Cathubodua

This year there are FemME Battles again with preliminaries in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. And I will introduce you to the bands which go to the Finals. I will do so by asking all of the bands the same questions. So, you have the same information about all the bands which are in the Finals.

The next one is ‘Cathubodua’, winner by audience of the “Belgium Battle”.

Thank you very much ‘Cathubodua’ for answering the questions.

First of all, can you tell us something about the name of your band, ‘Cathubodua’? What does it mean and which one of you came up with this name?

‘Cathubodua’ is the name of Gaulish war goddess, who is half woman, half crow. Katrien came up with the name as it really fits our epic symphonic metal with some folk influences.

Adding to that, we often use a crow skull symbol for the band’s promo material to refer to this goddess!

What can you tell us about the history of the band?

The very first ‘Cathubodua’ rehearsel took place in 2013, ages ago, after Katrien posted a request for musicians for a folk metal band on an online forum. None of us played in a real band before and we had to rehearse a lot.

But we had also to find our way into the Belgium music landscape before we could start performing. And our first performance in 2015 looked quite different from what we do know.

In 2016 we released an EP, ‘Opus I: Dawn’, with 4 full songs. And our bookings came up fast so we have to play between 15 and 30 gigs a year since then. And we love to play live!

Of course, during the years some of our ex-members have parted ways with us or decided to pursue different paths. Katrien and Sara were with the band from the first rehearsal. As we didn’t have a bass player then, let’s consider Peter as an “original” too. Kenny joined us quite early on, and has found a great mate in Kyron who joined us in 2017. Our drummer Ricardo is brand new, actually the FemME preliminary was only his third show with us!

Please introduce yourself to us. Who are you, which instrument(s) do you play and about your musical background.

Kenny and Kyron are our jolly guitar players. While Kenny takes more care of the rhythm sections, Kyron pulls off a little more solo work. They are relentlessly supported by Peter on bass.

Our drummer Ricardo is a mean machine who is also teaching drums and performing in ‘The bracket Percussion Ensemble’.

Sara takes care of te vocals, while Katrien is the violinist and musical mastermind behind the music and orchestrations.

Which one of you is “responsible” for the songs (lyrics and music)?

As I mentioned before, Katrien writes most of the songs and orchestrations. Sometimes someone comes up with a cool riff and we work together from there. Vocal lines and lyrics are all written by Sara.

Did you release any records already and can you tell something about them?

Yes! In 2016 we released the EP ‘Opus I: dawn’. It has 4 songs and an introduction. It takes you along historical and magical themes- a bit of exploring on our hand.

This year (2019) should mark the release of a full length album…..but that’s for us to know, and for you to find out!

Are you full time musicians or do you have other jobs also?

Apart from Ricardo, who is a freelance musician and teacher, we all have “normal” daytime jobs. It’s good to have an accountant in the band too, that makes life a bit simpler now and then…..

Can you describe your music? How would you call it?

Epic symphonic metal, with some folk influences.

Are you influenced by other bands?

We are influenced by some folk bands as ‘Eluveitie’ and ‘Turisas’, but also more epic bands as ‘Rhapsody of Fire’, ‘Nightwish’ and ‘Epica’.

What was your most cool gig so far?

That’s a very difficult question because we have a lot of great memories together in a lot of different venues. Often we are amazed by the appreciation of the audience, the kindness of the organizers and the friendship between the bands.

If I have to pick one, that would be the ‘Elfia’ 2018. The organization was splendid, the food great, the sun was shining and the audience clearly enjoyed it! But we can enjoy the intimacy of smaller bars as well!

Is there a band you want to go on tour with?

There are so many! Most of them because we think we would fit together well or because they have inspired us in our music. ‘Fleshgod Apocalypse’, ‘Rhapsody’ (any Rhapsody that is), ‘Finntroll’, ‘Ancient Bards’, ‘Turisas’, ‘Dimmu Borgir’………just to name some big ones.

What do you think of FemME?

FemME is a great initiative to show that metal does not have to be dominated by males. That women are just as capable to make amazing music, in every subgenre metal has to offer.

To have this summarized into a wonderful festival that everyone can enjoy is a great idea.

Are you looking forward to come to The Netherlands?

Well, for us is travelling to the Netherlands not a big deal as we come from the center and north of Belgium. But it will be exciting to meet new bands, friends, and fans! If we can grab some Dutch cuisine during that time (did someone say stroopwafels?) our time will only be more magnificent.