DOGWHISTLE - Whistle Your Truth !!! (Canada - Post-HardCore - Interview with Mariful Alam & Kenley Meredith Ku)
- Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
MA: I was lucky to grow up with an older brother who introduced me to alternative and heavy music at a really young age. This was the early ’90s, and I still remember the first mix tape my brother brought home: Slayer on one side, Metallica on the other. From there, we began discovering all kinds of bands.
We subscribed to magazines like Metal Hammer and R.I.P., and found new music through MTV, MuchMusic, and VH1. But when we discovered hardcore punk, it felt completely different. No rock star mentality. DIY ethics. No stage barriers. You could talk to a band right after their set. Anyone could start a band and play these shows. That sense of community is what really drew me into actively playing music.
KMK: To be perfectly honest, I first got into hardcore in high school because I wanted to impress a boy I went to musical theatre camp with. My ploy didn’t work, but it led me to fall in love with all sorts of weird heavy music—the passion, the creativity, the community, the political outspokenness, and most of all the DIY ethos. It felt like the first time I was exposed to art and artists that weren’t chickenshit.
I never saw myself being in a band, though. I think I always assumed that actually making hardcore was not for frilly little queer kids? But then my mid-20s hit and I realized that I should just do whatever I want. I had spent the last decade of my life trying to establish footholds in other creative practices, none of which really went anywhere. I drifted back into the world of hardcore, screamo, noise, etc because I felt I had nowhere else to be. And thank god I did—coming back home to the Island of Misfit Toys gave my life newfound clarity and purpose.
- Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
MA: I met Hank (our bass player) at a police station in April 2024, while we were doing jail solidarity for a union worker who had been arrested. At the time, I hadn’t played in a band for a while, and Hank had just left his. We both wanted to start a hardcore band, specifically, a political hardcore band. Given the state of the world (rising fascism, vast economic inequality, ecological destruction etc) we wanted to start a band that could be used as a vehicle for social change and awareness. The idea was to also do something a little bit different musically. Once this concept and idea was formed, Hank recruited Jaeden (our drummer), and eventually Nate (other guitarist) and Kenley (vocalist) joined. While we all had varying levels of experiences before starting dogwhistle, something about the diversity and vastly different backgrounds just clicked. For example, I had already played in multiple bands for well over 20 years when dogwhistle started, whereas this is Kenley’s second band, and her background was in arts/dance/theatre.
KMK: Agreed! Individually, all five of us have really unique lore—organizing experience, theory, writing, filmmaking, musicianship, and so on. For me, it feels like a huge treat to work on a project where everyone brings something interesting to the table. Seriously, my bandmates are the 4 coolest people I’ve ever met. I feel like I’m in the Power Rangers sometimes.
- Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
MA: I don’t think anyone needs to listen to our band at all costs. We accept that our music isn’t for everyone. But for those who are open-minded and enjoy heavy music, we play a groove-oriented style that’s a bit different from what’s out there right now. We’re not claiming to be original, but we draw from a wide range of influences and styles that I think makes us somewhat unique, which can be appealing to a wider audience.
- Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
MA: As I noted earlier, the musical inspirations and influences are wide ranging. Obviously hardcore/punk bands, but also noise rock, grunge, shoegaze, screamo, post-metal/sludge, alt-rock, post-punk etc.
KMK: Lyrically, dogwhistle songs have so far been about framing the violent oppression and injustice that marginalized people face as horror stories. Like, I wrote “brokenwindowsbloodyhands” after Hoss Lightning was killed by the exact same Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers he called to help him in his hour of need, the same officers to whom he handed over his weapons seconds before being shot. And that was one of a series of horrific murders of Indigenous people by RCMP officers last fall. Imagine being killed after complying with the police force of a government that has forcibly and violently imposed itself onto your land. That’s horrifying. And what the fuck are we as settlers, who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of this colonial state, doing about it? Me writing a song sure as hell won’t undo the violence or make things whole again, but…it’s something.
- About your latest release ?
MA: We recorded and mixed with Jesse Turnbull at Taurus Recording in Toronto and mastered the record with Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Massachusetts. You can buy it on our Bandcamp, and it’s also available on all major streaming platforms (spotify, tidal, apple etc).
- Future plans ?
MA: Right now we are focusing on writing new music, with the goal of releasing another record middle of next year, along with maybe a split or two with other bands. We didn’t expect to get such a positive response to our debut EP, so we didn’t exactly think about the possibility of touring so soon, but I hope we’ll be in a position to at least tour across Canada and the United States next year, since that is technically easier for us. But with all the bullshit going on in the US right now, I’m not sure that will happen, so we might instead think about touring the UK and Europe instead of the US, when the time is right.
- Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
MA: My dream would be to tour Asia - places like Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. But also, I would love to tour South America, places like Brazil and Argentina.
KMK: Seconding Asia! Especially the Philippines. Or playing with any of the crazy crust-y screamo bands coming out of Spain at the moment. But number one dream would be bringing the band back home with me to Hawai’i.
- Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
MA: We’ve only been a band for about a year and a half, if not less, and we’ve only been playing shows for about 7 or 8 months. We’ve been fortunate to play a lot of concerts in that time, but I must admit the worst I can think of have more to do with technical errors (like someone’s amplifier not working, or one of us being out of tune in one song). Nothing crazy or super embarrassing… yet. As for the best concerts, for me personally it’s probably our EP release which we played at the end of July. There was a large, diverse crowd and it was a really nice atmosphere. All the bands we played with were amazing, and we had an excellent reaction, especially given that this was our very first release and I think maybe only the second show we headlined.
KMK: My favourite shows have been the 2 we’ve done at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, one of which was our EP release show. Firstly, the venue is a goooorgeous Gothic Revival-style Anglican church that just…fits the vibe. Secondly, our shows there have been benefits for St. Stephens’ community outreach and harm reduction programs, and performing there has put us in contact with a whole volunteer network serving our neighbours who are unhoused, in tents, shelters, and so on. Aside from raising funds for them, I volunteer as part of their meal program team now. It feels meaningful to make ourselves of service to people that way.
My least favourite shows would be… any of the ones where I’m thrashing around on stage so much I almost throw up mid-set. I have no chill, so that’s a more common occurrence than it should be.
- Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
MA: I think it’s a golden period of music for the greater Toronto Area right now - all sorts of scenes and genres are thriving. That's not something I would have said 10 years ago. There’s so many incredible bands! Everything from hardcore like Dambe, Workers Comp, Piper Maru, Wrought and Mace (both bands that Nate also plays in), to post-punk and noise rock like Ancient Greece, So Tired, Public Health, and Sundowner.
KFK: My personal Southern Ontario faves not listed above: Searing, Terry Green, Piper Maru, Stay Down, Cease, Juliens Donkey Boys (Jaeden’s other band!), Public Health, Beggin for Oxys, Xodkaar, Intensive Care, Colby Richardson, Black Iron Prison, Lasting Efforts, Hogtied, and always, Boxcutter, and Zuzu Bailey.
Credits :
Band photo : Esteban Riveros-Yepez
Live photo (B & W) : Dom Urbanik
Live photo (Color) : Sammy Bauer
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