Pelion Rivers is the new personal musical vehicle of Angelos Aivazis (The Jaguar Bombs). His music. as Angelos himsel describes, is “a traditional folk one with a contemporary viewpoint”.
If you wanna get to know Pelion Rivers, this Saturday, November 4th, is a great occasion, since he will share the stage with Pale Oaks & Whereswilder at AN Club.
Since there’s very little info regarding the Pelion Rivers’ project, feel free to introduce it to our readers…
Hi there! I am Angelos, I live in Athens, Greece. Pelion Rivers was born in August 2016 in Mount Pelion in central Greece and refers to a folk persona who writes music in between travelling destinations.
How would you describe Pelion Rivers’ music?
I’d describe it as a minimal, mellow approach to traditional folk music with a contemporary viewpoint. All songs were recorded and mixed using analogue recording to achieve a warmer sound, relevant to its predecessors. I started listening to folk music while travelling, I guess the music I created was inspired by a continuous change of scenes. The project’s name indicates it too.
In what way do Pelion Rivers differ from your band The Jaguar Bombs?
To begin with, in all possible ways. The Jaguar Bombs is a five piece rockabilly cover band aiming to make you dance. Pelion Rivers is a solo folk project with original material, way more personal and introspective.
What should we expect form your debut live performance as Pelion Rivers on November 4th, at AN Club, along with excellent bands Whereswilder and Pale Oaks?
It is a great occasion to share the stage with two bands that you admire and are close friends with. It’s going to be a big party for all of us. I will present for the first time songs from my upcoming debut album. Some covers will be included too.
In the press release for the 4th November gig, I noticed that the project is inspired by trips, nature and animals! Could you please explain?
To be honest, this was only a rough press release I instantly wrote. It contains big truths though. I identify myself with felines, and as I said I usually think about musical phrases while travelling or driving, or even walking around narrow paths in the centre of Athens. The whole idea of a one man folk project was inspired by a trip to Mount Pelion, last August.
Would you like to throw some light for you upcoming EP? Any guest appearances? Why should we be looking forward to it?
My debut album consists of ten tracks recorded and produced by the invaluable guidance of Alex Bolpasis. Guitars where recorded in an analogue way at Unreal studios under the artistic motivation of Alex Ketenjian and Alex Bolpasis. The team would not be complete without mentioning my fellow partners in crime, Mariza Kapsabeli and Alex Georgiou, who filmed my first live video for the song ‘Pixels‘ which will be released in November 2017. This song was live recorded at an abandoned 20th century train station in Peloponnese and will be included in the album in this form. Mariza is also responsible for these highly artistic photos I upload on my personal page. At the present time, most instruments have been recorded by me (guitars, banjo, mandolin) there will also be some further recordings of fiddle and double bass with a little help from my friends. I’d say it is an album I am truly looking forward to listen to, mostly because of the artistic integrity and recording conditions that was produced but also because of these ten stories that it recites.
Where would you like to travel most, and use this place for inspiration? In other words, which places (and haven’t been yet) do you think will “boost” your music craft?
That’s a really intriguing question! Pelion is one of my favorite places for musical inspiration.
I travel a lot, mostly within Greece but also abroad. I feel closer to highland’s nature for musical composition. Apart from Athens where I reside, London is a highly musical city. Next stop could be a Scandinavian village in the countryside, who knows?
Plans and hopes regarding the Pelion Rivers’ project?
First and foremost is the completion of the album recordings and mixing. Then I’d seek for means of releasing it as well as book gigs to perform it live. Thank you for the interview!
Photo credits: Mariza Kapsabeli
Christos Doukakis