There are very particular stories within metal and one that has attracted attention in recent days is that of the Serbs Fernando Colunga Ultimate Experience, who suddenly rose to fame in our country for using the name of an actor well known for being the hero of several of those night soap operas that had such a projection among the 90-year-old ladies.
Notes, television appearances, memes and more memes made the band's visibility grow in Mexico, so much so that even a fan club already has - although we don't know how "seriously it is", since not even the band itself take herself seriously. Taking advantage of the mame's train, we were able to contact the singer Antonio JovanovAnd to ask him how he feels about being the new pride band on the national scene ... or something like that.
How did you know the name of Fernando Colunga and why did you decide to integrate it into your project?
When Stefan [guitarist] and Marko [bassist] asked me if I wanted to enter a grindcore project, the main question was what kind of project we wanted to do. We didn't want to do something typical within the subgenre, so we decided to create something much more entertainment-oriented. At that time, Latin American soap operas were very popular in Serbia, so we made the decision to do a fun parody of them. Mr. Colunga appeared in almost all of them, and his name sounded perfect to fit the project.
The phenomenon they have caused on the Mexican scene was enormous, they even appeared on TV. Did you expect it?
Not at all! Not for a second did we think that something like this could happen. In the end, it all started as a joke, an alternate project of the three. Marko and I were in the Melodic Death band called 'Scar Process' while Stefan had a post-punk band called 'Pripjat'. FCUE was conceived as a single demo project, but then in 2010 we released a couple of singles. Even after we released our album 'Toxic Hog Cult' we knew that nobody would make us almost, not even within Serbia. We did not promote or anything, nor did we send our material to the media. Sure, we had our fans, but nothing really special.
Then after they started making memes, interest in the band spread like fire. Even now we are not sure how big the hype is about the band.
Aside from his obvious taste for Fernando Colunga, how much more do they know about Mexican culture?
The truth is not much, to be honest. We know that their food is spicy, that they put sauce on everything, about mariachis, tequila and all those things that appear on television or that we see in movies or that we can read in the newspapers.
Serbia is not so well known for its metal scene, what local bands can you recommend us to listen to?
In fact we believe that there are parts of the world where the Serbian scene is totally unknown! But trust me when I tell you that we have a lot of extraordinary bands made up of wonderful musicians. Many have already started touring Europe or even reached places like the United States or Canada. It would be impossible to name them all but I recommend The Stone, May Result, Zloslut, Triumfall, Bane, Asymmetry, CounterIgnition, Forever Storm, Deca apokalipse, Mud Factory, Vicery, Sacramental Blood, Elio Rigonat, Twisted Tales, Madvro, Kolac, Quasarborn , Kolaps, Ritam nereda, Alogia, Psychoparadox, Burning Circle ...
How would you describe from your point of view the entire FCUE project as a concept?
I think you should go to FCUE in two different eras. The first one focused on grindcore and our first and third demo. At the time, the songs were fast, brutal, and mostly with fun lyrics based on soap operas. The second era revolves around death metal - on our second demo - and death 'n' roll - on our first album and everything that follows. We have a couple of songs with fun lyrics, "Colungalingus" and "Stevenology" - about Steven Seagal, everyone else has much more serious lyrics. It was natural to make that change, both musically and lyrically. We felt that a switch to a different metal sub-genre would fit in well with a silly name like ours.
"Fernando Colunga would win a fight against Chuck Norris, we already saw him fight and it shows that he is well prepared."
They have never played live, 'will they start now and perhaps plan a visit to Mexico taking advantage of their new fame?
We all play live with our other bands, but never like FCUE. During 2013 and 2014, we had a couple of rehearsals with two drummers, but something didn't work, we didn't understand each other well. And after that, we decided to put FCUE on indefinite hiatus. Meanwhile, we have released 3 new demos and had a couple of compilation appearances and parted a few more times, but nothing outside of that.
It would be nice to find a drummer and try playing live, at least in our hometown. And of course we would like to play in Mexico, to show our gratitude in person to all these wonderful people who have shown us true support and love. But, I suppose we'll see another time.
We also found out that they will release new material in June…
Yes, we already have a new song in preparation and in fact most of the recording is already done. I will record my vocals next week, while Stefan will add some riffs when I finish my part. The mixing will take place after that, so we hope to present it at the end of the month.
They have said that Fernando Colunga is the Mexican Chuck Norris, who would win if they cling to madzos?
Obviously, Fernando Colunga! Not only because Chuck Norris is older - even if you never underestimate older people, they always have an ace up their sleeve [laughs], but Mr. Colunga has a lot of experience in those matches, we already saw him grab beatings in his soap operas and it shows that much was prepared for it.
What would you like to say to your new Mexican fans?
As FCUE members we feel honored, grateful and humble before you, the incredible people of Mexico and other Latin American countries. You have shown us a lot of love, your comments make us laugh a lot, we love your good wishes and your messages full of support left us speechless and make us incredibly happy.
We will do our best to release not only this new song, but a few more to show our gratitude. Stay positive, behave well and be good to each other. Thank you very much! Applause to all of you!
