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 main inspiration is what is happening around me, from the sickness of society to the bitter taste of human relationships. Tha Man & His Failures is a fresh project though. My main band is Mani Deum and after a long break from the live concerts (we’re currently working on a new album) I decided I had all the time I needed to start The Man & His Failures which, as you can guess is my solo project.
Provide us with some info about your latest release…
“Persona Non Grata” is my first and latest release as The Man & His Failures. It’s an e.p and is out by A Man out of a Man, a Greek independent label as a digital release and a limited edition cassette. For these recordings I got help from my long time friends and collaborators, Constantine Kyrtsis (guitars, bass, arrangements & synths) and Panos Tsekouras (recordings, mixing & mastering). Lucas Savvidis (from The Rattler Proxy) created a wonderful remix and DUSK did some amazing vocals in one song.
Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?
Well, my main influence is my personal life, what is happening in Greece right now, the poverty, the immigrants, Europe & America is pretty fucked up too, so I guess these things is a motivation for me to write down some personal thoughts. I don’t like to refer to other artists as “influences” even though I admire and respect many of them. Each person carries his own demons and it’s a tough decision to sit down and write a song about them.
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?
It’s really hard for me to describe my sound. I guess there are some electronic, post punk and folk elements in it, but I’m not sure about anything. Plus I really don’t care if my sound differs from genre-related artists, actually I don’t care about genres at all. This is what I do, this is what I want to do and it comes straight from my heart. I think that’s all you need to know.
Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…
Hard decision but I would say :
Albums – 1.) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Henry’s Dream, 2.) The Cure – Pornography , 3.) Current ’93 – Thunder Perfect Mind
Movies – 1.) The Seventh Seal (by Ingmar Bergman), 2.)Werkmeister Harmonies (by Bela Tarr), 3.) Bullet Ballet (by Shinya Tsukamoto)
Books – 1.) Plato – Symposium , 2.) Oscar Wilde – De Profundis, 3.) Aleister Crowley – The Book Of The Law
Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?
Both. Probably a little bit more the studio, because it’s where the raw creation transforms into a song. But generally I like both.
Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?
Back in 2009 when we supported Spiritual Front in Athens, in their very first appearance here, Simone (the singer of S.F) decided to dedicate one of their songs to my band, Mani Deum. The song is called “Love Through Vaseline” … After the gig , a music journalist on an interview, asked me “if there is a special relationship between the two bands…”
Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?
Persona Non Grata, the title track from my latest release describes my feelings a lot.
Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?
During the next year I decided to release one more ep. Plus there will be some changes in the line up of the band, as we’re going to perform as a four piece act. The only confirmed live gig for now is the one with Alexander Hacke & Danielle de Picciotto at the 30th of March in Athens.
Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…
Thank you Last Day Deaf for the interview! See you soon on the 13th of December and Death Disco club alongside with the mighty Fontaines D.C and Sister. Stay true and rise up !
Photo credits: Anastacia Papadaki Photography
Curated by: Christos Doukakis
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