Green
Yeti are a Doom/Stoner Metal band from Greece who have in a short
space of time have released two great albums so far. 2016's – The
Yeti Has Landed and 2017's – Desert Show.
Both
great albums showing that Green Yeti have something about them if
you're a fan of good old fashioned Doom/Stoner Metal. It's perhaps
with Desert Show that the band have refined their sound and create a
more exciting album than their debut album. No easy task as The Yeti
Has Landed received acclaim from both fans and critics alike
within the Doom/Stoner Metal community.
Newly
signed to Cursed Tongue Records who will be releasing Desert Show on
vinyl later this year.
Here's
an interview that I did with the band recently where we discuss their
formation, music and album artwork amongst other things....
Hi
guys. How are things with you today.
-Hey
there Outlaws, we are pretty good! Thanks for your invitation.
Can
you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is
today.
-It
all started in late 2013. Michael made a phone call to Dani and asked
him to try and maybe join to his band “Stonenrow”. Well, this
didn’t work out but something else was born out of it and that was
the “Green Yeti” baby! “Treliaris” that originally joined in
the drums was later replaced by Fotis and finally Giannis took the
drums spot, a couple of months before “Desert Show” was recorded.
Photo by Giannis Santorinaios
How
would you describe your overall sound.
-It’s
big, it’s heavy, it’s psychedelic, it’s so many things...it’s
Green Yeti!
We
are here to talk about your new album. What can people expect from
the album.
-Our
new album is out there as we talk…The concept is what the title
suggests. The Yeti has landed on a generator show in the desert and
wreaks some havoc! You can expect stoner grooves, some trippy
atmosphere with a doom outfit here and there…and some Spanish
vocals for a change.
What
influenced you all when recording the album.
-As
you may imagine, Live recordings need 100% focus in order to succeed,
especially on longer songs that reach the 20 minute mark…What
really drives us when we are recording, is the hunger for a great
final result! That alone is enough to make us perform the best even
in tough situations like this.
Desert
Show has a more psychedelic and spaced out feel compared to your
debut album. Was that the plan to release something slightly
different to The Yeti Has Landed.
-No,
initially there was not a plan. However when we heard the first riffs
forming, we told ourselves “Hey, it’s time the Yeti travels in
the desert…That’s what this album will be about”…and so it is
done!
Looking
back on The Yeti Has Landed, would you record any differently or
would you leave as is.
-On
“The Yeti Has Landed” we made a critical decision, to record, mix
and master all DIY. It was uncharted waters for us as we are not
”pros”, but at the time we felt the need to really push it a step
further and try something we had never done before. To answer your
question…hmm sure, every time you look back, you know you could do
something different …but no, that’s not really our philosophy. We
started from zero, we learned many things that we used on our next
album and we feel blessed with the outcome of “The Yeti Has
Landed”.
Did
it surprise you the amount of positive reviews the album received
from the Doom/Stoner Metal community. It's a favourite of ours here
at Outlaws Of The Sun.
-Looking
back, we like to believe that we were mature enough when making that
album. There was a tremendous effort for more than two years before
having this final result! We felt our music will find its “spot”
in the Doom/Stoner community!
No
big surprises there, but we truly appreciated the amount of positive
reviews. What was invaluable to us, was that we really got empowered
from this all positive vibes and the big hugs we got from all you
people!
I
don't know if this is being officially announced yet but Niels over
at Cursed Tongue Records has told he they will be releasing Desert
Show on vinyl. Congrats as the guys over at Cursed Tongue Records are
awesome folks. Did you have any other offers to release your albums
on vinyl.
-Spoilers
in an interview are always cool…aren’t they? Niels is a very nice
guy with a DIY approach to run things. Yes, we had some other
proposals but when Niels approached us, we knew almost immediately
that he was the right man to work with…a passionate dude like us!
How
excited for you to have your album released on vinyl.
-We
are very excited! It is something we really wanted to do. Lots of
people were asking for a vinyl release, so it was a no-brainer.
What
is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it a group participation
or down to one individual.
-
It is a group based effort 90% of the time. We are jamming and
jamming ‘till we find something that clicks to us. Then we blend
riffs with other riffs and we have this final result that we love! It
would take two weeks to make a new song or even a couple of years…no
rushing there. Just wait…and work the song until it feels right.
Mike however, is the one who writes the lyrics.
What
influences you when writing music.
-It
could be everything… I don't really know what to tell you! I guess,
what influences us the most when we play, is the freedom of the jam
and the mojo of that exact moment!
Are
you all involved with different musical projects or is Green Yeti
your main band.
-
We may do some parallel stuff but at the moment Green Yeti takes most
of our energy and it is our main focus.
What
is your musical setup when performing or recording live. Is it an
advanced setup or a basis setup.
-Regarding
the recordings we have some pretty basic setup but it is enough most
of the time if you know how to work with it. You don’t always need
fancy and expensive stuff to do good recordings.
Performing
live is another matter and it depends on the venue and what we can
bring with us…We have pretty good gear and we are a bit “demanding”
on stage. The people down there deserve the best and that’s our
philosophy when doing live shows. Even if some promoters don’t like
that…but that's another story …
It's
cool in keeping with modern Stoner Rock tradition that you've got
David Paul Seymour to design the superb artwork for Desert Show. How
did that come about and how much input did you have to the final
design of the album cover.
-We
really liked David’s work and we were considering him for our first
album, but eventually we worked together in the “Desert Show”.
Saying “we worked” cause we always want to have our merit in
anything regarding the Yeti and we want to roll as a team…We
explained to him what we wanted, the concept if you like, and David
although not used to work this way, at the end he responded well and
the result like you say is awesome! Yes, we are happy we teamed up!
Do
you perform many local gigs or do you have to travel further afield.
As Greece seems to be providing great bands at the moment.
-The
Greek scene is at it’s peak, regarding the heavy rock music. There
are many good bands and nowadays people are supporting these bands.
It was not always like that…
So,
we have many opportunities here in our country but at the same time
we want to travel abroad to spread the Yeti charm! It’s not an easy
task for Greek bands to tour abroad. Our spot in the map is not
helping. However, we grabbed a chance…and in a few days, the Yeti
will travel on a mini tour local AND abroad.
Before
you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.
-We
love you! Know that with YOUR support, the Green Yeti grows bigger
and bigger and that will make it unstoppable!
Words
by Steve Howe and Green Yeti
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