9+1 Q&A with Kalte Nacht

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.

Since we can remember, music has always been a huge part of our lives. The most important memories, feelings, and experiences are blended together with it. So, it was inevitable that we would both be involved with it from a very young age. We have always listened, played, and generally expressed ourselves through music. After lots of years of studies, different influences, bands, etc. we met each other through a mutual friend. That’s when Kalte Nacht turned from a solo experimental home project to the band that it is today.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

We released our debut self-titled album by Geheimnis Record Productions in March 2020 in vinyl format, a single digital track, “Our Moments Are Answers,” in 2021, and in 2022 we released our debut album with Cold Transmission label in CD format.

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

Musically speaking, it’s really difficult to say. Throughout the years, there has been a blend of musical styles and eras that have influenced us and brought us closer to the timbre and the identity that we have grown into at this present moment. It’s a purely dynamic process that’s been evolving every single day. Starting from our local folk music to classical composers and then from the rock & roll rebellion of the 50s to the post-punk and dark wave era of the 80s. Non-music-wise, everything under the sun can be an influence. The decaying urban landscape, the environment we live and breathe in, the nature and its creatures. And, of course, the people and our feelings. Love and hate, anger, sadness, the darkness and the light, the day and the night.

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 never think about it, to be honest. Music is art, expression, a true creative force that emerges from our need to express our multiple sides in various ways. So, we can’t really say if there are differences or similarities in our music compared to other artists. We love our music to be listened to by different people, in different circumstances, igniting different feelings, because that’s how we as humans also function. Our sound is a combination of dark synths, and dynamic drum machines, along with a variety of emotional, dreamy, and melancholic, but at the same time aggressive voice lines, which evoke a deeply sentimental atmosphere and electric soundscapes.

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

Albums (Nikos)

The sound – From the lions mouth

The Cure – Pornography

Pink Floyd – Wish you were here

Movies (Nikos)

Permanent Vacation (Jim Jarmush)

Psycho (Alfred Hutchcock)

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)

Books (Nikos)

The Fall (Albert Camys)

Animal Farm (George Orwell)

The Trial (Franz Kafka)

Albums (Myrto)

Anapnoes – Lena Platonos

No more shall we part – Nick Cave

Mixing Colours – Brian Eno

Movies (Myrto)

Mullholand Drive – David Lynch

Paris Texas – Wim Wenders

Books (Myrto)

Women who run with the wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

On earth we’re briefly gorgeous – Ocean Vuong

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

Each process is special and unique. It’s really difficult to choose. We are leaning a bit more toward live performances because of the endless possibilities they entail when interacting with a live audience and exchanging energies with all the beautiful creatures out there. This is our real purpose, eventually. To be all together, to share, and to celebrate our uniqueness.

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

If it counts, it still feels a bit awkward for us every time we sign our vinyls and CDs to people, although it’s a deeply rewarding experience.

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

“Sanctum” is the first song we ever wrote together as a duo. It was the beginning of everything, the song that inspired us to start creating music together.

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

Right now, we are in the final stages of producing our second album, which will be released in the first months of 2024 by Cold Transmission, and we are deeply excited about it. Besides that, we are already planning some very special gigs, mainly in Europe, after our album release.

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

Name one place in the world you would love to perform.

Latin America!

Photo credits: Marilia Fotopoulou (main), Alex Petsavas (2nd one)

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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