Naxatras is one of Greece’s finest psychedelic/space rock exports. With their new album, “V”, they are determined to convince even the most demanding purists that they are a true force to be reckoned with in the global psychedelic and progressive scene. Myth of Rock, ecstatic about the new songs from the Greek band, reached out to Naxatras for a fascinating conversation. Are you ready for this strange encounter?
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
Your new album, “V”, is going to be released in a few days. How do you feel about that? What should the fans expect from this new release?
It feels super exciting, because we have been working on it for these last years, paying attention to every little detail, so it feels unreal that people are going to finally listen to it. It’s a bold move forward, taking the prog direction of “IV”, the synths and orchestrations, but this time with more eastern and world music flavor. At the same time, it feels 100% like us, the core of our music is there as always.
When and where was the new album recorded? Who did the mixing and the mastering?
It was recorded at by Nik Logiotatidis at Polytropon Studio in Thessaloniki by Nik Logiotatidis, mixed by Alex Bolpasis at Suono in Athens and mastered by Nick Townsend at Infrasonic Sound, U.S.A.
Where would you trace the differences between the new album and your previous ones? How much have you progressed?
The first and obvious difference is the song lengths, they’re all 5-6 minutes long which is a departure from the longer songs of our previous albums. The production is cleaner, punchier and feels like a blend between the analog warmth of the first albums and the clarity of “IV”. There are also the folklore elements that are more prominent in wind, percussive and string instruments, as well as electronic music forms.
How would you describe the creative process behind the new album? Who were the main composers of the new songs? How were the new songs composed?
We are all working together in the composition of the songs. Some of the ideas come from jamming, other times someone comes up with some song parts or melodies and we take it from there.
Naxatras play in a psychedelic/space rock style. Which are the trademarks of your sound?
I like to split our songs into categories that seem like some sort of patterns, for example every album has a heavy song, a groovy song, an emotional song, an energetic song, all bound together by our playing and their psychedelic core. It’s not something forced for sure, we’ve been told that our music flows naturally and seamlessly and I think it’s a great compliment.
You have also many progressive rock elements. Do you agree? Which are your favorite progressive rock artists/bands?
We do love progressive rock and have incorporated more of it in our last albums, of course we love Pink Floyd, Eloy, Camel, Gong, Ozric Tentacles, Alan Parsons Project and many more.
There are also many Eastern music elements on the new songs. Do you agree? What inspired you to explore this particular sound? Name your main Eastern music influences.
We were always drawn to the Eastern sounds; our first album begins like that too. It’s where we all come together and feel in our element.However, the East has infinite approaches, from heavy metal to goa trance, from Greek and Turkish traditional music to their more modern incarnations like Altin Gun, King Gizzard and Glass Beams, it’s a huge field that can inspire a multitude of artists.
What role does improvisation play in your music?
We jam in the studio when we are rehearsing and we jam around ideas too, but when we go into recording mode, especially as the years go by, we tend to be more and more precise about strong structures and execution. It would be an interesting idea though to go in the studio with nothing in mind and just record our improvisation, as an experiment.
How would you describe the atmosphere of your songs? How much important is atmosphere for you?
Atmosphere is everything, our music takes the listener on a journey into unknown worlds, it’s like telling a story or making a movie.
Where do your lyrics refer to?
Usually we begin with a vocal melody and maybe a loose concept and then it becomes tied to the concept of the album, like a narrative that can work on its own but makes a lot more sense taken with the story of the album. At least in our latest albums that have a concept.
2024 © Amir Weiss
The first single from “V” is “Numenia”. Why did you select this song as single? Which are your favorite songs off “V”?
It’s definitely the catchiest, it’s groovy but also goes hard, it seems to stick to people’s minds. Personally, my favorite songs are Sand Halo because it’s one the most well-written and executed songs we’ve made and Utopian Structures because it has a very different mood, it flows and can be very trippy with its electronic textures and soundscapes.
I recently experienced your live show as special guests of Ozric Tentacles. How do you remember this concert now?
It was an amazing experience, we are huge fans since we were teens and we enjoyed these shows a lot, it definitely was like a milestone for us to play with a band that was among our heroes when we started.
You’ve just played at Gagarin 205 in Athens. Could you describe what happened in that anniversary show?
This one was a party! Awesome vibe, we had these surprises too, like the girls that danced in Numenia also performed at the show, some guest musicians, visuals. It was like a celebration for all the people that have supported us through the last ten years.
Many fans consider your live performances as an essential part of the Naxatras experience. How would you describe the live sound and the live shows of Naxatras?
We are a live band for sure, the songs become something more intense and immersive live, there’s energy going between the audience and us that can be very electric.
Naxatras has always had a strong DIY ethos. How challenging has it been to maintain independence while continuing to expand your production quality?
It’s a hard road for sure. There’s a ton of work in managing yourself, pressing your own records, taking care of everything and working with our close collaborators for artwork, videos, promotion, bookings. Luckily, there’s enough people that support us to keep us going and we are grateful.
Greek psychedelic and stoner rock has gained recognition internationally. What do you think makes the Greek scene unique?
People abroad say there’s something in the water… I don’t know, maybe the timing was good during the last decade for hard working bands from Greece to get in the spotlight because of the Internet I guess and some other factors like the crisis making “regular” job hunting hard anyway, so artists went on and did their thing. It’s great that we’re all still here and it wasn’t just a temporary phenomenon.
Your fan base extends far beyond Greece. How does it feel to have such a strong international following, and how has this influenced your approach to music?
We always felt we were more well known abroad for some reason, like if you see the comment section in our videos and social media it’s mostly people from other countries and even continents. I don’t think this has affected our music; I mean we don’t have that in mind when we write songs. But it is absolutely necessary for the kind of music we play to be able to tour abroad.
If you could collaborate with any artist—past or present—who would it be and why?
I’ll go with Vangelis, it would be such an honor to craft something in collaboration with his incredible mind.
Your albums feel like sonic journeys. If “V” had a specific setting—real or fictional, where would it take place?”
There’s a concept in the albums, “IV” and “V” take place in the imaginary land of Narahmon, it’s a world dwelling in the realms of fantasy and sci-fi, perhaps you can call it space fantasy. There’s quite some lore there if one looks for it and it’s brought to life through the amazing work of our illustrator, Chris RW.
Your message to our readers!
Hope you enjoy our new album, blast it loud and see you at the next show!
