9+1 Q&A with The Steams

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.

The Steams kickstarted in 2012 and, like any other project, sprang from the need for expression.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Wild Ferment is an allegory that derives from a biochemical term also known as “Natural” or “Spontaneous Fermentation”. It concerns the production of wine and refers to the conversion of must to wine purely from natural (wild) yeast originating from the growing environment of the raw material, the land that grows the vine. In contrast to common practice, it takes a lot more time. This first album is indeed a Wild Ferment, a process that took years and is now complete. Songs written, worked and matured in a timeline of changes, self-review, and redefinition, drawing on elements of the wider environment, while maintaining its indigenous character.

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

It has always been the landscapes from which I draw my inspiration.

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 the time of the ambiguous genres, we’d describe our sound as “psych rock” with a blend of eastern and folk influences.

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

Albums: So Far – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Sketches of Spain – Miles Davis, Live at Pompeii – Pink Floyd

Movies: Satantango – Bela Tarr, No Country for Old Men – Cohen Brothers, any starring Bill Murray.

Books: Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates – Tom Robbins, Inherent Vice – Thomas Pynchon, Lament from Epirus – Chris King

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

If studio is studying and live is playing, we prefer to play. We like to make friends this way.

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

August 2018, all packed and ready to head to Saristra Festival, Kefalonia island, divided in two cars. A few miles outside Athens, the first car breaks down due to engine failure. The trip was like 4 hours to catch a ferry to the island and we’re stuck on the side of the highway waiting for the rest of us to find a solution. Once they arrived, Gustav (the drummer, who’s also a mechanic) confirmed the engine damage and, as time was running out along with our composure, he had the idea to borrow his mother’s car. So the rest left, drove back to Athens, brought the other car and we loaded our gear. We managed to catch the ferry thanks to our anxiety levels leading to a cannonball run on the highway.

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

We started writing The Harvest a year before the recordings, during a soul-demanding period of my life, just before I left Athens for another working season on the island of Santorini and while battling some form of depression. In Santorini, I used to work in the wine industry, and when the grape harvest was high later in the summer, one of the islands’ remarkable winemakers was found dead with a noose around his neck in his old winery. This event shook us all, It was an intense season. After I returned to Athens, we would finish the recordings and before the mixing sessions, I went on a trip to Istanbul. In one of those long walks throughout the markets, I heard the call for prayer coming from the mosques. I took out my phone and started recording it while walking. Like a sonic memory I had to keep. Upon returning to Athens, I played it to Alex and we agreed to put it at the end of the song. That was actually the last thing that was recorded for Wild Ferment.

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

We are pleased to announce the sell-out of our first pressing and that we re-released it on white vinyl. We’ re touring Greece in November and have booked a few more shows to be announced soon.

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

We are dog people.

Photo credits: Elena Rappa (1st one), Ioanna Pavlou (2nd one)

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening: