Bokomolech is an Athenian band, formed in the early 90’s and soon became a synonym for the Greek indie underground scene. On Thursday, the 23rd of November, we will be lucky to see them performing at Gagarin 205 for the celebration of its 15th anniversary. Don’t miss them!
Some months ago, you performed for an important cultural event in Athens, at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) start off, representing one of the most influential alternative indie rock bands of Greece. Are you satisfied from what came out as a result that night? From the audience?
It was probably the most fantastic setting we’ve ever performed at. The night was a little strange, because 2 hours before the gig during sound-check, broke out one of the fiercest spring storms in recent memory. It was so bad we were not even sure that the gig was even happening, even under the huge canopy! Of course when the storm passed it was the calmest, mildest evening, but seemingly a lot of people had been discouraged by the weather and turnout wasn’t so good. Anyway, even with all these adversities it was a great gig, and our first with a full-on kids audience too.
Your last album, ‘Mass Vulture‘, was released in 2012… Now, running the last months of 2017 and still we have no news in terms of band’s new album material… Why is this five -year absence?
It’s been increasingly difficult for us to reconcile our family lives and professional lives with the band. Nevertheless, we’re now finally getting into the studio to record some new songs, so hopefully next spring we’ll have a new release out.
Besides listening to music, are there any other sectors that contribute to the band’s creative process and inspiration?
Some of us have architects’ training, so that’s a steady reference from the start in terms of song structure and orchestration – if that makes any sense. As for our music influences, we have never actually said: “let’s make this song sound like this or that band”. Even if something reminded us of something else, we would try to change it in some way and make it our own.
Back to the past, always wanted to ask about ‘Crazy Water’… What does this song stand for?
We don’t discuss lyrics at all, not even amongst ourselves. But we always thought that this one is pretty straightforward, isn’t it?
Any new Greek bands or composers that you think of as promising?
The past few years there have been more good Greek bands and artists than ever probably, and we certainly haven’t heard them all. We’re not sure what “promising” means though: if it means “influential in the future”, it’s too soon to say, and you never know where a kid will find inspiration; if it means “successful abroad” we think the most singular band of recent years has been Mohammad by far. Now, if the question is simply about bands we like, then the past couple of years we’ve enjoyed The You And What Army Faction, Blame Canada, The Wrinkled Suits, Circassian, Revision, Nefeli Walking Undercover, One Man Drop, Κτίρια τη Νύχτα, Melt Mountain, Σtella. Quite the diverse crowd!
On the 23rd of November, you are performing for the celebration of An club’s 30th anniversary and Gagarin 205’s 15th anniversary. What are your expectations for this big night?
Our history is full of An Club memories and stories but strangely we’ve never played at Gagarin 205 before, so we found it intriguing to be part of the celebration by “correcting” that omission. We also like the fact that we’re playing alongside artists with different backgrounds and styles. We hope that we make some new friends that night!
Should a Greek band be ambitious and optimist in regards to the current alternative scene in Greece?
We honestly don’t know. Each band will have to make its own path, eventually.
What are the changes from the Greek mid 90’s indie rock scene era that you belonged until nowadays?
The biggest one is we’re not in our twenties anymore. Second biggest is the Internet, for better and for worse. More people take the “scene” (whatever that means) seriously now, there are more places to play and more bands that are worth checking out, but this (stylistic and spatial) dispersal has its downsides too: it seems like it’s hard to know where to focus, how to pick out what’s really important, or even if there is anything really important. This problem is not exclusive to the Greek scene, of course.
Which was the best moment for Bokomolech from their beginning up to now?
Many moments come to mind, big and small, so we couldn’t pick one out. Certainly we would have to say our collaboration with Steve Albini, especially recording ‘Jet Lag‘ in Chicago, and our gig at Fuzz Club after ‘Mass Vulture‘ was released. Especially moving and memorable was our “Xero is twenty” gig at Six D.o.g.s, a one-off celebration performance for the 20-year anniversary of our debut album, in December 2015.
What are your plans for the future?
Make the next record, and try to stick together.
Vasiliki Nousa