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.
My father was a music lover and music has always meant a great deal to our home. The Blues Bspinnerothers’ movie soundtrack was my first love around the age of six. Very soon after that, Dionyssis Savopoulos, and the Beatles came into my life, and that was it. I fell in love with music. Right there and then, I started piano lessons, and I took up the guitar when I was 13. I started writing and recording my first songs, in my bedroom, at the age of 14. After a period of massive changes and emotional turmoil, during which, at some point, I pursued studies in the field of music technology in the UK, we fast forward to 2013, the year Robert Sin and the Sinners began playing together. After the release of our EP “Death and other Misdemeanors”, the Sinners split up and in January 2015, Robert Sin & the Huckleberries were born. Two albums later, a new band emerges in 2019: Robert Sin and the Conspiracy of Equality.
Provide us with some info about your latest release…
We started recording bass and drums at Zero Gravity Studio with Dimitris Dimitriadis, in June 2017. It took more than a year to record and mix, at my home studio, the rest of the album, which was mastered by Ioannis Petrolias. I decided to release it right after the Huckleberries split up, as a conclusion of this era which produced two albums. It contains songs written throughout different periods of my life, from 2011 to 2018. “Dot on the Map” is coming out March 1st, on CD and in digital form.
Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?
My main musical influences are Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst, Jack White, Willy Vlautin, Jason Molina, Ryan Adams (I doubt if it’s politically correct for me to even be saying that after the recent scandal), and many others. Non-music wise I admire all those people who stand up for what is right and keep going in this shitty world. It’s really inspiring!
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?
Genre related? I’m still not sure what my genre is. I am fond of saying that we play Americana but I don’t think it’s accurate. I try to combine as many sounds as possible. I guess that if our sound is different from other bands that’s because we don’t feel that we have to serve a specific genre. We only serve the songs.
Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…
That’s a tough one! Only three. Well, first albums that come to my mind right now are Blood On The Track by Bob Dylan, Letting Of The Happiness by Bright Eyes and Love Supreme by John Coltrane.
David Lynch’s Inland Empire, Annie Hall by Woody Allen, and Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock.
Malcom Lowry’s Under The Volcano, Sima Kindinou by Antonis Samarakis and the Stranger by Albert Camus.
Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?
I prefer the studio. It’s more creative and less pressing. It’s something I do since I started writing. Performing live came much later.
Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?
When I first started playing with former members of No Man’s Land, Vassilis Athanassiadis and George Papageorgiadis, Evi warned me about talking to them in the Greek fashion of using plural when addressing people who are older that you, as a sign of respect. She said, “just don’t do it, Vassilis will not like it at all”. But, I couldn’t help myself, I was both in awe of what was happening and too scared to be cool. So, Vassilis turns to me and starts talking to me using plural, as well. He also has what I found out later to be one of his very specific looks on his face, as if he was mocking me. And suddenly it hit me! We are musicians, we play music together, we share booze and studio time. We communicate on a completely different level than regular people; keeping up formality was of no real essence. Now, I know better.
Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?
It’s really hard to point out one song. I’m trying to write my truth so every creation of mine is really unique to me. If I had to pick one that should be “False Pattern Recognition” from “Dot On The Map”. It’s my first political song and it is kind of different from what I was used to.
Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?
“Dot On The Map” just came out (on March 1st) and I’m very excited about that. As I said before the Huckleberries split up so I have a new band The conspiracy of Equality which is very exciting too. Tonight, on March 5th, we are playing live, at Tiki Bar, songs from all of my records focusing on the last one. After that more live shows will follow and hopefully a new record, soon.
Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…
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Photo credits: Tilemachos Papadopoulos
Curated by: Christos Doukakis
Recommended listening:
Connect with Robert Sin:
https://www.facebook.com/robertsinmusic/