo musician with a hardcore background. But his music at THE DEVIL’S TRADE sounds emotional and vulnerable. Makó’s answers and thoughts about his motivation to make music and to get through the Corona crisis, about the political situation in his home country Hungary and the instrument of his choice – the banjo – also show that there are many thoughts and doubts in this handsome man with the striking moustache.

Hi and thanks a lot for taking time for this interview! How are you doing?
Thank you so much for talking with me! I’m doing better now that I have a few gigs in August to prepare for, and my new album is coming out soon.

We are in the middle of strange times – what about the Corona crisis in Hungary – do you currently feel safe and comfortable in your home country?
I feel safe because I rely only on my close surroundings. Though I haven’t felt comfortable for years. As soon as you are facing the Hungarian reality it does not feel home anymore.

When did you realize that the Corona crisis would also affect you personally?
A situation like this that you have never faced before is a tricky thing when it comes to realization. No matter how bad the news are you try to stay optimistic or hopeful until it hits your life directly. It hit me when our tour with Darkher and Forndom got canceled my mother should have gone to the hospital and I had to stop to work at the gym.

And how has it actually affected you in concrete terms?
I am lucky because the emotional side was harder than the financial. I went on doing online training and my fiancée didn’t lose her job so we were safe. But as a musician playing live and as a martial artist practicing my art are crucial needs my mental health depends on them. So I got into a very dark place. But compered to so many people’s loss it isn’t worth mentioning.

Your album is still coming out now, while others have postponed their releases. Was that the decision of the label, and are you happy with it?
The decision was based on the idea that it would arrive into an emptier space. For an unknown artist just signed by a big label it makes sense. We have been sitting on this album since January and the songs were finished in last November so it is already a torture to wait so long. Also at least something is happening to me in these times of uncertainty.

The album is your debut on Season Of Mist. How did it come about that you ended up there?
It was the success of my manager Zoltan Jakab’s dedication and hard work. From 2016 my first tour as a support act he has worked on having as many prominent persons on my shows as possible. So by the time Michael asked for a three songs demo after the Oceans Or Slumber summer tour his colleagues had seen me on different stages several times. But it was the same with Roadburn too.

And what is your favourite band from their wide roster, which band are you especially proud of being label mates with now?
A few of them are very close to my heart like Der Weg Einer Freiheit. I love each one of them and can’t wait to meet them again! Tamás Kátai my fellow Hungarian artist is a real torch carrier in the meaning of walking on his own path independently and that is a heroic act itself for anyone from Hungary. Originally I am from the doom stoner and hadcore scene so being on the same label with Weedeater and Black Tusk whom I shared the stage so many times in the past is a lovely feeling. Also Crippled Black Phoenix are not only a great band but supported me so much at the beginning of this journey. Bands like Rotting Christ, Heilung, Solstafir, or musicians like Abbath who are the cornerstones of the European heavy music culture. What I achieve rarely makes me proud as success is fragile and temporary but being in the same team with Gaahls Wyrd is something that I still find hard to believe.

You practically recorded and also produced the album on your own – was that a result of the Corona crisis or a consciously chosen path?
If the goal was to create a financially successful project I would definitely ask for help from professionals. But the only reason I write and play music is because I can not not do it. I would get wretched. This is a therapy a system I created to process the destructive energies in me. So I can work only in an environment that I feel safe in. What I need is someone who can record the sound that I create and to mix it to be the closest to my live sound. I am extremely happy that one of my best friends Márton Szabó Nagyúr can do it perfectly! During the quarantine I had to do it at home on a laptop without amps, using plugins and I felt miserable.

The album sounds again very melancholic and gloomy. How would you distinguish it from your first album, what distinguishes both in character?
The difference is that I found my sound and sharpened my ways to express myself. It all happened during the tours. So it is only a better and deeper form of the same world.

A formative element of your music is the banjo. What led you to learn this instrument and to orientate your music towards it – what fascinates you about the banjo?
There is a certain way a banjo can sound and only a handful of players make it sound like it. Mostly those who don’t want to be the best players but to create a certain vibe I guess. When I hear that unique sound I am immediately dragged into the woods and smell the wet soil and the rotting leaves on it, feel the cool air and see the trees. I remember two moments when I first felt to try to create this vibe. The first one was in the extras of a bootleg Tom Waits live dvd where he was playing two songs on a banjo in a barn. And the second was in the movie Searching For The Wrong Eyes Jesus in which David Eugene Edwards was playing the banjo in the woods. Also later on an old coal miner played a song on his banjo and it broke my heart.

What are the lyrics of „The Call Of The Iron Peak“ about and how does the artwork fit into the concept?
The artwork is a part of a tale that will be finished with the next album after The Call Of The Iron Peak. It is my folktale about a crow and the apocalypse. While the artwork is a story itself the lyrics are strictly my personal notes on my journey. Or I am the crow who knows? The Iron Peak is an existing peak in the Austrian Alps. I don’t know if it has a real name but it is shining like it was iron and it is about 2000 high. I wanted to be isolated and far from my life to write songs for this album so I stayed in a hütte with my fiancée and hiked everyday. That silence and peace I found at the Iron Peak was the most complete emptiness I ever experienced. I realised this silence is what I have been searching for ever. The songs between the two versions of the title theme are about my fear anger love and even my political views.

Nowadays albums are often only considered as a promo tool to have a reason to go on tour. Does a release make sense if you can’t play any shows?
I would say records are imprints of the moments when the songs were recorded. I usually enjoy the live versions more when it comes to my favorite artists. For me it is a huge struggle to get my songs stopped in time and say that they are ready to be released. Ten minutes later I would sing it differently or use different setups. But it is the second most important way to express my world. The first one is playing live.

Cancelled shows like the Roadburn hurt a lot, I guess – do you see a chance that all this will come back in the near future, do you dare to believe in a Roadburn 2021, but also your now postponed tour to April?
I am not the right person to tell fortunes. I see everything way darker than it is and I only believe in what I am capable of making happen and that Walter and Becky and all the promoters of the tour are doing their bests to make the shows happen.

Speaking of believing: Currently there is a lot going wrong in the world, with Corona, but also politically. What gives you strength in these times, what motivates you?
I focus on the things in front of me because I find it hard to make plans – if it is not for training. I can not spend my energy on things in the future because then I fail in the present. Now that I am trying to find the answer for his question I realize how simple I am. There is only a handful of things and a few people that I care about and only they are my motivation.

You post on Facebook also very clearly political statements, support the anti-fascist action, criticize the government’s actions against index.hu. Many metal musicians want to strictly separate music and politics. Why is it important to you to spread your political thoughts also in the name of the band?
Those who try to stay away from these issues and turn their faces away only serve the oppressive power. They have their reasons and everyone has his own system to justify his decisions and usually these systems are based on fear so you can not have an effect on them. My actions are not for changing the systems but to communicate with the ones on our side. To help them feel that they are not alone. And to make myself feel that I am not alone.

Does that bear a risk in Hungary to be so „critical of the system“ or „left-wing“, either from the political side or also from the metal scene?
It depends how dangerous you can be. The legal risks are indirect and shifty most of the time so you can not say that it is a political assassination. The issue of Index.hu was the loudest so far at least it was loud enough to be heard from abroad too but social and cultural undermining has been happening for a long time and we lost so much in the last few years. Almost the whole opposition media disappeared. Theaters clubs concert halls were shut down thousands of rehearsal places have been destroyed in the last eight years and it is only the top of the iceberg. These are only those things and places that we could use to ease our pain and anger.

Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview. What comes in your mind first reading the following terms:
Donald Trump: ‚Hell is other people‘
2021: Lessons to learn
Germany: Moin! [North German Greeting]
First drink you order in a bar: Water
Your favorite album at the moment: LLNN – Deads
THE DEVIL’S TRADE in 20 years: I don’t wanna know.