Prvog jula u SKCNS ” Fabrika” očekuje nas vrlo zanimljiv događaj. Novi Sad će ugostiti rumunski bend “METHADONE SKIES” a lokalna podrška će biti fenomenalni LEDNIK. Posredstvom organizatora, SKCNS, dobili smo priliku da specijalno za DOTKOM popričamo sa bubnjarem benda, Flaviusom Reteom. Pročitajte o čemu smo to pričali…
- Flavius, pozdrav ! Hvala ti što si pristao da razgovaraš za DOTKOM.
Hvala vama što ste me pozvali !
- Trinaest godina kako postoji bend. Da li vam se čini da je to bilo jako davno ili se dobro sećate svojih početaka ?
Naravno da se sećamo tih vrlo uzbudljivih vremena, jer smo tada istraživali muziku i zajedno učili da sviramo. Ličili smo na bend i pre nego što smo imali bubnjeve. Svaki komad nove opreme, svaki novi otkriveni bend, svaki novi nastup otvarao je novi svet. Bilo je nevoravatno. I to je bilo pre nego što je Methadone Skies zapravo rođen, mi smo bili isti ljudi bez Aleksa kojeg u to vreme nismo ni poznavali, pokušavajući da odlučimo šta želimo da radimo. Svirali smo neke obrade Queens Of The Stone Age možda nekoliko meseci, ali nakon nekog vremena, možda i zbog nedostatka muzičkog znanja bilo nam je važno samo da pravimo buku. Bilo je tako oslobađajuće stvarati sopstveni univerzum. Tako je zapravo Methadone Skies i nastao.
- Koliko je teško ili lako izraziti svoja osećanja samo muzikom, bez tekstova ?
Naša želja je da ljudima ponudimo pozitivno iskustvo. Da li je to nešto duboko, smisleno i transcedentalno ili samo čista zabava i ples, nije mnogo ni važno. Nikada nam nije namera da nekome nešto namećemo ili da sebe shvatamo previše obiljno. Neki bendovi idu u krajnost i precenjuju svoju važnost i ubeđuju publiku kako su uticajni i kako je njihov put jedino ispravan. Nemamo ništa ni protiv toga, ali to jednostavno nismo mi. Ljudi moraju imati slobodu odlučivanja i razmišljanja .
Što se tiče instrumentalne muzike, po mom mišljenju, ona vam daje slobodu da osetite šta želite. Svakako se nadam da naša muzika ne izaziva osećanje mržnje ili bilo šta slično, ali muzika je veoma subjektivna stvar. Na primer, ja osećam potpuno stanje blaženstva kada slušam bendove koji prave tešku muziku kao što su Swans, Oranssi Pazuzu ili SunnO))).
- Vaše pesme su uglavnom duže od 6 – 7 minuta. Zašto ? Ne umete da napravite pesmu od dve strofe i refrena ili nećete ?
Po mom mišljenju teže je napraviti kratku pesmu. Mnogo puta smo mi u bendu raspravljali da napravimo album samo sa kratkim pesmama. Opet, zašto to da uradimo ? Čini nam se kao da namežemo određene zidove bez ikakvih stvarnih razloga. Nemamo nikakve planove da se pojavimo na radiju, tako da ako se i rodi pesma od 2-3 minuta i mi osetimo da je uspela, naravno da ćemo je zadržati i izvoditi je. Naravno, kao sredstvo izražavanja, kratka pesma ima potpuno drugačiju emociju i energiju, posebno u live nastupima, tako da imamo to na umu i verovatno ćemo nešto više istražiti i taj aspekat. Imamo neki novi materijal i među tim pesmama ima nekoliko 4-5 minutnih blebetanja.
- U Srbiji nastupate ko zna koji put, a u Novom Sadu, čini mi se, treći put. Šta će sada biti drugačije ? I da li će ?
Uvek nam je drago da možemo da dođemo da sviramo u Srbiju. Mislim da Srbija ima odličnu scenu. Najdraži bendovi su mi Consecration i Wolfram. Pomenuću još i masivne Hill i The Cyclist Conspiracy, Downstroy i mnoge druge. Baš zbog te underground scene Srbija nam je jedna od najomiljenijih destinacija za sviranje. Vaša publika nam je uvek slala mnogo energije nazad na binu.
Ono što će biti drugačije je to što ćemo svirati neke nove pesme, verovatno ćemo svirati malo bolje nego ranije i mislim da će to što će nam Lednik biti podrška biti odlično iskustvo. Oni su stvarno kul bend !
- Ima li još tako kvalitenih bendova u Temišvaru kao što ste vi ? Koji je najbolji rumunski bend ? Ne računa se odgovor NEGURA BUNGET 😊
Haha, zaista ne znam da li je prva izjava tačna, ali hvala ! U našem rodnom gradu ima sjajnih bendova od kojih su neki zaista uticajni za celu rumunsku scenu. Tu su legendarni heroji prog-roka, Celelalte Cuvinte (The Other Words) koji su upravo proslavili svoju 40-godišnjicu i još uvek su prilično jaki. Naravno, tu su Implant Pentru Refuz (Implant For Denial), jedni od hardkor pionira, Dordeduh koji je zauvek evoluirao iz svog black-metal porekla i koji je prošle godine objavio neverovatan drugi album, Thy Veils koji preporučujem svakom ko preferira ambijentalnu muziku, The Different Class za fanove Arctic Monkeys ili Royal Blood, VVVLV sa punk crust sludge scene, Kultika iz prog-metal carstva, Blutrina ako volite grindcore i Cursed Cemetery iz dubine doom metala. Takođe treba pomenuiti :Egocentrics koji su objavila dva neverovatna albuma početkom 2010.
Što se tiče bendova iz Rumunije izvan Temišvara, neki bendovi koje morate obavezno čuti su Fluturi Pe Asfalt, The 13th Sun, Valerinne, Pinholes, Black Water i ako sam nekog zaboravio, izvinjavam se…
- Kada biste rekli nekom ko do sada nije slušao vašu muziku, šta biste naveli ? Stoner, sludge, post rock ? Još neki žanr ?
To je zaista teško pitanje. Sve je u današnje vreme etiketirano i mora biti obeleženo. Pragmatično, ako bi to bila etiketa za sanduke prodavnica vinila, rekao bih prog-stoner/post rock/heavy psychedelic. S druge strane , rekao bih, to je samo neka iskrena instrumentalna muzika za ljude koji vole neobične stvari i intenzivne zvučne pejzaže.
- Sećam se da ste svirali na MOUNT of ARTAN festival. Mnogi bendovi govore da im je to jedinstveno iskustvo. Kakvo je vaše ?
Svakako, zapanjujuće je ono što su Goran i ljudi oko njega tamo radili poslednjih skoro 20 godina. Samop mesto je jedinstveno sa snažnom energijom, ali osim toga, praviti BESPLATNI festival svojim rukama tako dugo sa toliko neverovatnih vrhunskih endova je zaista nečuveno. Toliko poštujem te momke i devojke i mislim da bi bilo koja scena imala toliko koristi da ima više takvih ljudi. Nadamo se da ćemo uskoro ponovo svirati tamo !
- “Retrofuture Caveman” je čudan naziv za album. Šta tačno on označava ?
Ima mnogo veze sa dualnošću i koncentričnim krugovima za koje smatramo da ih naša muzika ima. Kao životni viklus na neki način, ili istorija ili priroda. Budući da smo veliki fanovi naučne fantasatike, svidela nam se ideja da kreiramo ovaj koncept oko muzike koristeći ime i umetničko delo koje je majstorski izradio Mihail Manescu aka Obsidian Nibs. Možda je tako , a možda je i nekom izletelo ime tokom probe pa nam se svidelo…
- Kojim vašim nastupom za sve ove godine ste najponosniji ? Kad ste svirali tako dobro ili je reakcija publike bila neverovatna da vam je koncert ostao u sećanju ?
Znam da je to kliše i čak reći da je kliše je kliše, ali svaka naša svirka ima posebno mesto. Mi smo bend koji ima sreću da svira jako često, ali nemamo velike duge turneje i ne sviramo 200 nastupa godišnje. Imam intenzivno osećanje radosti tokom svake svirke jer još uvek ne verujem da sam toliko srećan što imam šansu da sviram u svom omiljenom bendu sa svojim omiljenim ljudima, a stranci dolaze i gledaju, pa nam čak i plaćaju…
- Sa kojim bendom biste voleli da delite binu ?
Sviranje sa bendom Yawning Man pre nekoliko godina bilo je ogromno iskustvo za nas. Na prvom koncertu koji smo odsvirali pod imenom Methadone Skies imali smo obradu pesme “Rock Formations”” od Yawning Man. Dok smo odrastali, gledali smo video snimke gde oni sviraju u nekim dalekim pustinjama u Kaliforniji. Biti licem u lice sa Mariom Lalijem bilo je nadrealno, ali bili smo još više očaranai kad smo shvatili koliko su svi oni ljubazni i skromni. Legende. Takođe, za mene je sviranje sa bendom Motorpsycho bila jako velika stvar. Sećam se da jednostavno nisam verovao da se to zaista događa.
Što se tiće budućnosti, ako bih mogao da sanjam, voleo bih da delim binu sa bbenodm kao što je YOB ili Oransi Pazuzu. Naravno, kad bih mogao da biram izabrao bih Ulver ili Lingvu Ignotu. A baš kad bih preterivao, svirka sa Nine Inch Nails ili QOTSA bila bi sjajna stvar.
- Pročitao sam u nekom od ranijih intervjua da ste članovi još nekih bendova ? Kako stoje stvari danas po tom pitanju ?
Ja sam trenutno živi član Dordeduh-a koji svira udaraljke, a Mihai svira bas u Cursed Cemetery, koji je upravo objavio sjajan album. Casian, Mihai i ja imamo ovaj sporedni projekat koji se zove Bongladesh sa jedinom svrhom da budemo najčudniji bend koji je ikad postojao. Važno je svirati sa drugim ljudima i proširiti svoje vidike, ali se mi trudimo da Methadon Skies bude prioritet.
- Ako obećate sjajan koncert u “ Fabrici”, vidimo se…
Nabavite cipele za ples i istegnite svoje transcedentalne mišiće, dolazimo sa puno energije i uzbuđenja da sviramo za vas. Puno ljubavi svima !
– You`ve started playing 13 years ago, can you still remember those beginning times?
Of course. There were some exciting times, because we were discovering music and learning to play together. We were a band of sorts even before I ever bought a drum set. Every piece of new gear, every new band discovered, every new show opened up a new world. It felt amazing. And this was before Methadone Skies was actually born, we were the same people minus Alex who we hadn’t met at the time, trying to decide what we wanted to do. We played some Queens of The Stone Age covers for maybe a few months, but after a while, maybe also due to lack of musical knowledge, we just wanted to make noise. It felt so liberating to create your own universe. So Methadone Skies was brought to life.
– How difficult is it to express your feeling just through instrumental, without any lyrics?
We obviously want to offer people a positive experience. It can be deep, meaningful and transcendental or it could be just pure fun and dancing. We never want to impose a certain importance or take ourselves too seriously. In the sense that some bands create this overpriced aura of importance around them, and make it feel very arduous and essential. And that is ok, but it is just not us. People must have the freedom to resonate with the sound and that alone to ignite feelings.
In my opinion that is the beauty of instrumental music, it gives you the freedom to feel what you want. I certainly hope that our music does not engage people into feelings of hate or anything of that nature, but music is very subjective. I for one feel a total state of bliss when listening to loud heavy stuff like Swans, Oranssi Pazuzu or SunnO))).
As to whether we craft songs in a way to create a certain state of mind or feelings, we don’t think about that too much. We just play whatever feels good.
– Why are your songs usually longer than 6-7 minutes? Is it difficult to make a short song, or you don’t want to do it that way?
It is clearly more difficult in my opinion to make a short song. We also discussed so many times the idea of making an album with only short songs. But then again, why? It just feels like we impose certain walls without any actual reasons. We don’t have any plans to hit the radio top pops so if a 2-3 minutes song is born and it feels right then great. Of course as a tool of expression a short song has a totally different feel and punch especially in a live set, so with this in mind we want to explore more on this. We have some new material and among it there are a couple of 4-5 minute bangers.
– You have played in Serbia many times before, and this will be your third time in Novi Sad? What will and will anything be different?
Serbia has always been amazing to play and has an incredible scene. Two of my favorite all time live shows were Consecration and Wolfram. There is also the massive Hill and The Cyclist Conspiracy, downstroy and many others. In my opinion this emulation of eclectic underground bands creates a perfect environment for us. The audience was always so welcoming and sent us so much energy. I love to see people dance at our shows, and Serbia has some great dancers.
What will be different is that we will play some new songs, we will probably play a little better as a band and I think that the fact that Lednik will play will certainly elevate the whole experience. They are a really cool band!
– Are there any other bands as good as yours in Timisoara? Which is the best Romanian band? Negura bunget doesn’t count.
Ha ha. I really don’t know if the first statement is true, but thank you! There are some great bands in our hometown, from which some are really influential for the whole Romanian scene. There are the legendary prog-rock heroes, Celelalte Cuvinte (The Other Words) that just had their 40 year anniversary and are still rockin ‘pretty hard. Of course there is Implant pentru Refuz (Implant for Denial) one of the hardcore pioneers, dordeduh that forever evolves from it’s black-metal origins and released an amazing second album last year, Thy Veils for anyone into ambient music, The Different Class for fans of Arctic Monkeys or Royal Blood, VVVLV from the punk crust sludge scene, Kultika from the prog-metal realm, Blutrina if you are into grindcore and Cursed Cemetery from the depth of doom metal. Also must mention The :Egocentrics that released two amazing albums at the beginning of 2010’.
Regarding bands from România outside Timisoara, some must listen bands are Fluturi pe Asfalt, Valerinne, The 13th Sun, Pinholes, Black Water and if I am forgetting anyone, please sorry.
– How would you describe your genre to someone who hasn’t listened to you before? Stoner, sludge, post rock or something else?
It’s a really hard question. Everything is a niche nowadays and must be labeled. Pragmatically if it were to be a label for vinyl shop crates I would say prog-stoner/post-rock/heavy psychedelic. If I would personally talk with this person I would say, it’s just some honest instrumental music for people that are into really heavy stuff and intense soundscapes.
– I remember you playing on the Mount of Artan festival. Many bands are saying that that was a one of a kind experience. Do you agree?
Certainly, what Goran and the people there have been doing for the past almost 20 years is mindblowing. The place itself is unique with a powerful energy, but beyond that, to make a diy FREE festival for such a long time with so many amazing top tier bands is really unheard of. I have so much respect for those guys and gals, and I think Any scene would benefit so much in having more people like that. Hopefully we will play there again soon!
– `Retrofuture Caveman` is a peculiar album name. What does it mean?
It has to do a lot with duality and repeating circles that we feel our music has. Sometimes it is very primitive, sometimes it is pretty out there and mostly all of the time it is repetitive. Like a life cycle in a way, or history or nature. Being big Scifi fans we loved the idea of creating this concept around the music using the name and the artwork masterfully crafted by Mihai Mănescu aka Obsidian Nibs. It could be all that, or it could just be that one of us said this as a joke while talking shit during a rehearsal and we all thought it just sounded pretty cool.
– What concert of yours from this year will you remember as special and cherish it in your memories forever?
I know that it is a cliche and even saying that it is a cliche, is a cliche, but all of the shows have a special place. We are a band lucky enough to play shows constantly, but we don’t have massive long tours or play 200 shows per year. I have intense feelings of joy at every show because I can’t believe I am this fortunate to be playing in my favorite band with my favorite people and strangers come and watch and even pay money.
– With what band would you love to share the stage?
Playing with Yawning Man a few years ago was massive for us as a band. Our first show as Methadone Skies 13 years ago had one cover and that was Rock Formations from Yawning Man. Growing up we used to watch bootleg videos of them playing in some far away deserts in California. Being face to face with Mario Lalli was surreal, but all the more when we discovered how kind and humble they all are. Legends. Also for me playing with Motorpsycho was a huge huge deal. I remember I just did not believe it to be real.
For the future, if I were to dream, I would love to share the stage with a band like Yob or Oranssi Pazuzu. In a strange match up I would also love to play with Ulver or Lingua Ignota. Going even bigger Nine Inch Nails or QOTSA would be something.
– I`ve read in some of your previous interviews that some of you are also members of other bands? How is that working out?
I am currently a live member of dordeduh playing percussion and Mihai is playing bass in Cursed Cemetery, which just released a punishing album. Myself, Mihai and Casian have this side project called Bongladesh with the sole purpose to create the most punishing doom ever to exist. It is important to play with other people and expand your horizons, but we try and keep Methadone as a priority.
– If you promise us a great performance in `SKCNS Fabrika`, I`ll see you there.
Get your dancing shoes and stretch your transcendental muscles, we are coming with a lot of energy and excitement to play for you. Much love to all!
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