I did not know Impuritan
until Alex Iliopoulos (Greek-American) sent me their first cd album called "look like
nothing happened". One great
psychedelic rock album, full of trippy songs and also with
some experimental and dark elements.
Introduce us the band. When did you
actually start?
Impuritan (http://www.impuritan.net) is me, David Molina, and Pepe
Abad. David and I are multi-instrumental (covering guitar, bass, keys,
and vocals both live and in the studio to varying degrees on different
songs). We use loops and David handles electronics. Pepe is our
drummer/percussionist.
The current
trio has been together for over a year and we've toured together. We have
a US
east coast tour planned for September, and are currently recording eight new songs.
The
production of the record is by you? Who is responsible for your sound?
David and I
mix and produce all Impuritan recordings. We mostly self-engineer and
self-record, but basic tracking for past releases was done at Tiny Telephone
studios with engineer Ian Pellicci. All of our new material 100% is
self-recorded with a mobile studio setup.
Both David
and I handle mixing and production. David has years of sound engineering and
music production experience, plus a keen ear and technical proficiency. We have
a real blast working together and feed off each others' ideas naturally.
Our recorded sound is a direct byproduct of many hours and days of work. We
know better than anyone else what we want things to sound like.
Which
are the first sounds that you remember?
Eastern
tones and scales were some of the first sounds I remember hearing, other than
pop music my parents listened to when I was young. I grew up in the Middle East and was exposed to Arab culture from a young
age. So my first music exposure was definitely a mix of eastern sounds
(amplified prayers in mosques) and the western/American pop my parents would
listen to on their stereo.
Greek folk
music also has lots of eastern tonality. Incidentally, American surf music has
the same tonalities, a kind of west-meets-east via reverb-drenched guitar and
high energy. Even early sounds have a lasting impact.
Do
you know anything from greek music?
I think the
most influential "classic" Greek music for me is rembetika. Its
roots involved hash-smoking in caves and playing music in secrecy. There are
not many original recordings of those songs, but people replaying them
instead. There is something romantic about that.
Acid Baby
Jesus are a fun band and I like their music, but you wouldn't know they are
Greek from the sound of their songs. I don't listen to much contemporary Greek
music to be honest. I'd love some tips from you, George, on good Greek bands
that are underground, non-pop, or trippy. (Check
the Crystal Thoughts, Yesterdays Thought’s, Purple Overdose, Social
End Products…..)
Which
musical styles forced you to form a band?
Impuritan
is a real mix of influences. We are lovers of post-rock, psychedelic,
shoegaze, surf, ambient, punk, and experimental noise. Our specific
influences would vary if you ask each person, but there's also lots of common
ground.
If I start
listing individual bands and artists that influence me, we'll be here a long
time. I am personally a big fan of bands that have taken noise and
sculpted something of beauty out of it, such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody
Valentine. Fuzzy guitars, feedback, and the weird tones of psych music
have played a big role, as have bands that use unconventional song structures.
We have
musical heroes from every decade, basically. I always like to hear what
influences people hear in our music - sometimes it's bands I don't much listen
to.
Non-musical
influences play a role too. Film, visual art, cosmology, philosophy, and of
course relationships with people. It's hard to run out of inspiration
when there are so many interesting thoughts and ideas in the world.
What kind of music did you hear as a child? Nowadays what
kind of music do you like most? Do you believe that your musical influences
are reflected in your music?
I think all
musicians and music-obsessive people naturally grow more eclectic the longer we
explore what's out there. I originally played clarinet and trumpet
starting age 8 or so. What I learned to play guitar on was grunge, punk, and
metal during my early teens. In my early 20s I dove deeper into 60s
psychedelia, old soul music, surf, and experimental genres. It's been an
ongoing process of seeking newer sounds and tracing your influences' influences
back further.
Today, many
bands that fit under the "psychedelic" umbrella are most enjoyable to
my ear provided they are doing something interesting and not just rehashing the
60s. The list is always changing. My rotation is old favorites
(classic punk and old metal) mixed with contemporaries like Thee Oh Sees,
Laika, Serena-Maneesh, and Ty Segall. I don't like making lists because I
feel like I'm always leaving something out!
Your
album is out on cd. Are you interested of making a vinyl release?
We are
definitely interested in releasing vinyl. Vinyl and cassette have seen a
resurgence in popularity. I think it's because those formats pay tribute to a
time when finding and listening to music took more effort on the listener's
part, and wasn't a stepping stone to digital duplication.
The only
limiting factor for vinyl so far has been manufacturing cost. We'd like
to do a split release with another band of our ilk, or work with a label to
make a vinyl release happen.
Have
you been members in other bands? How you would describe your music?
David is
involved in so much it's hard to keep track. Some of his other bands include
Ghosts & Strings and Earthlike, plus he's done a ton of film scoring and
soundtrack work. He plays with Idris Ackamoor of The Pyramids, and also
has an ambient solo project called Transient. He and I actually did a duo show
as Transient vs. Impuritan once, with me on noise guitar/loops and him on many
instruments, samples, etc. doing pure improvisation. It was off the hook and
lots of fun.
My old
bands in Washington DC were Psychic Twin and Red Right
Return. Here in San Francisco
I played with a band called Spiral Bombs shortly before Impuritan came
together.
Pepe's old
band from Peru
is called La Ira De
Dios, who he played and toured with extensively.
We
generally call our music "experimental rock" because people's eyes
may glaze over if you throw out four or five genres for a single band.
It's psychedelic, but also more than that.
In
your hometown are any other bands with similar sound?
San Francisco has always been a hub for
counterculture, progressive thinking, and honoring "the underdog."
There is a vibrant music scene both here and in the East Bay.
Unfortunately,
it has also become the most expensive city in the US (not a good thing for art and
creativity). Lots of musicians have been pushed out and relocated to Oakland and other parts of the East Bay
were life is more affordable.
The music
scene is still vibrant here. You can see a good live show or art event
almost any night of the week if you are adventurous and know where to look.
Who
made the cover art? This creepy skeleton how is connected to your music?
John Benko
did the cover art for our LP. He has a fantastic and unique style.
The image
actually ties into the title of the album. Earth is an ancient place compared
to our tiny human lifespans. Much older forms of life have no doubt been buried
by meteor strikes or geological events. The skeleton on the cover is an
imaginary creature.
This planet
has a talent for making it "look like nothing happened". What
physical trace will we leave if humans went extinct? After enough time,
possibly nothing.
The
lyrics of 'Show us your hidden daggers' are referred to.
The song
title is a calling to people to unleash hidden desires or repressed
imagination. The only lyrics in that song are the refrain, "Your dormant
dreams." The abstract, fantastical, and creative is often at odds with a
materialistic and money-driven society. But thoughts and imagination are
really the true weapons of change. They are our hidden daggers.
How
people respond to your music at the internet and to your live shows?
People seem
to really enjoy our music. We've gotten positive reviews from all over the
world. I believe that our sound may not be for everyone or geared toward
mass appeal, but those who gravitate towards psychedelic, experimental, or
noisier rock music really enjoy what we do.
The
internet is a blessing for reaching people's ears, but it can be tough to get
people's genuine attention. We are all constantly bombarded with music online,
and not all of it good. I like to think great music will naturally rise
to the top even in this new medium.
For live
performance, we've been using visuals and projections at our shows increasingly
more. Not because it's kind of trendy at the moment, but to put people
into a different head space and alter their consciousness naturally via their
ears and their eyes.
I
assume that this is your own label, isn't it? DIY is it the best way for
your music?
Distant
Spore is our own label, correct. If a record label is interested in
working with us, we'll be very receptive. It's just not our style to sit
around and wait for others to make things happen. If you are making art
you believe in, you should do everything you can do spread it to as many people
as possible.
We have
been recording eight new songs so far this year. Our rough plan is to put
out four of them as an EP on Distant Spore. We would ideally like to get
an indie label that is enthusiastic about our music to release the other four
songs in some type of format. Either way, we're 100% committed to creating and
playing our music.
How
do you write your songs (music and lyrics)? Is it a team work?
We
collaborate with songwriting now more than ever. Sometimes I come to
practice with song ideas and pre-written parts, which we usually combine with
other sections or sounds we create through pure improvisation.
It's really
a mix. We consciously try to blend conventional composition and structured
parts with more chaotic, dissonant, or ambient sounds. Improvisation is
always in the equation, both live and on record.
David and I
are both sound junkies, so we are always tweaking and refining parts till they
feel right to us. I am a bit more of a words guy, so I like to have my hand in
the lyrics when I can. Pepe also has good fundamental instincts when it comes
to feel, vibe, or arrangement of a song. The fact that we're able to
create quality, raw stuff regularly out of improv is a real blessing.
Which
are your future plans?
We are
recording 8 new songs right now, and still trying to determine how they will be
released (at least one new EP will be out soon). We are also playing an
Austin Psych Fest/Levitation pre-show on March 7 in Austin, TX (https://www.facebook.com/events/693038427508609/). We plan to do more
consistent touring, and may even come to Europe and Greece soon. Label support
would help us widen our tour scope and schedule.
Our music
is also well-suited to soundtracks and scoring, and we'd love to work with
other visual artists or filmmakers by either contributing our music or creating
unique music in a more collaborative approach.
Anything
else that you would like to add?
Nothing
else to add, really. Thanks for your support and we're glad you enjoy the
music!
(Gew-Gaw
fanzine’s compilation of latter-day British and European psychedelia is as
duffel-ya (mixed) bag as you could wisli for, ranging from the ridiculously
sublime to the sublimely ridiculous in two bars and a quick-step. All but a
couple of the artists featured should already be familiar to most of you so
there’s probably little point in shopping on tracks other than to pick out the
highlights with our wide-eyed beam: in no particular order we have Alan
Davidson’s Kitchen Cynics and a gloriously subdued magic-carpet ride to faery-land
entitled ‘\muddy Mistress’; Alan Tepper’s Fantassy Factoryy and his fearfully
evocative, echoing ‘Book Of Hours’-his work unfsilingly reminds me of spirit, in
this instance something from the ‘Spirit of 76’ sessions; our very own Nick
Saloman’s Bevis Frond and a kaftan-blistering piece of guitar-led acid-rock
called ‘Three Mile Wall’-no idea why this has remained otherwise unreleased
until now to be honest, it’s a gem-Todd Dillingham’s whimsically tripped-out
‘Golden Girl’ and ‘Oh Wot A Bore’, the latter featuring the memorably catchy
refrain “My face is melting, it’s dripping on the floor / can’t do anything
about it. Oh wot a bore!”; Neal Heckford’s Art Snobs who turn in an extremely
trance-like and rhythmical ‘No-thing-Ness’ (no doubt a few readers will remember
Neal fondly from his ever-vivacious presence at Terrastock II) and Ross
Stephens Reefus Moons, donating the brilliantly introspective ‘Candle Moon’, a
piece not dissimilar to Paul Roland and/or Nick Haeffner at their best in its
delivery and composure. Elsewhere, the Smell of Incense out-petal the Petals on
‘(I Wanna Live In The) Golden State’, a song originally released as a flexi on
some long-forgotten ‘zine of yesteryear; the increasingly fascinating German
psychonauts Mandra Gora Lightshow Society somehow meld Mad River, the Elevators
and the Marshmallow Overcoat into one glorious, coagulating mess on ‘Sundials In
The Night’; Belgium’s Tribe of Cro lend us the inevitably Hawkwindesque
‘Hydrocultura’ (the title track of their last album, drooled over in Terrascope
25, although for some odd reason this wasn’t included) and to cap it all Purple
Overdose trip over their own frills and laces with the middle-eastern
influenced, almost Kaleidoscopic ‘Funny Decoration’. There’s at least three
Purple Overdoses that I’m aware of: this is the Greek version, and sound equally
as worthy as their Australian and American counterparts. Anyway, there we have
it: a worthy successor to Freakbeat magazine’s forays into psychedelic
compilations of a few years back, and with sleeve art to rival the same. Isn’t
it interesting, incidentally, that a significant proportion of the better
contributions to this collection are each principally the work of one person?
Just a thought. 
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