Elias S. (vocals/ guitar/ synth), Thanos K. (drums/ synth/ b vocals) and Nick D. (bass/ synth/ b vocals) are Mary’s flower Superhead, a post-punk/indie band formed in 2003 in Thessaloniki, Greece. On February 12th, they released their fourth studio album ‘Wealth’ (Inner Ear Records). Last Day Deaf caught up with the never disappointing music trio for some questions.
Your fourth studio album ‘Wealth‘ has been released on February 12th via Inner Ear Records receiving many positive reviews. What does this album signify for you?
After six years of absence, ‘Wealth‘ can only signify a new beginning. Many people were happy about our return with this record and so are we.
Can you tell us why did you chose ‘Wealth‘ as the title and how is it connected with the artwork?
‘Wealth‘ is a statement of where we or anybody can find their personal wealth. We trace wealth in music, in emotions, in art and in simplicity overall, Not in anything material. It is somehow connected with the artwork displaying a diver in an old school diving suit preparing to take a step in the clouds, trying to find wealth.
Which were the main inspirations for the lyrics in this album?
The main inspirations for the lyrics were based on previous personal experience of the past that led to introvert behavior and thoughts of existence.
It is mentioned that you rejected a lot of material working on this album, deciding to dedicate its sound to your old favorite influences. Can you mention some of them?
It is mostly 90’s stuff, music we grew up with. From punk rock to indie, alternative rock of that period.
Is the “rejected” material going to be presented in a future work?
Who knows, maybe some ideas will be reformed to the way we want to present them at that time.
You stay faithful to your sound despite the experimentations and this is considered positive by your fans. How difficult is it to create something new and yet familiar?
I can not really answer that. People say that everything we decide to play, despite all the experimentation, has an MfS signature. Maybe they are right.
Do you consider experimenting more in the future – going more electro or more alternative?
Experimenting with sounds and styles is something we love to do. I have no idea what the next album will sound like. I hope we’ll find out soon.
You began as a band in 2003. How have things changed for you over these years? Was it easier back then than it is now, or is it a smooth, to a certain extent, course?
Things have changed in terms of the level of “professionalism” the bands work nowadays compared to 10 or 15 years ago. Also things are easier considering that a band can make a respectable amount of promotion through the social media and streaming platforms in general and expose themselves and their music in a much easier way than before.
Regarding the Greek music scene, do you feel that this has evolved and matured?
This is true, but I believe there is still a lot of work to be done. I think that Greece does not have that big audience to support the scene. If the scene and the audience were bigger then there would be much more places the bands could play, better fees etc etc.
You have also performed abroad. Which is the best and the worst experience you had?
The best experience was by far the first gig abroad we had in 2010 at the Europavox festival in France along with names such as Pete Doherty, Peter Hook, Funeral Suits and many others. We started playing at a stage with 30 people and by the third song the venue was full with 300 people. It was an amazing experience. I think the worst was in a small Romanian town where we played in one of our Balkan tours. It was an underground metal club full of metalheads doing headbanging when listening to Mary’s flower Superhead. A bit scary at the beginning, but in the end we started enjoying it.
Is it true that the band’s name refers to a Greek singer?
Yes.
Thank you for your time! Feel free to add anything to close this interview.
Thank you.
Mary Kalaitzidou