The Byzantines
An emerging local force, the band are described as having a predominantly British feel reminiscent of Primal Scream and early Kasabian.
The five piece are a result of late nights and fast times spent around Adelaide. They come from a variety of musical backgrounds in producing an excellent blend of electronic based music, with strands of psych-rock and pop intertwined.
The boys have spent the last 12 months earning their stripes on the Adelaide live circuit, releasing debut EP 'ColourVision', and collecting a slew of local and interstate support credits along acts such as The Belligerents, Conics, The Infants, Sincerely Grizzly and Pigeon.
In late 2013 the band were also selected to perform at Revolver Bandroom (Vic) as the interstate feature act for the ‘Melbourne Fresh Industry Showcase’.
Their debut EP 'ColourVision,’ released in October of 2013 was engineered by Matt Hills (Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, Wolf & Cub) at Hillside Studios. The band enlisted the talents of Adelaide’s own Luke Godson (The Swiss, Luke Million) on production duties, giving their already attitude-laden sound that extra punch. It has been described by Music SA as “a brilliant blend of synth, fuzz bass, driving beats and well structured arrangements.”
“For those who enjoy electro/psych rock with pop underlays (particularly if you like Gorillaz, Primal Scream, etc) then this EP is a must listen and addition to your collection” (Music SA)
We caught up with Rhys from The Byzantines and asked him a few questions...
G-C - Who are The Byzantines
RO - The Byzantines are;
Michael Pietrafesa- Vox
Rhys Overall- Guitar, Synth
Jose Moucho- Bass
David Zammit- Guitar
Johnny Zervas- Drums
When and how did you form
As The Byzantines we’ve been together for about 3 years. We formed after coming back from Europe/UK in 2011, vibing off the live music culture and fashion that we experienced over there. In saying though, between the five of us, we’ve played together in various bands for about the last 5 years.
For those that haven’t heard you, how would you describe your music
The style is electronic rock with a strong British flavour. It’s reminiscent of the Late 80s early 90s Manchester scene, combining elements of indie/psych/electronic music.
Who are your musical influences
Primal Scream, Kasabian, The Stone Roses.
New EP release soon, whats the title, how is it coming together
Our second EP, (due out in 2015) is currently untitled. We’re currently putting the demos together as we speak (I’m literally mixing them right now!). Compared to ‘Colourvision’, this one’s a lot darker, more of an electronic feel.
Where will it be available to buy
On the Byzantines, Bandcamp page (We’re also looking into an itunes release. We’ll keep you posted)
Where can we listen to more of The Byzantines
Bandcamp or Soundcloud
What do you think of the current crop of bands, any you rate
There’s cool things happening all over the place. At home (Aus) we’ve got The Delta Riggs, over in the UK you’ve got The Repeat Offenders, Paul Orwell, and The Castellers. In the US, we’ve been digging Neonfaith. Just a few examples. Actually, we were recently hit up by a Malaysian Britpop band called Bittersweet who were pretty cool.
Hitting the UK and Europe in September, where are you lined-up to play
We’re still waiting to confirm dates, but currently we’re 100% locked in to play;
6th Sept at Pooca Bar, Hamburg, Germany.
11th Sept at Pop In, Paris, France.
12th Sept at La Feline, Paris, France.
24th Sept Notting Hill Arts Club, London, UK.
What else can we expect from The Byzantines for the remainder of 2014
We’ve got a few releases planned in the next couple of months prior to the European/UK tour. We’re keeping it pretty hush hush, so you’ll just have to keep an eye out on our Facebook/Instagram/Twitter pages.
Cheers for the interview Rhys... See you over on these shores soon....
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