The journey of Phase re-started on a midsummer day in 2004, when the band started collecting experiences and ideas that were continuously filtered leading them to their current form! Based in the UK they are formulating their concerns most creatively…

Welcome to JAZZBLUESROCK.GR  

It’s good to be in touch with yourself and your readers! It’s a great honour having you looking into our work.

Let’s start with the least creative question: Who are you?

We are Phase; a group of friends who filter and transform any stimuli we encounter that we feel is worth putting into artistic statements.

Your discography?

We have two full-length albums aside from any other material we have released, and we are not planning to stop creating anytime soon. Hopefully, circumstances will allow for that.

During your time in a band, what would you say, were the most important points during your musical career? 

We have done various impressive things for a band from a little county. This fact however does not affirm in itself who we are and what we have to say each time. Unfortunately, we live in a superficial society and we have to use such points to attract attention and communicate any prospective profound messages. Nietsche‘s belief that a profound spirit needs a mask could also be rooted to that. It’s exactly like flirting; The most superficial and primitive mechanism to approach anyone. Jean-Paul Sartre would out of hand dismiss this as ‘Bad Faith‘, but one’s ability to play any ‘game’ is a good test to discover one’s undesirable traits or where on the empathy scale, or where in the spectrum they would be.

You have moved to England. Has this helped you musically and were there other reasons for the expatriation? 

It is tue that arts are more accepted here compared to Greece, but there were other important reasons behind relocating our base. In the Greece I know, the transition from boyhood to adulthood is difficult, partly because it’s hard to make ends meet. This often leads to unhealthy dependencies in parent-child and peer relationships, or people finding refuge in problematic romantic relationships, including marriages. It’s too complex a matter to fully explain here.

As for art, it’s nearly impossible to write about all the ‘big ideas’ while living in your childhood bedroom in your 30s. Some may associate rock music with immaturity of infantile regression, but it shouldn’t be viewed that way. Rock should be revolutionary, and like any revolution, it starts within and sets an example for others. If a person refuses to confront their own truths, they won’t recognize truth anywhere else, let alone communicate it.

Are you familiar with what is happening in the Greek music world? What is your opinion about the Greek scene? 

The Greek music scene isn’t much different from here, but it seems to have more delusional elements, possibly due to the cultural lag between the two places. The post-dictatorship generation in Greece tried to raise “princes” as extensions of their parents’ selves with the view for them to carry on their legacy, which may have contributed to this Don Quixotisism. Religious tradition also plays a part, as countries that embraced a form of Protestantism tend to be more progressive and realistic as opposed to having a dogmatic or fatalist disposition. In England, existential dread takes the form of post-capitalist nihilism, but I personally prefer that to the other option.

How would you describe your music?

Apocalyptic.

I personally find it rather dark, do you think darkness enhances light?

Yes, that’s exactly how it is. If people get close enough, they’ll realise we’re fun to be around—well, except on one of them days. We’re not encouraging despair or pushing anyone into harmful experiences… And we’re definitely not celebrating doom like emos might be doing.

We simply comment on social reality. I believe that modern society pushes individuals to be competitive and strive for excellence for them to be considered successful, and therefore desirable and part of the ingroup—that’s the “carrot” many chase. But society seems to be largely neglecting the importance of nurturing social skills and emotional intelligence, something that leads to more emotionally crippled individuals than what we had to begin with Those who are hungry for praise and attention end up serving the markets while feeling miserable and lonely. It’s a kind of alienation Marx could not have foreseen. It’s not that the Apple factory workers cannot afford an iPhone Karl, it’s the exact opposite.

We think social reality warrants serious commentary, and if artists are not vocal about those matters, who will be? I think that once someone accepts an objective truth about themselves, they can see it everywhere, and it becomes their responsibility to share it. Otherwise, they make secret agreements with themselves, believing they’re the only ones who “get it”, also mostly getting it wrong—and that is what’s mainly going wrong with our modern-day societies. As you know the English word idiot comes from ιδιώτης, to describe someone who does not care for the common good.

What is the theme of your lyrics?

Can music ultimately become a carrier of knowledge?

Absolutely! Music, as an emotional vehicle, serves as the canvas for the intellectual content expressed in the lyrics. Once it evolved beyond its basic role in courtship, as seen in the animal kingdom, music took on the archetypal function of promoting social bonding. In ancient times, communities would guide shamans through inner journeys using dance and song, during which they gained insights into fundamental truths. These truths then inspired the collective, who were often too absorbed in daily routines—work, hunting, survival—to reflect and rediscover them on their own. This dynamic still holds true today. People leading busy lifestyles can turn to thought-provoking art for intellectual stimulation. Obviously, access to knowledge is a bit different than when in primitive societies, but an artist can at the very least serve as an index of good influences.

Let’s get back to your band… What are your upcoming plans?

To work on the material for our new album. We’re not in the position to make grand plans for success or extensive tours for reasons that are not the subject of this interview, but we’ll be here consistently to make our material available in any way we can.

What were the biggest challenges you have faced so far, and what do you think you will face in the future?

Maintaining a beautiful and honest relationship with someone is not the easiest thing. Anyone who doesn’t agree with that is quite likely in denial. Every relationship is like a third person; if you don’t care for those consistently, they are put at risk. Now try and integrate that example into a relationship involving 3 or 4 people as a thought experiment, and I guess you will agree that it’s near impossible. It takes a lot of effort to nurture healthy relationships within a group of people and not everyone will be as diligent as others at all times. Besides that, we face all the everyday challenges that everyone else encounters, only times four. The good thing is that as you work through difficulties with someone, and you accept the other’s ‘otherness’, you share the burden, and also become more connected in the process.

As a band, do you prefer small venues or large stages and festivals?

We like both equally. As for the large stages, I can only answer in a largely speculative manner, since we’ve only played in front of crowds up to the four-digit range once or twice so far. But the energy had been incredibly huge, and I can see this being addictive. On the other hand, in smaller venues, the closeness, intimacy, and direct connection between the audience and the band is something you can’t easily replace.

Which live performance do you consider your most important, and which one stands out as unforgettable?

They’re all special, though I am certain there would be a few that I’ve actually forgotten about (Laughter)! Symbolically, our most important performance was in Damascus a few years back. Not only was it an uncharted destination for rock bands, but it will never be the same after the brutal civil war that has been taking place there since.

Is a live performance the ultimate embodiment of a rock band?

It’s a such like ritual for certain. The embodiment and realization of all the ideas an artist pondered and expressed —the coordination between the band, the collective intensity, even if it lasts only for fleeting moments here and there. You truly have the chance to transmit the energy of the work directly, and if all the components align, it can become “magical.” Imagine something like any number of people genuinely communicating and understanding each other simultaneously, with no room for misunderstanding. It feels euphoric, even more so in our days when people often don’t even try to connect in a group or relationship and are starved for connection.

New sub-genres keep emerging within rock. Do you think these labels are necessary?

I don’t really have a clear opinion on that… I think I am not concerned with how artists want to market their output, or how journalists or scholars want to categorise vernacular rock music, and its every variant or derivative.

Do you believe that rock can successfully incorporate and blend with other forms of musical expression?

Absolutely. Music has always been about influence and the exchange of ideas. Even in times of war and hostility, when people opposed anything foreign and fought against it at every opportunity, musicians traveled around, influencing one another through exchanging ideas. That’s perhaps why we see similar musical instruments appearing almost simultaneously in different parts of the world, as well as similarities in traditional artistic styles. Rock, which is supposed to be innovative, can’t help but embrace these kinds of fusions— and that’s not just as an imitation of George Harrison’s popular example appropriating the sitar, but as a natural organic progression.

Do you dare to do that?

Yes, to the point we feel is appropriate. Never as an end in itself, just like with anything else, of course.

Ultimately, does a band seek glory or money?

I think most people, to some extent, see their band as a form of escape—some just from the everyday grind that wears them down, others more ambitiously from their social and economic circumstances. You can imagine all the varied degrees of that. Both sides of the dilemma you present aren’t that different. If you create art driven purely by vanity, you will find an audience—amongst the many who seek validation in popular culture! Just look at Michael Jackson’s audience, still debating whether he ever had plastic surgery or was a paedophile, largely because they’re trying to hide their own shortcomings, cowardice, and misery behind the mask of naivety. If you write a love song that glorifies egoism and unhealthy dependency, you’ll also find an audience, but we can’t do anything like that and be okay with ourselves. When someone isn’t honest with themselves, they’re not really making art. They might be creating craft or entertainment, but it’s not art. Sometimes the masses want to glorify narcissistic ideals and be entertained by their own degradation.

Thank you for your time, and any words for the readers of jazzbluesrock…

Don’t let anything in life discourage you. There is a God, and it’s called love.

Contact:

http://phase.gr/
https://www.facebook.com/PhaseBand

Curation : Jacek Maniakowski

Published: 6/6/2014 18:03