FLOATING WORLDS – WATCHER OF THE SKIES: interview

If you like melodic music, then Floating Worlds and their new album, “Skywatcher”, is ideal for you. Floating Worlds don’t accept boundaries and labels, but experiment and create something unique in the realms of rock/metal music. Being influenced even by pop bands of the 80s and OST of science fiction movies, the Greek band presents us songs so interesting, at the same time romantic and innovative. Myth of Rock was waiting eagerly for an interview with Floating Worlds and now that we have talked with the band, we proudly present you our conversation.

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos

Can you share the story behind the formation of Floating Worlds in the late ’90s? What inspired you to start the band?

It all began around 1998, when two long time friends who used to spend their summer vacations together, Andreas V. – guitar and Vagelis Lekos – bass, decided to form a band, eventually named “Floating Worlds”. In the beginning, they just wanted to play covers of their favorite bands like Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses but very soon, the desire to write their own music became the driving force of the band. After a lot of failed attempts to record our first songs, we succeeded in completing our first album, entitled “Only A Dream, Can Kill A Dream…” in the autumn of 2007.

How has the band’s lineup evolved over the years?

A lot of changes have taken place since the beginning of our existence as a band. The only remaining member from the initial lineup is the founder of the band, Andreas V.  Jon Soti, our singer, is a member of the band since 2011 and Mike Papadopoulos, our bassist, is with us since 2015.

Your music defies traditional genre boundaries. Can you describe the primary influences that shape your unique sound?

Pop artists and bands of the 80s, rock/metal  bands and the soundtracks of science fiction movies of the 80s are the primary influences of our sound.

How do you manage to blend such diverse genres—from pop and disco to prog rock and heavy metal—into a cohesive musical experience?

There is no specific plan to combine all these genres. It just comes naturally out of our hearts, since we love so much all these genres. Of course our producer, Dionisis Christodoulatos has helped a lot with the part of cohesiveness. Without his input and help, it would be very difficult for us to achieve this result.

What does the songwriting process look like for Floating Worlds? Do you follow a particular structure or let creativity guide you organically?

We let ourselves completely free. Music guides us and we go with the music’s flow. We have no boundaries. The only thing we tried to do on purpose in the “Skywatcher” album was to avoid the long durations per song.

“Skywatcher” is your fourth album. How do you feel this album differs from your previous releases?

It’s completely different from our previous albums, since it is the first time we visit such music fields. We still use a lot of vocal and synth layers but the music genre of “Skywatcher” is completely different from our previous albums.In order to achieve the appropriate music coating of the story of “Skywatcher”, we explored, for the first time, uncharted “music oceans”, in order to approach as close as possible the vibe of the band’s favorite science fiction movies of the 80s and 90s.

Is “Skywatcher” a concept album? Can you walk us through the thematic and musical journey of “Skywatcher”?

Yes,  “Skywatcher”  is a ten-song concept album, where the famous journalist Paul Rogers narrates a very strange and sorrowful case he had covered as a reporter in the past, about the mysterious disappearance of Winston Smith, a nine year old boy who hoped that by observing the sky through a telescope, he could one night meet his lost father in a distant star. A sequence of strange occasions and events led Winston to an intergalactic adventurous experience, which resulted in his disappearance under unspecified circumstances, one autumn night of September. Will Winston finally manage to meet his father, somewhere at a distant edge of the universe?  The answer to this question, could be revealed by the end of the album

The cover art for “Skywatcher” is captivating. Who designed it, and how does it reflect the album’s content?

Thank you very much. Kostas Tsiakos and Giorgos Papadakis of “Paper Goblin” have designed the artwork. It shows the main characters of the story of the album, Winston Smith and his father lieutenant David Smith who is hidden somewhere among the stars of the universe.  It also has some references to our previous album “Battleship Oceania”, since the stories of the two albums are connected in many ways.

The videos that are released from “Skywatcher” are anime. Do you like anime? Why?

We love anime since we were very young. I cannot say exactly why we love anime so much. Maybe it has to do with the ability of anime to visit any imaginary world and situation. With anime, anything is possible visually.

How important are the intricate arrangements and technical elements in your music, and how do you achieve the balance between complexity and accessibility?

We don’t add intricate arrangements or technical elements in our music on purpose. In general, we never try to impress the listener with our technical skills.Every selection comes naturally out of our hearts, so any type of balance between complexity and accessibility is something that doesn’t concern us, while we compose new music. We only aim to create images and feelings to the listener and we will use any arrangement or technical skill to achieve this.

What message or feeling do you hope to leave listeners with through the songs of “Skywatcher”?

We wish to take the listeners back to the 80s era and give them hope that they will have the chance to meet again one day their loved ones that are lost, perhaps in a distant star, far away from our galaxy.

You are a band with big live activity and experience. How do you sound live in concert? Are there any memorable moments from your live shows that stand out to you as defining experiences for the band?

We always try to achieve a sound as close as possible to the sound of the original studio recordings. Our first show out of Greece was a very special moment for us, as we managed to make a big dream come true.

How do you navigate the music industry as a band that doesn’t fit neatly into a single genre? Have you faced any specific challenges because of this?

It is challenging indeed, as we are not clearly a pop band, neither a rock nor a metal band, so it is difficult, marketing wise, to trace the appropriate promotional channels and audience. We try to be as creative as possible, in order to overcome this difficulty.

What are your plans for the future? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you can share with us?

We intend to play some shows, in order to promote “Skywatcher”. This is the only thing we plan currently.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring musicians who want to break free from genre constraints, what would it be?

Write music as it comes naturally out of your heart, without second thoughts. Don’t hesitate to make any experimentations.