First things first, tell us a little about Hijas de la Muerte. When did you all start? Who’s all in the band, and where are y’all from?
Sami: The band originally started in 2019 as a duo and then we became a trio- officially, in 2020. We have Ara Kamble on Guitar, Ohpie on Bass, and Sami Jo on Drums.
Ara is from Rockville, MD, Ohpie/Mob is from Miami FL and Sami is from West Palm Beach, FL.
Where did the name Hijas de la Muerte come from? What does it mean?
Sami: Hijas de la Muerte is based off of dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead, a Mexican traditional holiday where we celebrate the passing of our loved ones. For us, the band name is celebrating life.
Ara: We were in another band and we had a vision of celebrating our cultures and we brought that idea to this project.
Who are some of y’alls biggest influences?
Sami: Prince, The Misfits, Johnny Cash, Daft Punk, Idles, Lenny Kravitz, Pearl Jam, Chingon, Los lonely boys, and honestly lately Zeta. When we performed the same day as them at Lost in St Pete 2023 it was amazing.
Ara: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, M.I.A., The Dead Kennedys, The Misfits, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Lady Gaga, Metallica, Limp Bizkit, INXS, Gojira, Britney Spears
Mob: Bjork, Portishead, Korn, Selena, Modest Mouse, The Mars Volta, anything sad girl
How do you feel about the music scene in your hometown?
Ara: Fantastic. It’s a beautiful and unique scene but what I love about the south Florida scene is the diversity. It has a unique voice that separates it from other places especially for the Hispanic community I think the music scene isn’t all bad. I know there’s some bad points that we try to avoid but it’s a very rich scene, given everything even though people hate on it because its not northern Florida, but I think there’s a lot of love there.
Sami: It founded us and shaped us. Love the bands like Obsidian, Folktale San Pedro, Poontickler, Scattered reality, Fuakata. Now we are in Orlando and loving bands like Caustic Bats, Rose Madder…
Mob: The Miami scene is still in decent shape despite our home venues closing left and right. I’m personally hoping the south Florida scene has a revival. We lost awesome places to play like Las Rosas and Churchills but we still have Naomi’s Garden, Bar Nancy, and Gramps kind of keeping it alive in Miami and in Broward and Palm Beach there’s Respectable Street, Ginger’s Bar, and Propaganda, thankfully.
When was your first PUNK BLACK show?
We could definitely say it was November 2, 2020- The virtual tour. It was really fun to do considering everyone was in quarantine. October 10 of 2021 we did have the privilege of playing in Atlanta and it was incredible. The vibe was immaculate.
What’s your favorite PB band you’ve performed with?
Sami: The Rack, Being Hvman, Lesibu Grand, Concrete God, and Pilot Jonez
Ara: Pilot Jonez, Concrete God
Mob: The Rack, Concrete God, Nev.amour. I love women with big voices.
Tell us about your new album “Homenaje”. What’s the story behind the album, how was your process putting it together?
Ara: Homenaje, to me, its paying homage to people who have passed, and people who are no longer in our lives and this album in particular was a culmination of events and transformation as a result of our loss and paying homage to the people who have passed and in honor of them because we loved them.
Sami: A therapeutic way for me to express myself while going through a difficult change and dealing with the loss of my father in early 2021. Working on Homenaje helped me process the new changes in my life.
Mob: For me, it’s me saying goodbye to people who are no longer in my life and closing a very tumultuous chapter. I wanted to allude to things that hurt me and let them go.
What genre would you put the album in?
Sami: Grunge rock
Ara: Grunge, post-punk
Mob: Post Punk, Alternative
Do you all have anything coming up soon? (Music video, another album, tours, shows etc)
Ara: Other than the mini tour? The music video, the ep release…
Sami: We want to tease about a tour we have coming soon…
Mob: we plan to release a video soon after the album drops. We have a lot of shows lined up, not only Florida and I cant wait till we can announce them.