Exclusive: Mawiza Reveal Origin of Eco-Themed Collabo With Gojira Frontman
Solidarity is hardly a new concept to Mawiza, an indigenous metal/folk group born and bred in sacred Mapuche Nation lands in Chile. In 1861-’83, the military staged campaigns and an occupation of the Araucanía Region in central Chile under the Orwellian-sounding “Pacification of Araucanía.” The indigenous community had to band together if they wanted a chance to survive the military incursion. Nevertheless, the brutal invasion paved the way for notorious, U.S.-backed Augusto Pinochet’s military coup about 100 years later.
Formed in 2014, Mawiza’s stated goal — beyond concocting an entirely original sound that fuses metal with Mapuche folk music — is “to preserve ancestral roots, rescue indigenous moral values and to promote biodiversity conservation, guided by the indigenous worldview and struggle.” (Read more about the band and its mission in an interview with Mawiza vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awka, as part of our ongoing series On Tyranny.)
As Mawiza’s career progressed, the band found that another critical issue is inherent in indigenous communities valiantly attempting to preserve their culture and land: the environment. Fortuitously, the band drew attention and, subsequently, ardent support, from a band more than 7,000 miles away that is considered metal royalty across the globe: Gojira. In its lyrics for songs ranging from “Global Warming” to “Toxic Garbage Island” to the entirety of 2005’s From Mars to Sirius, the French progressive-metal band makes it a top priority to educate their fans about eco-awareness.
Mawiza and Gojira bonded even more closely when the latter band took the former one under their wing and performed together live. Cementing their friendship and admiration for each other, Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier traveled to the Mapuche community to record his featured spot on “Ti Inan Paw-Pawkan,” the first single from Mawiza’s new album ÜL, which Season of Mist issued 12 days ago.
Around the same time, The Bad Penny communicated exclusively with Awka to learn more about “Ti Inan Paw-Pawkan” and how it came about.
When did you guys meet? How long did it take before you realized you’re both political activists?
Our first connection was through our management, they had known each other for a while. I remember we had just finished our arrangement of Metallica’s Battery, that was the first thing Joe heard from us. Gojira is a big influence on us and how we approach metal. We love their music and their deep connection to the human experience and to nature. Joe saw in us the indigenous ethics that guide how we live and create, and that helped him connect with our principles.
Did you become friends primarily because of your shared views of and concerns about the environment?
The first step was opening for Gojira with Mawiza at Teatro Caupolicán in 2022. After that, we met up at a vegan restaurant and realized we had a lot in common, musically, but also in our ways of thinking.
When, why and how did you decide to record your collaboration?
We were finishing the recording of our album ÜL when the timing lined up with Gojira and Mastodon’s Monster Tour in Latin America. For us, it’s a huge honor and a big help for our music and our fight to have Joe’s energy on one of our songs.
Is there one environmental issue that you’re most concerned about, perhaps the Amazon in the case of Gojira and the decimation of tribal lands in Chile in the case of Mawiza?
We care about many sides of protecting the Earth. But we try to start with what’s closest. For example, right now our Mapuche community is under threat from a highway project that would damage local plants and animals. The way of life begins to fall out of balance, first in small ways, and then in bigger ones, like the ones you mentioned. There’s still a lot of decolonizing to do.
Do you have any more collaborative efforts like these in store, or have you at least brainstormed any?
Not really, we try to let things happen naturally. At one point, we talked about working with a traditional Mapuche artist. But time and life will bring us together with whoever it’s meant to be.
What do each of you believe it will take for climate change to be stymied before it becomes an unstoppable threat to the entire world and its inhabitants?
We need to see nature as a living being, worthy of the same respect we give to ourselves and our homes. We should learn from the land and look for self-sufficient ways to live in each territory. But above all, we believe this is a spiritual shift, a change in how we see the world. We need to place nature at the center, not the human being.
Grab a copy of ÜL on Mawiza’s Bandcamp page.
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