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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.

This will probably sound unexpected, but Oasis got me interested in music and also inspired me to start making music. From there I formed a cover band and later start writing my own songs. In this band I was also the vocalist, but then I grew sick of my own voice after some time and that made me start writing instrumental music, which led to the emergence of Phantoms vs Fire.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

WLDLFE started out as some kind of collage of drum loops and samples I already had. After finishing my last album, Swim, I began thinking of a theme. The tracks that would later become WLDLFE sounded more deceiving, more sarcastic. They all seem to start optimistic then slowly turn into something darker and, for that reason, I decided to go with a theme that had the same effect on me, which is the current state of our natural environment and how we treat it, the beauty of nature and how we’re destroying it.
My songs usually start out with me playing the acoustic guitar until an interesting riff comes to my mind. Since I make instrumental music, I always try to create a main melody/riff that works as a “fake” vocal track, something that grabs the attention of the listener as a melody she/he should feel compelled to pay attention to. My intention with this is to make people feel the urge to hum along with the music. I tried something different with WLDLFE, I created drum loops, then added samples, and finally created the riffs. Also, this time I went for a more electronic sound, but still mixing with all the orchestral sounds that I love

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

People usually tell me my music has a Philip Glass / Ryuichi Sakamoto feel. But I guess WLDLFE sounds a bit different. I would say it’s a mix of Depeche Mode, Justice, Daft Punk and Boards of Canada.
But, in general, I’d say my main musical influences are Radiohead, Interpol, Jonny Greenwood, Trent Reznor and film composers like Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone.
And I believe my main non-musical influences are horror/fantasy/sci-fi books and films. In a way, I think I’m always composing the soundtrack for a Blade Runner/Silence of the Lambs/Alien hybrid with a bit of American Graffiti written by H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson and Stephen King, haha.

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?

I’m not very good at describing my own sound. I think it’s something old that sounds new.
William Pinfold said that my music is “‘retro’ without being nostalgic, full of wistful, poignant atmospheres and familiar-but-elusive tunes that feel half-remember from childhood” and I think it defines my sound pretty well.

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

Albums: Kid A (Radiohead), Songs for the Deaf (Queens of the Stone Age), Interstellar – Movie Soundtrack (Hans Zimmer).

Movies: Seven, Jurassic Park, Blade Runner.

Books: Neuromancer, Blood Meridian, Watchmen.

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

Studio. Because I see myself more as a composer than a performer, and also because I prefer to be on my own, creating.

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

Not sure if it can be considered funny, but I was asked to score a documentary short about the Vietnam War last year and one of the tracks has some dogs barking at its very end, one of the dogs is my crazy Boston Terrier.

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

I think Cinematiken, a song from the album “Swim”, is the most unique to me. It was made with small pieces of old recordings of myself, alone in my bedroom, playing an old, slightly out of tune classical guitar. I later messed with those recordings and tried to make them sound like a harp. Then I added distorted strings and synths to make it sound like something recorded from a dream.

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

I have an album called ‘Modern Monsters’ coming out this year through Burning Witches Records. It’s something completely different, though. It is my first full soundtrack.

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

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

Connect with Phantoms vs Fire:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/phantomsvsfire

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/phantomsvsfire

Bandcamp: https://phantomsvsfire.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5EJrMSZih3zKggOpCPpBKc?si=L6UNNi9fRLS8Y13NUDznNw

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafhPJnB_g3NDQb_e0J6nRg