MMMD (previously known as Mohammad) is the experimental (quoted bu some as chamber doom) duo of ILIOS and Nikos Veliotis (previously a trio with Coti K). Having recently toured Europe and with their excellent latest ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’, they will supporting the legendary Swans, tomorrow (March 4) at Block 33 (Thessaloniki). Make sure not to be late and catch them live!
MMMD (Mohammad) is one of the finest experimental acts of the Greek underground scene. Would you like to provide us with a brief bio of the project?
Mohammad started in 2009 as a trio by Coti K, ILIOS and Nikos Veliotis. Having all been long time acquaintances and friends there was always a desire for a long term project and in 2009 when ILIOS moved back to Athens the conditions finally became right. The main exploration area has always been, and still is, intermodulation, especially but not exclusively, in the lower end of the frequency spectrum and its potential emotional impact. There have been six releases up until 2015 when Coti left the project. Mohammad continue as a duo using also the MMMD moniker. The latest release is ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’.
You recently did a tour in Europe (Zurich, Basel, Paris & Budapest). How was it like? Satisfied with the audience’s reception?
Very satisfied indeed. Mohammad (or MMMD by now) not being an aggressively publicized project is mostly based on its fans and mouth to mouth. It is very important to get out there and deliver the live version of our sound. That is where the sound really comes alive and gets its physical characteristics and impact. So in this little tour everything went fine, great audiences and good P.A.s.
Your latest release ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’ you chose to “Leave behind your folk based trilogy, and return to your own original material. Heavy and concentrated, majestic and dark, ethereal and subtle…”. Back to the original form? Why?
The ‘34°Ν – 42°Ν & 19°Ε – 29°Ε’ trilogy heavily relied on our interpretation of traditional sound from the said area and revealed new previously unexplored areas, especially in the rythmic but also in the harmonic field. When we started working on ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’ it was time to employ those findings on our own original material and explore further their emotional context.
From ‘Roto Vildblomma’ to the most recent ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’ how would you describe Mohammad’s (now MMMD) evolution, mainly focusing on your sound?
As mentioned above this whole project’s evolution is based on the intermodulation/emotional impact diptych. This is what we are constantly and meticulously exploring taking small but extremely detailed steps with every new release.
Antifrost is your label so far for your releases. How would describe this “informal wedding”?
Maybe it is not informal. We work constantly, we like to have control on any MMMD project and we are impatient meaning we like to have a release when it is fresh. Considering all those factors working with our own label makes things a lot more difficult but in absolute control. We also very often produce releases in peculiar formats such as the triple 10inch vinyl box of ‘Pèkisyon Funebri’.
Your sound is esoteric & mystagogic, sometimes even suffocating for the average listener.
All of the above can be true although perception of sound is a very subjective issue. Through the years we have heard numerous characterizations of our sound from ‘electrocution’ to ‘the opposite of nightmares’ for ex. That we all understand as true to the person that felt like that.
Do you believe that Greek experimental scene has blossomed during the last ‘crisis’ years? Which projects/artists should we take notice of?
This a question that we get asked a lot. But we have no definite answer. Yes it is true that the Greek scene has blossomed during the years of the crisis and it is very vibrant today. However, artists are usually always in crisis even during good times.
On March 4th you will be supporting the legendary Swans in Block 33, Thessaloniki. How do you feel about this? Not afraid of supporting such an emblematic band?
We very much look forward to this show, why would we feel afraid? Our music may be dark but we make it to be happy.
Should we expect more “deep monolithic sound, bringing together low frequencies, inter-modulations, dark textures, and distant folk nuances” from MMMD in the near future?
That is the least you should expect from Mohammad in the future. The rest is slowly brewing in the lab. Just finished the soundtrack for Lukas Feigefeld’s medieval horror movie “Hagazussa”, there are plans for a live album release and we are of course already working on the next official MMMD release.
Photo credits: Iakovos Dizikirikis (1st one), Peter Gannushkin (2nd one)
Christos Doukakis