We had a chat with Alithia while they took a short breather between European tour legs and recording their new album.
(((o))): According to your bio there’s been various people come and go from the band since you formed. You make a point about the experiences they brought to the band and that this stays with the band to be a part of what it is today. This focus on similarities rather than differences – as a benefit rather than a hindrance – is a bit unusual. Can you tell us a bit about the growth of Alithia’s sound and what parallels and connections this has to life in general.
A: Alithia originally started in 2002 with John being the only current member. The group was pretty much a grunge-punk band but then John and Danny started jamming with each other in 2003 which helped open up the door to the more progressive/psychedelic sound the band now has. When Vel joined the band in 2004, we were all quite inexperienced musicians, particularly when it came to playing in a group. However, we all had a lot of ambition and drive to really push our music as far as we could. In trying to do this, we would recruit lots of other musicians to play with us and at one stage, the band was made up of 9 people.
Playing in such a large group gave us a chance to experiment with large soundscapes and how to layer music. It also focussed our minds on the importance of dynamics in music and to properly accentuate the lighter and the darker sides. Each time a new person came in, they brought with them their own experiences and musical perspectives which gave us all something new to draw from. We focus on these similarities and benefits because each of these people helped us grow musically and personally into the people and musicians that we are today.
In life in general, you can either see every obstacle as a set back or as a step towards your final goal, equipping you with the tools you need to achieve that goal.
(((o))): When you write music, where or what does it come from? How is conceived? What is its purpose?
A: When we write music, we are inspired by our trials and tribulations nd the joys and ecstasy which we all have in every day life. We are lucky as we are a group with very different and contrasting perspectives which allows us to write music which doesn’t sound like anything we’ve heard before, but is inspired by everything that all of us have experienced.
It often feels as though we are conduits to something greater than ourselves – that these songs already exist and we are receiving them and it is just a matter of piecing them together.
The purpose of our music is to inspire people’s imagination, to bring people together through harmonies and vibrations and to allow people the freedom to let go of their worldly troubles. We also want to push the boundaries and ourselves and create something new and original. For us, music has always been a release and taken us away. We hope that our music can do that for people too.
(((o))): Your live performances are full of dynamics and explosions of energy. What’s happening in your minds when you perform? What and who are you connecting with, and in what way?
From well before we step on stage, it is really important that we are connected with each other. This is obvious from a musical perspective but to really achieve this, we need to be mentally connected as well – to feel the other person and how they are playing/how they are going to play. We also focus a lot on being open to the audience and not only giving them energy from our music, but vibing off their energy and using that to push us further. We do have a lot of ups and downs in the songs and we try to use these different energies to create different emotions and feelings, not only for the audience but for ourselves. Although with all of the different energies going around, sometimes we don’t even know what’s going on in our heads! There are points in the songs where we can forget about everything and just let go of anything that is material or any other pressures or constraints and just be free.
(((o))): You’ve indulged in costumes and light shows at various times playing live. Can you tell us a bit about that? What sort of reactions does it get from punters?
A: There have been a couple of times where we have used costumes and visuals to compliment the music. We see these visuals as assisting people in better comprehending the music. Some people may not get the aural perspective immediately, but the visuals can help some people make a deeper connection.
We played a couple of shows with costumes and the assistance of movement artists (interpretative dancers). More recently, we had a VJ (Andy) who created incredible visuals using a “video guitar” which enabled him to manipulate projections live on stage with us. We will be incorporating visuals back into our live show throughout 2013 for the release of our new album.
(((o))): You are currently touring in Europe and just completed your East Path leg playing with Smallman. How long was that in the making – how did it come about?
A: Our bass player Tibor has been based in Budapest, Hungary for 2 years now and he has started a booking agency for Aussie bands to tour around Europe called Horizon Music. This year he has booked The Red Paintings and Meniscus European tours as well as ours. So, when we asked him about the possibility of making a European tour happen, he said he could definitely make that happen for Alithia. From that we thought of playing an itinerary of countries where many people don’t tour including Balkan countries. So work went underway researching interesting bands we could play with in there areas. Danny discovered Smallman online and as soon as we heard them, we were like wow, what a crazy psychedelic art-rock band that fuses traditional Bulgarian music and we were like, shit we have to play with these guys. So we got in touch with them and they were super down to earth and nice and realistic people. They invited us for 2 shows in Bulgaria, in Sofia at Mixtape 5 (to 650 punters) and a sold out show in Plovidiv, it was incredible. So, we thought why only do 2 shows together so we invited them on the rest of the leg of the first tour, so we invited them to play with us until Budapest, where we have now been for the past couple weeks recording the album. We then start our second leg on November 7 with Hungarian band Grand Mexican Warlock.
(((o))): How did the first leg go? What sort of crowds did you get and how did they respond? Do people in Europe get progressive rock a bit more than we do here in Melbourne?
A: The first leg was amazing. Our very first show was in Sofia, Bulgaria and played in a room similar to the Hi-Fi Bar back in Melbourne and about 650+ people came through the door. The crowd was really receptive to our music and to see people 17,000kms from home rocking out to our music was a mind blowing experience. All of the people we have met have been very welcoming and the crowds have been really friendly. It seems like people really get Astral Space Core in Europe!
The Balkan and Central Europeans in general seem to be a much more rock-orientated place than Australia, with punters in generally being much more open minded to non-conventional or trend driven music. However, from talking to people it seems that not that many bands come through the places we played so people were really appreciative of seeing international live music. People we’d never met were asking for our autographs or to have photos taken with us which was an incredible, but also very humbling experience.
(((o))): What were Smallman like to perform with?
A: Smallman are amazing! If you haven’t listened to their music yet, go and do it now. The time signatures in their music are drawn from traditional Bulgarian music, but they adapt this into modern psychdeleic heavy art-rock. Their music is very powerful, passionate and honest. Their live performance was incredibly tight and we learnt a lot from their professionalism and they are hands down a first rate world class act that should be on mainstages all over the world, not just in their home country. It was a strange experience meeting people for the first time and then spending a week in a van with them, but Smallman and their crew were all amazing people and we now consider them our cosmic brothers.
(((o))): The West Path kicks off soon. Have you learnt anything in the last couple of weeks that will help you with the second leg?
How to swear in Hungarian and the best sorts of Pálinka (strong Hungarian spirit)! I think just having a better idea of what touring non-stop for a week takes will set us in better stead for the next leg. Whether you’re battling fatigue or bribing certain border officials to let you into the country, you’ve got to be ready for anything! However, we’ve heard that Grand Mexican Warlock are totally the wildest party animals and that we are in for a rough ride with those crazy guys!!! I think we’ve also become a lot closer as a group throughout the last couple of weeks. Playing every night in a different country really brings you closer as a band.
(((o))): You’ve also been busy recording your new record. Who are you doing that with, and where?
A: We’re about half way into recording our new, as yet untitled, album at Metropol Studios with Sándor Dániel, who is a renowned and highly respected producer throughout Central Europe. He has produced many big names and chart topping bands from Hungary including Isten Háta Mögött, Péterfy Bóri, Grand Mexican Warlock and many others… although to Aussies reading this list, it looks like a list of unknowns, but you have to imagine that these acts are the Hungarian equivalent in status of say Karnivool, George and Something for Kate…… The studio is situated at Keleti Blokk which is an old university building which has been converted into a huge artist space where bands or other artists can lease a room 24/7 and just create. The vibe that you get from a place like this is amazing. It is very laid back and all of the people are very friendly. There’s a common room with a beer fridge with an honesty system where people just take a beer and are trusted to pay what they own. It’s a very inspirational place.
(((o))): How has the process differed from when you recorded your current EP?
It’s been a really long process so far in that we are really pushing ourselves, and being pushed by Dániel to create the best possible music we can. There’s been a particular focus on capturing the essence and raw vibe of our live sound to really convey the dynamics within our music.
(((o))): What can we expect to hear on the new record and when?
You can expect an Astral Space Core classic! We are all really excited by these new songs. The album will also feature a number of different guest artists from around the globe, from New York beat poets through to traditional Bulgarian instrumentation to even just the sounds of the air in Budapest. We really wanted to open ourselves up to Central Europe and the Balkans and allow ourselves to be inspired by it and give the music a different flavour to what it would’ve sounded like if it was recorded back in Australia.
(((o))): What can you tell us about Alithia that we won’t find on your facebook page or in your bio?
John has legally changed his name to Sparky.
Sparky met Vel whilst Vel was air drumming down the main road in Box Hill.
Sparky and Danny have known each other since they were teenagers and have lived together for almost 5 years.
Sparky loves exhibiting his Australian passport in central Europe.
(((o))): Thanks very much for your time and good luck with the rest of the tour.
Thanks, mate!!
Alithia’s facebook page
