In a city known for its heavy music, the up and coming Richmond band New Turks have been putting a new spin on the growing scene of sludgy and aggressive music emerging from the river city. The duo, comprised of bassist/vocalist Ethan Gensurowsky and drummer Louis Heninger, made their debut in 2013 with their Nip Slip split EP with fellow Richmond duo Navi. Since then, they have been gaining a reputation as one of city’s best up and coming bands, and recently put out their self-produced followup, Hot Leather, through Richmond’s own Bad Grrrl Records.
This article is taken from the brand new print issue of RVA Magazine. Click here to read the digital version of this issue.
In a city known for its heavy music, the up and coming Richmond band New Turks have been putting a new spin on the growing scene of sludgy and aggressive music emerging from the river city. The duo, comprised of bassist/vocalist Ethan Gensurowsky and drummer Louis Heninger, made their debut in 2013 with their Nip Slip split EP with fellow Richmond duo Navi. Since then, they have been gaining a reputation as one of city’s best up and coming bands, and recently put out their self-produced followup, Hot Leather, through Richmond’s own Bad Grrrl Records.
This article is taken from the brand new print issue of RVA Magazine. Click here to read the digital version of this issue.
New Turks’ sound is pure sludge, an all-low-end assault of pounding drums melding with tight and heavily distorted bass riffs. “I was mainly a guitar player before this band really, but I knew I wanted to make a two-piece with Louis, and I really never liked how guitars in two-pieces sound,” says Gensurowsky about his turn towards bass. “I kind of wanted to go for something more pummeling.” Both members of New Turks had been playing together, as well as separately in local bands like Midair and Basmati, for several years before they came together around their current heavier and more aggressive sound. “This is really the first time I’ve played this type of drums, so my main goal is just to play hard, keep the beat, and not fuck up,” says Heninger. “But it’s really fun to just beat the shit out the drums for a change.”
The group’s songwriting draws from all corners of heavy music: the speed and aggression of hardcore, the nearly danceable bass grooves of 80’s postpunk, and the low-end rumblings of classic stoner metal. “We listen to a lot of different stuff, but I’d say Unwound has been a big influence for us,” says Genurowsky. “Young Widows has been a really big influence for me personally, and Pissed Jeans.” New Turks’ aggressive songwriting and urgent vocals draw heavily from post-hardcore music, but the band says that people shouldn’t confuse their musical sound with an image they’re trying to project. “We’re not aggressive people, we’re not confrontational people, but we’re playing this music that is really aggressive, which is strange because most of our lives pretty much revolve around humor,” says Gensurowsky. “We’re really not as tough as we sound,” quips Heninger.
Having already made a name for themselves with their two stellar releases, New Turks are looking at the city around them as they craft the new record they hope to finish this year. “I listen to a lot of sludge metal and doomy stuff, and a lot of the doom stuff coming out of Richmond is really impressive right now. We’ve been listening to a lot of that and trying to draw out our new songs so that their slower and longer,” says Gensurowsky. “We’ve sort of limited ourselves with the setup, but now it’s about seeing how far we can take it inside of this format, and seeing just how far we can go.” New Turks are poised to go a lot farther in the near future–the real question is whether RVA can keep up with them.
