When a band chooses to speak through instruments instead of words, the music becomes a story. King Garcia, the Greek instrumental rock outfit blending woodpipes, soaring guitars and cinematic soundscapes, does exactly that. Their debut album “Hamelin” captures melancholy and hope, darkness and light, in a way that resonates far beyond borders. In this interview, we dive into their origins, their creative process and the philosophy behind their unique sound; King Garcia reveal the heart, the thoughts and the vision behind their mesmerizing music.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
First of all, how did King Garcia start? How did you all meet?
All four of us have a lot of experience from previous -or current- bands so asking them to create another band would be a big no-no. So I had to do it in a sneaky way and I decided to just call that first meeting as a get-together with random musicians, just a way to have fun, nothing more than that. One rainy evening in November of 2018 I wanted to just jam with people I liked and respected, both musically and personally. I invited the guys for a jam and we just clicked, it all made sense after that, we had to create a band.
What does the name King Garcia mean to you? Why did you choose it?
When we were thinking of names I suggested The People of Diego Garcia and Kostas (guitarist) suggested The Daughters of King Fisher. That was a beautiful coincidence as we hadn’t discussed about the context we were aiming for. We liked both so we created a Facebook poll and asked our friends to vote. One of them suggested we link both names and create something fresh, and just commented ‘’why not King Garcia?’’ It instantly clicked with us. We love doing things in communities and creating stuff with others, we are strong advocates of ‘’together is better’’.
Your debut album “Hamelin” received great reviews. How did it feel to see that reaction?
We are humbled. We knew we loved the album but didn’t realize so many people would hear in our music what we heard. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that someone at the other side of the world listens to our music and resonates with our art, that is divine, it’s special.
The album has a very cinematic and atmospheric vibe. What inspires your sound the most?
Movies and literature. We all love art and I’m not just talking about music of course. We read, watch movies, go to the theater, to galleries… you name it. The fact that we don’t use vocals for us it’s liberating, it’s creating landscapes and scenes that can be different for each of us. It’s a very subjective experience how one will filter our melodies.
You use horns in place of vocals, which is very unique. How did this idea first come up?
I didn’t want to invite a singer to the jam. I don’t like the drama that singers bring into the studio lol. No, jokes aside I wanted to improvise on that evening in November 18’ and doing that with a singer would have been challenging. I hadn’t jammed with a horn-player before and I liked what Alex did with his trumpet and clarinet (he uses both with effects and weird sounds) so I thought that could be fun. And it was!
Do you feel that not having lyrics gives the listener more space to imagine their own stories?
Exactly! It is liberating, it speaks to everyone in a different way, in a different context. It’s not always good though, I have had people telling me that they need a singer in the band but that’s fine, our stuff might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Can you describe your songwriting process? Does someone start an idea and the others follow, or is it more collective?
No, it usually starts with improv in the studio. We jam and jam and jam… sometimes for months, it’s not that fun always haha. Then we either bring our own ideas next time and build on a structure or we just try to figure it out between us in the studio, it’s a lengthy process. Hamelin album took three years to finish composing.
If “Hamelin” was a movie, what kind of movie would it be?
Great question. I have never thought of this… maybe a Guillermo del Toro one? Dark but not scary, something with a nostalgic feeling for sure.
Give us all the info about the fantastic cover artwork of “Hamelin”.
That photo was shot by a friend of ours in London. We saw that picture the first year the band was created and we agreed that if we ever release and album that would be the cover. And all the stars aligned.
You mention that your music works as a form of “catharsis”. What kind of emotions are you releasing through it?
We have all been through some really hard stuff man, I mean, heavy shit. We each use our art in a different way but at the same time it’s the same. We have our own demons, our own challenges and music helps tune-down these difficulties, at least in a short-term way. The epitome of this feeling is our closing song, The Day We Lost Everything.
The album has some dark and heavy moments but also light and uplifting ones. Is that contrast intentional?
No it’s not but I’m so glad you noticed. That’s how we perceive it too. I guess that’s our psyche, we are built of grief, challenges and we live in a fucked up country but we can’t let the darkness win you know, we need to look for our little light at the end of the tunnel, for our clearing in the sky.
How important is atmosphere in your music compared to melody or rhythm?
These are both elements that need to co exist. It also depends on the song, we got Sweat for example that’s just straight-up rock, heavy groovy rock. We don’t need atmosphere there. But at the same time we got songs like Magnolia where silence and minimalism are essential for the message, for the feeling we wish to create to our audience.
The band is instrumental, but do you ever think about adding a singer in the future, or is this identity fixed?
We would happily get someone on board for a collab. Not sure if we would be open to incorporate someone long-term but definitely for a guest appearance.
How do audiences react when they see you live for the first time and realize there are no vocals?
Haha, good question. I don’t know really, I hope they enjoy it in the end. I haven’t seen people live in the middle of a set so I guess they are positively surprised!
What is the biggest challenge of being an instrumental band today?
You will never be radio-friendly. Period. Also you can’t guide your listener to where you want, you can’t tell a story in a very specific way, but like I mentioned that can have an up-side. That’s it basically, nothing more than that.
Tell us about the Athens music scene right now. How is it to be a band based here?
We got some sick bands here that are doing so good both in Greece and abroad. There is definitely a scene. We got a few venues to play, bands to play with and people like supporting the good stuff. I’m not saying that any underground band will be playing to lots of people but it’s definitely a good place to start. Much better than London (where I lived and played for 8 years) and I can tell you that it sucks in terms of underground heavy music scene, no one cares what you play over there, there’s no community.
If someone is listening to “Hamelin” for the first time, what do you hope they feel?
Melancholy and hope at the same time.
What are your plans for the future?
We want to play as many gigs as possible. Now that we have released the album we want to take it everywhere. We are also slowly composing new tunes.
If you could describe King Garcia with three adjectives, what would you say?
Brave, moody and bright (not sure if these are all adjectives though lol)
You are playing live at Piraeus Club Academy in Athens in a few days! How do you feel about that? What should we expect from this live show?
At last! We will be presenting our album exactly as we have imagined it! We have some guest musicians joining us on stage just to make this feel bigger and louder. Don’t want to say more but we have incorporated a few easter eggs in the show too. It’s gonna be sick.
Send your message to our readers!
Thank you all for spending your time and listening to new music. On behalf of all the musicians out there I wish to express our gratitude. We need audiences that enjoy music and not trends. Thank you for being here. And thank you for the lovely interview.
