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WITCHES OF THE WEEK #23: BRATAKUS


1- Where is the band from and what's the best thing to do there?

We're from a little hill in the middle of nowhere near a village called Tomintoul in the North of Scotland.
It's pretty remote, and there isn't really much to do in the actual village. There's no music scene or anything. I think the population is about 700 people or something. The village has 3 shops, a little museum and a pub basically, haha.
But, there's a lot of nice walks here. We also really like foraging for food and it's great for things like that up here!

2- What does your band name stand for and what was the runner up?

The word Bratakus is totally made up. It was a jokey name our Dad would call us if we were behaving badly when we were younger. So, it just means the same as 'brat'. We get a lot of people asking if it's German or Latin or something!

There were actually no runners up because we decided on it kind of spur of the moment. We hadn't been a band very long and then someone asked if they could write a little piece about us cause we were a local band, and we had to quickly decide on a name so they could include it in what they were writing!

3- Describe your sound using a movie title.

Bratz: The Movie!



4- What song would describe each member of the band?

Onnagh: I Love My Dog - Aktifist

Breagha: This is Halloween - The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack

5- Name 3 bands who would headline your dream fest?

This one was so difficult to narrow down, and I think we would both have different line ups to our dream festivals, but collectively these are 3 bands we would love to see live:
Spinnerette, The Hives, Made Out of Babies.

6- Your opinion on being described as "female fronted"?

It's a doubled edged sword. On one hand, it shouldn't matter at all, it shouldn't have to be pointed out. But, on the other hand, women in music are still so underrepresented and if I'm looking through the line-up of a local gig and see that there's a female fronted band playing, it definitely catches my eye. I think we're working towards a world where people can just play music and gender doesn't have to come into it, but we're not there yet unfortunately.

7- Are you signed on a label and why?

We actually started our own label (called Screaming Babies Records) when we put out our first EP and that's what we've put every release out on ever since.
It's definitely a lot of work putting your own releases out, but we wouldn't really want it any other way.
It means we get to do everything exactly as we want it, in our own time, then put it out for a price that we think is fair.
(But our house is always filled with boxes of vinyl, haha!)

8- What's the most punk thing you've seen on tour/in a show?

We played a gig in Edinburgh with a band called Dr.VZX Moist and the microphone stopped working, so the singer tapped a toy echo mic to the mic stand and kept going!

9- The best album of all time and why?

Boris Pickett and the Crypt Kicker's The Monster Mash album is a genuine masterpiece.

10- What's the best way to support your band?

We're happy if anyone supports us in any way they can, either by buying our music, merch, coming to a gig (When they can happen again) or just by being a fan in general. We are a small DIY label, so all the money made from our music and merch sales goes straight to the label and the band and we really appreciate any support people give us.

We have a new album coming out this year, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated on that.


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