Interview: SONIC WASTELAND from Poland!
Hello. can you introduce your band to our readers? Would you mind telling us for how long you’ve known each other and how did you guys meet?
Hi, SONIC WASTELAND are: Kuba (voc), Bolek (guitar), Piotrek (drum), Zbyszek (bass). We’ve known each other for many years (early 90s). We come from the Warsaw music scene, each of us played/plays in many bands here. 3 years ago we had musical bends and came across each other..
How long or well have you known each other? Can you tell me something about your older bands?
Kuba played in several bands evolving from hardcore to broadly understood rocknroll (POKER FACE, SOULBURNERS, TIGER SKULL). Bolek started in the late 80s in the vegan/se posthc band AHIMSA. He also had stoner ELVIS DELUXE or postpunk THE BLACK TAPES. Zbyszek (currently bass) was a vocalist in the famous Warsaw’ hardcore bands COALITION and CZARZLY. Piotrek played in the post-rock band MAQUAMA and the stoner band THE HEAVY CLOUDS. You could say it’s a supergroup. 😉
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album?
These are the times when you can do a lot of things at home now. Of course, we took advantage of the achievements of modern times. However, we paid a lot of attention to recording the drums. It was done in a studio with a man who knows his stuff and likes doing it..
We financed it ourselves. The publisher is the Szczecin-based label JimmyJazz, which is mainly associated with ska and street punk, but they are very open to new topics…
Can you say that psychedelic rock’n’roll became the key element of your music. But is it really rock’n’roll? I feel post-punk elements too. Do you agree with me?
It’s really hard to classify our style… We really have a lot of inspirations, if only because each of us has come a long way in music… Kuba called our music “dark urban folk”.. Dark because it’s dark, urban because we’re from a big city that inspires us. And folk..? It’s a bit perverse. It should be “rock’n’roll” but that’s already very hackneyed these days… That’s why it’s such an “urban folk” of a depressing metropolis..
What was your biggest non-musical inspiration during the creative process of writing and recording “Tales From The Wasteland”?
Art and movies.. Psychedelic westerns, old horrors, 50’s SF …
The debut album surprises me. It really has a wide range of different influences.. What are you most proud of about this record?
We are just proud of… doing it. For many years we crossed paths playing in different bands at joint concerts (and even tours) and now we could meet and do it together.
What have been the main challenges in the production of “Tales From The Wasteland”?
To do it as best as possible and not go broke… 😉
What has the response been to new material so far?
Indeed, every time it is the same – “It’s hard to classify your music”. It is confusing (especially music journalists) but inspiring for us. The worst thing is that it is hard to assign Tags in social media (laughter).
What do you think about the alternative music scene now and its evolution? What are the bands on the current scene that you have the most respect for?
Home recording and unlimited promotional possibilities (in the form of social media) have led to the world being flooded with music. On the one hand, it’s great that you don’t have to rent a studio to record the whole album and that you don’t have to use big labels for promotion, but on the other hand, in this crowd, many interesting and valuable things are missing…
As for the more interesting things today, we like to stomp around to NIGHT BEATS, THE BLACK ANGELS, BAMBARA, THE GLYDERS, GOAT, GLASS BEAMS and many others..
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
We like to play and create. We’ve always done it.. And the fact that we do it all the time (two of us are over 50) is our fuel.. So the plans are still the same.. 😉
Thank you very much for your time! If there’s anything you would like to add, the last words are yours…
3 words… Dark urban folk…
ALL