In the three years I’ve been running Defenders of the Faith, I’ve had the opportunity to interview metallists both young and old, from all over the globe. We’ve spoken with artists from the UK, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, and of course various regions of the good ol’ USA, but never in a million years did I imagine myself interviewing a headbanger from Botswana. However, as I’ve come to learn with this site, expect the unexpected! Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cosmos Modisaemang, drummer for power trio Skinflint. With a new album and an upcoming US tour on the horizon, Modisaemang gave us some background on the band, his influences, and life on the road with Max Cavalera.
Greetings Cosmos and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?
Cosmos Modisaemang: I’m perfect, doing great! How are you?
I’m doing great myself! Greetings all the way from Chicago, Illinois.
CM: Very nice!
For those who have never heard of Skinflint before, how would you describe the band’s music?
CM: Skinflint’s music is fresh and heavy. We are inspired by African mythology. That is what has come to define Skinflint. We tell stories.
I was going to mention that the lyrical content draws heavily from African mythology. Can you tell us about some of these myths and how they shaped the lyrical direction of this upcoming album, Hate Spell?
CM: When you use your inner ear to listen to music, especially the music that has been done by Skinflint before and the new, fresh Skinflint, we are not moving away from what we were doing before. We are still tied to that. When you look at a new song like “Sasabonsam”, it’s about a bat creature with a tail that’s sucking the blood of people.
Hate Spell is your first album with Skinflint. How did you become involved with the band?
CM: Yes, this is my first album with the band. I was in another band before. We started when I was in school. There was this teacher who used to play alone. He just played his guitar. One day, I thought I’d join him because I saw drums. We started playing and playing and playing. Then this band started doing shows together with Skinflint. For personal reasons, I had to quit the band and they moved on. Many years down the line, about 7 years, Skinflint called me to audition. They liked my audition and I joined Skinflint. We toured the States in February, 2020, just before COVID.
Speaking of COVID, whether it be from a writing or recording standpoint, in what ways did COVID impact the creative process of Hate Spell?
CM: COVID really affected a lot of musicians and everybody in general. We couldn’t do shows. We couldn’t travel. Eventually, we got to the studio and did our rehearsals. We used this time to make music, which is why we were able to do an EP that we gave out to the people for free. Then we did this album, Hate Spell, which is coming out on February 17.
Growing up, who were your favorite bands and the biggest influences on your drumming?
CM: Well when you’re a small boy, you start out listening to songs that won’t have your mom say, “Hey, what are you listening to?” *laughs* When I got to a proper age to start listening to music, I started listening to Megadeth and Iron Maiden. Nicko McBrain was a huge inspiration for my drumming. I don’t drum like him. I drum like me, but he motivates me all the time when I hear his single pedal bass drum.
Upon listening to Skinflint, the percussive element of your music is as important as the riffs and lyrics. Is it important for you to drum for feeling and atmosphere as opposed to simply keeping time?
CM: We go raw in the studio. Whatever the guitarist plays, whatever the bassist plays, or whatever I, the drummer, plays, we all feel each other. We all feed directly off the feeling of the music. If the music goes a certain way, nobody’s gonna tell me, “Go this way.” I just feel the music and deliver that way.
A couple weeks ago, the lead off single from Hate Spell, ‘Sasabonsam”, was released. Can you tell us how this song came to be and why the band felt it should be released as the first single?
CM: “Sasabonsam” was chosen to introduce the album because like I said, when we go into the studio, we play the music. We feel the music. There was nobody who said, “Cosmos, I think “Sasabonsam” should be manifested as a snake or a bat.” We feel the music and deliver it in that manner. When we have the final piece on our table, we’re like, “Wow, this is really it!” At first, I didn’t like “Sasabonsam”. When you’re a drummer, when you’re finished, you’ve been playing it all day. But now when the song is being played out there, receiving positive attitude from the fans and the people, it’s like we did this thing and it’s really amazing!
Skinflint hails from Botswana. What is the metal scene like down there? In what ways is it similar or different from other metal scenes around the globe?
CM: Generally, in Africa down to Botswana, we have a handful of rock music followers. They always come to the shows because they target this same audience. I’m not sure how to put it, but we’ve received the same audience throughout the years. We’re trying to be a little bit abroad, but within Botswana, because there are many shows that are coming that do not do rock. We can do those shows so we can hit those people and say, “Hey, can you show this guy in the lineup? Can you show that guy in the lineup?”, so that the people in Botswana can get to know their rock. They know, but they’re not interested in going to the shows. Now it’s upon us to take the music from ourselves to these people.
Speaking of taking the music on the road, I know that in just a couple of weeks, Skinflint is hitting the road in America with Soulfly again. I know Max Cavalera is a big supporter of underground metal. What’s it like touring with him and what are you most looking forward to?
CM: Oh my God! We’re really excited about this. We’re really excited to hit the road again. We’re ready to hit the stage. We’re ready to see the fans. I believe the fans are also ready to see us because it’s not our first time in America. It’s not our first time playing in Joliet at the Forge! I believe people around there are like, “Oh my God! Skinflint is coming again! They’re back with Soulfly!” Max is great and we’re so happy to be back with him. We’re really excited about this and we’re gonna give our best this time. Get ready for Skinflint. We’re going to blow your brains.
In closing, what are Skinflint’s plans moving forward into 2023?
CM: The plan is to release our new album, Hate Spell. We’re going to really push this album. We want it to reach the top numbers and we want people to hear our music. We want to deliver our music to our people. Give your people good music. Don’t just be there if you want people to listen to your music but you aren’t trying your best. Take your music out there. Make your music available to people.
What we did was make a free EP for the people. You’d put in your email and we’d send it to you. Then, any activity that was happening on the website, like when we release an album, you’ll get a notification. Everything will be available. Then you’ll get the music into your house. And we’ll be bringing the music on tour too. We can’t wait to play the Forge. Expect real madness. We’re gonna break all the drums and we’re gonna stage dive. We’re gonna mess up that place, but in a good way *laughs*!
The new Skinflint album, Hate Spell, will be out Friday, February 17. They will be playing The Forge in Joliet, Illinois with Soulfly on Friday, March 3. For more information on Skinflint, visit www.skinflintmetal.com.