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What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

The three of us that comprise Church of the Sea have known each other for many years. When we decided to start this new endeavor, we just asked ourselves ‘If we could play anything we wanted, what would it be?’. And things took a gloomier turn after that.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

‘Anywhere but Desert’ is our debut 4-track EP, recorded at Artracks Studios and Coti K’s Suono Studios in late 2017-early 2018. Alex Bolpasis (Whereswilder, Noise Figures, Cyanna Mercury) engineered the album and also co-produced it with the band. We were lucky enough to have Chris Common (Chelsea Wolfe, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Emma Ruth Rundle) do the mixing and mastering, putting his insight and knowledge to use in order to achieve our sound exactly how we wanted it.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

We took many liberties in this project and came up with a sound that was appealing to all three of us. So you’ll find a whole bunch of influences, from doom to shoegaze to noise-rock, the list goes on. We like to think we have blended all these genres as best we could. Our biggest influence non-music wise is definitely aging.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

We have been characterized as a doomgaze band, and we fancy that title. Why would anyone bother to listen to our music is a question that we dare not face, we are just happy that they do.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

We would like to add something smart and witty here, but considering the circumstances a Bear Grylls DVD would be our best option.

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Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

While we enjoy the creative and challenging procedure of the studio, we really love performing live. The urge that we feel on stage is a unique feeling, which in our case helps us deliver a better version of the songs.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

One particular song was completed, by exchanging files through emails.
Starting from a basic rhythmic beat, each one of us added an additional part gradually writing the song, without actually meeting. It is funny-interesting that we have written a song, while we didn’t know if we could actually play it live.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

We are very proud of the “XVII”. We believe that it defined the sound of CotS –plus, the vocal line on this is just wicked.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

Gigs. Onwards we will be performing our songs live, as much as we can. Additional information for our upcoming live performances will soon be available, as soon as the final details have been taken care of– so stay tuned. On February 22 we will be performing at Happening Now Fest, along with a few other local acts at AN Club.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

Photo credits: Danai Simou

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

Connect with Church of the Sea:

https://www.facebook.com/ChurchoftheSea

https://churchofthesea.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/churchofthesea/