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| Picture: Aspa Koulira |
Kooba Tercu was born in Athens, Greece. With sophisticated and complex structures that mix with creative and spontaneous jam-sessions, Kooba Tercu manages to uphold the ruins and turn them into decadent palaces. Their latest release titled Proto Tekno is set to the 22th May and the videoclip for one of the songs called Qasan.
"We improvise a lot when we come up with new songs, we stretch them and pay attention to what sounds right and what not. Eventually we try to shape them into a form that allows the essence of the song to remain intact without either being choked or dragging too long. Flow and pace is as important as a good vocal line, lick or riff."
- Kooba Tercu has its heart and origin in Greece, but is also based on other locations like London. How was the process of working together despite the geographical distances?
We meet up in Athens and talk, drink and play music as often as we can. The flame is going strong.
- Your latest record, Kharrüb is magnetizing and powerful, it’s filled with a whole array of eclectic influences and in general it feels like a strong mix between a fixed structure and jam. How is the role of improvisation in your composition?
Thank you. We are consciously trying to create that combination of a free and loose type of composition that then becomes focused in the right time. This is an ongoing process for us. It probably started because we used to think too much about composition which resulted in songs that were more like a patch-work and didn’t flow naturally.
We improvise a lot when we come up with new songs, we stretch them and pay attention to what sounds right and what not. Eventually we try to shape them into a form that allows the essence of the song to remain intact without either being choked or dragging too long. Flow and pace is as important as a good vocal line, lick or riff.
In most cases we more or less come up with the final song before we record and then the same interplay between improvised/composed finds its place into our live sets. So when we play live we try to create a set that flows pretty much without interruption and we can end up extending parts in or between the songs.
- Just a little trip to the past but in your debut album there seemed to persist an aura of a world turned to ruins, maybe because of the societal and economical problems Greece was facing at that moment. Is it a fair assumption? And if so, how do you think things have progressed so far?
Yes, it is a fair assumption. The crisis is but the direct outcome of a more general process that is problematic - unto which no significant progress has been made since then.
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| Picture: Aspa Koulira |
"Athens is more the product of rapid urbanization of the second half of the 20th century (so we don’t have big skyscrapers like the violent urbanization in Asia but we haven’t retained any of the heritage coming from the early 20th century where we hear that the European neoclassical style seemed to have dominated Athens at the time).
It has a sort of unintended brutalism; the city is ugly but we love it the way it is. The ancient ruins and archeological sites are at the fringe of life in Athens nowadays. If one has the luck to try and reconnect it is a mind-blowing experience: coming to a realiZation that people 2500 years ago were there and having thoughts that you can still understand and relate to today."
- In that same album we were intrigued and mesmerized by the cover art, what is the symbology or metaphorical context with the chameleon on that striped colored background?
Thanks! First of all, we like animals. Then, it's this guy taking the colors of a technological noise signal - it’s kinda full of symbolism but not one in particular. It touches nature-culture, malleability and distortion and a bit of a genre-gliding fantasy.
Thanks! First of all, we like animals. Then, it's this guy taking the colors of a technological noise signal - it’s kinda full of symbolism but not one in particular. It touches nature-culture, malleability and distortion and a bit of a genre-gliding fantasy.
- Athens may be for some a very enigmatic city with a rich ancient history and punctuated by ruins, is there a connection between that imagery and your own sonic landscape in the latest album?
When you’re in Athens, the defining element in the city is a post-60s east mediterranean architecture. That is to say, buildings not really designed by architects and definitely not trying to make an aesthetic statement or create a particular experience to its inhabitants and fellow city dwellers.
Athens is more the product of rapid urbanisation of the second half of the 20th century (so we don’t have big skyscrappers like the violent urbanisation in Asia but we haven’t retained any of the heritage coming from the early 20th century where we hear that the European neoclassical style seemed to have dominated Athens at the time)
It has a sort of unintended brutalism; the city is ugly but we love it the way it is. The ancient ruins and archeological sites are at the fringe of life in Athens nowadays. If one has the luck to try and reconnect it is a mind-blowing experience: coming to a realisation that people 2500 years ago were there and having thoughts that you can still understand and relate to today.
There is definitely a connection between living in Athens and our music, but we don’t think we would make any direct or obvious connection to the ancient world because we happen to live here. Of course the whole history of the eastern mediterranean.
"We are not purists when it comes to making a record. The sonic environment, the setting of listening to recordings is completely different from that of a live show. However we try to capture that live energy that we experience in rehearsals or our shows. We’ve found that playing live together -in the studio- is the best approach for us to achieve that."
- In your debut, most of the recordings were made in live performances - which is not so common these days -, how do you feel that approach? Is it in some way liberating?
Our first record, Kharrub and the new upcoming record (coming up around May 2020) are all recordings based on the band being recorded live. As a matter of fact, Kharrub is 90% live, recorded in 2-3 takes with all 6 of us in the room performing together.
We are not purists when it comes to making a record. The sonic environment, the setting of listening to recordings is completely different from that of a live show. However we try to capture that live energy that we experience in rehearsals or our shows. We’ve found that playing live together -in the studio- is the best approach for us to achieve that.
It also lends to trying out things on the spot, taking us to places where we wouldn’t have if we followed a more predetermined process. A couple of such examples of blending live improvisations in the studio with overdubs and post-recording composition have made their way in our upcoming third album.
I would say it is more common than what you’d think, especially in bands that make smaller releases and with smaller budgets.
- In your official video, Batman, the frenzied pace of the images and the apparent randomness of the narrative sequence of scenes transmutes into something quite enigmatic yet wild and unrelenting. Was there a concept behind the videoclip that you can or want to talk about?
The video for Batman was put together, to mark the release of our tape, Bakla Horani, by Hominid records. We commissioned the work to one of our favorite all around persons, multi-instrumentalist musician and artist in the greek scene, Kostadis.
Kostadis has long been involved in bands we love and respect like Wham Jah, Lost Bodies and Acid Baby Jesus, so when he showed interest in doing the video for us we felt comfortable to leave it to his own devices. I would say, without knowing what was on his head that the aim was more to create a mood that would compliment the tune rather than a narrative. The footage from Athens is spot on. The final bits of the video were filmed with Johnny Tercu in a couple of locations in and around the city.
Nobody will miss out from checking out his solo work, and also keep an eye on Sclavos - his latest project.
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| Picture: Aspa Koulira |
- About playing live what were the most enriching experiences for you, be they in festivals, larger or smaller venues?
We’ve come to realise that we enjoy playing live very late at night; in those circumstances we have to struggle more to perform (which makes the whole experience so much more powerful) and the crowd is already completely off their heads. The more intimate the setting is, the better it is for the crowd to get dancing - which is our main measure of success.
On another level, opening shows for masterful bands is always inspiring whether it is Acid Mothers Temple, Circle, Goat or Nurse with wound. We always leave the show with new ideas in terms of how we can push ourselves further.
- You released your latest album via different labels, Hominid Sounds from the UK, BodyBlows and Mafia from Greece. How do you feel the reception of the album so far in Greece and abroad?
Most of the people that took the time to listen and write about the album seemed to get something out of the record. We feel great about it. We didn’t hear back from the people who hated it.
- You will have a new record set to be released in May, called Proto Tekno. What are the main differences in aesthetics from previous records that you will be working on?
Yes! We're really excited with the release of our new record by Rocket recordings on the 22nd of May! Proto Tekno continues where Kharrub left off, but has taken a turn to a more noir less exotic direction. The songs in this record were co-selected by the lovely folk at Rocket Recordings and ourselves & are coming from a pool of tunes we recorded in the same sessions as Kharrub. The interaction with Chris and John from Rocket produced a more focused & accessible result while keeping our sound, message and aesthetics intact; almost like collaborating for a brief moment with two more Kooba members. Proto Tekno is fairly jam-packed with songs coming at you one after the other while Kharrub was in a way more expansive and used negative space a bit more...
Yes! We're really excited with the release of our new record by Rocket recordings on the 22nd of May! Proto Tekno continues where Kharrub left off, but has taken a turn to a more noir less exotic direction. The songs in this record were co-selected by the lovely folk at Rocket Recordings and ourselves & are coming from a pool of tunes we recorded in the same sessions as Kharrub. The interaction with Chris and John from Rocket produced a more focused & accessible result while keeping our sound, message and aesthetics intact; almost like collaborating for a brief moment with two more Kooba members. Proto Tekno is fairly jam-packed with songs coming at you one after the other while Kharrub was in a way more expansive and used negative space a bit more...
- The dystopian leitmotif mainly in the cover artwork seems to be recurrent. What concepts do you mean to express by it?
We keep on returning to similar concepts that explore modern life and the not so distant future...
- How were the recording sessions? Any memorable moment/s that you wish to divulge?
We recorded Proto Tekno and Kharrub during the same 10-day period, which was an incredible time for us to spend whole days together and just putting ideas down. We then shaped up Proto Tekno with some additional ideas with the help of Manos Sarantidis at our own rehearsal space.
- Kooba Tercu is defined in some sites as Johnny Tercu and his crew, what other musical acts/bands are associated with Kooba?
Kooba Tercu is a main reference point to us but every now and then we embark on other musical adventures as well.
Other projects we’re currently involved include:
● Echo Canyon the electronic solo project of Dimitris Patsaros (look out for his latest release in Untitled-1.
● Casual Nun, a sister band in the UK with which we share drummers. Their latest release is landing next March via Box Records & Hominid sounds. You can get a sneak preview here.
● Our percussionist can be seen on stage and sometimes on the recordings of Koonoopomana and Rita Mosss.
● Johnny has been busy producing the last two Puta Volcano records (second one being released in March).
● Finally, Masturbation goes cloud - a band that features a couple of the Koobas - sometimes gets resurrected for the occasional live show.
Intro and Interview: Cláudia Zafre
Band: Kooba Tercu
Pictures: Aspa Koulira