9+1 Q&A with Cold Remembrance

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.

(Romanos) Everything started several years ago when I realized that music was the means to express myself, keep away my demons and ultimately find the long-acclaimed balance in my life. 2004 was the year that I found my soulmate, dear friend and co-composer V-Angel and we started writing together. Cold Remembrance materialized not until 2013, when we started recording our first songs. Ever since we succeeded in creating a concept album, released several songs in Finish, American and Greek collections and shared the same stage with a considerable number of Greek and foreign goth rock bands. 2013.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

‘’Visions from a world apart’’ meant to be the first chapter of a trilogy, portraying the world as we live it with it’s pathogenies, the loss of feelings and virtues, filled with the failures of modern man, the idols and the false prophets. So, in ‘’Visions’’ what we wanted to create is concept album, solid within its lyrics and melodies filled with pure emotion. It took us almost 3 years in order to bound the music with the layout and the production in order to have the desirable outcome. Nikos Marko, a well established graphic designer, Callmelazy a fantastic sound engineer and producer, SoundFlakes studios and ArtWorks studios with their remarkable tech were our closest collaborators to this journey. Finally, Final Touch records believed in us and offered a full record deal in 2017 along with a limited 500 albums print in cd form.

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

Would be mad not to mention the whole Gothic Rock-metal and atmospheric metal scene of the 90’s and 00’s till nowadays mainly from Germany, England, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Finland and Portugal. Apart from that we have distinguished poets and writers such us Kostas Karyotakis, Odysseus Elytis, George Seferis, Napoleon Lapathiotis, Albert Camus, Hermann Hesse, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustave Flaubert.
Finally, it’s everyday life as we face it, observe and feel it, the little deaths of our personalities, the changes in the whole spectrum of reality, the proclivity of the human race to destruction.

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?

In philology, art is divided in three forms, the humanistic art, the art that serves itself and the conscript (propaganda) art. What we-Cold Remembrance-make is music that derives from pure feelings and addresses to feelings. We didn’t come together to create innovative music or to make the new musical evolution. After all we don’t believe in parthenogenesis. So, what you hear is the pure essence of what we felt or feel, dressed in melodies and lyrics.

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

That is extremely difficult to answer! Lets see…
Albums:
Ikon-Flowers for the Gathering
The 69 Eyes-Paris Kills
Sentenced-The Cold White Light

Movies:
The Crow
Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula
Equilibrium

Books:
Hermann Hesse- Narcissus and Goldmund
Oscar Wild- The Picture of Dorian Gray
Emily Brontë-Wuthering Heights

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

We like both. Perhaps studio a bit more because it gives you the necessary space to be more creative.

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

There are many funny/unique moments I (Romanos) can recall but the most notable is one that is linked to the recording of the album. I and V-Angel were preparing for several months along with the band to enter the studio, building up the tracks, so we both entered to write some rhythm guitars and piano lines…and came up with 10 different songs! I still remember Christopher’s (bass player) face when he entered the studio and listen to the material in order to begin his record sessions. He turned to me with a face filled with anger, agony, surprise and other emotions I couldn’t distinguish and said-Are you freakin’ serious? I don’t know the song. What do you want me to write? Fortunately, he came out with strong ideas, but his face will always be remembered….

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

I cannot point out a track because each one has its own story to tell in a unique but combined the same time way. They are all parts of the same puzzle.

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

We are writing the songs for the next album called “Damages”, that would also be a concept-we have already played live ‘’Fallen Star’’ and ‘’Dorian Grey’’ which gave us awesome feedback and during our support to the mighty Star Industry at the 4th of May we shall present one more called “Forever and a Day”. After that we have the Low Sun Festival at Death Disco, June 15th where we share the stage with our exceptional friends and musicians Mosquito and The Grey Gallows. Finally, during summer, we shall enter the studio in order to record the new album and look for a new record deal. The album will also feature some awesome collaborations with esteemed musicians that will play key role to the whole outcome.

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

How do you see the future of mankind?

I think we are moving towards a glorified Entropy. Our fate is the same as for all stars. One day everything must eventually die, and cosmos will be plunged into eternal night. Mankind is doomed to self-destruction unless we redefine through humanism and the virtues that follow. So, let’s put aside materialism, selfishness and egocentricity and work together to rebuilt what is broken.

Photo credits: Tasos Georgiopoulos (1st one), Antonis Diaskouris (2nd one)

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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