Interview: Sidus

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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Red Hot Chili Peppers were the first band that I really fall in love with when I was 12-13 years old. I got my first bass around that age and was trying to learn the bass lines of Flea while listening to their songs on the radio and on cassettes. How naïve was I!

I am also a geologist and I love indoor and outdoor climbing so probably I would have focused more on science and sports.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I usually do a lot of sports, meeting friends and do excursions around lakes. All of these activities help me maintain a healthy and balanced mind, restore my power, and dive into the music universe once more.

How long has your band been around?

This music project started back in 2012 but the debut album was released during the beginning of November 2020. So I guess it is 2012 or 2020 (xD).

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

The project started in Athens, Greece. I composed there my first song as Sidus. The song was “Stellar Sky”. Athens is an intense city to live in. The fast pace of everyday life, while having a close relationship with family and friends formed my emotions and pushed me to express myself through this type of music. Now I am living in Berlin. The freedom of this city is very unique and magical! I explored other parts of myself which resulted in the last song that I composed, “Energy In Emptiness”. 

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.

Sidus means “star” in Latin. This project represents a more introverted journey to explore new musical horizons and reach as far as I can. I somehow connected this musical experience with a trip to the stars. 

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

The best show I ever played was during 2011 in Athens. I was playing with my old band, Breathe In Suffering, a concert for our debut EP. The club was packed, almost everyone knew our songs and were headbanging along really hard. That feeling brings me still goosebumps until this day.

The worst concert was in Berlin with the indie rock band Dodo Origami. At the beginning of this band, we were trying to find our place in music trying out different lineups. I sang three of our songs during that concert. Of course, I am not a singer and this feeling of shame and exposure was not my favorite! 

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

I haven’t really played many concerts so I won’t mention my favorite venue that played in, but I can mention several venues that I would love to. SO36, Astra Kulturhaus and Columbia Theater are few of my favorite venues in Berlin.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

I would love to play with my favorite band Deftones. However I would for sure be extremely happy to participate in some great metal/rock festivals around the world and open for big bands like Tool, Mastodon, Karnivool, God Is An Astronaut and many more.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

Practice your parts and learn them as good as possible. You have to nail every part! Then don’t be afraid to experiment and explore new sounds as much as you can. Be patient and try not to kill your bandmates haha.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Hard question cause I would love to have the experience I have now as a person. Perhaps I should have started working more on my music, study theory and try to be a musician since a younger age.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? 

“Stellar Sky” is my favorite song. It has so many great parts while the energy is building up until the end. The outro melody gives me goosebumps almost every time I listen to it. I am emotionally connected with it since it is my first song ever as Sidus. I managed to go through some tough moments while composing this song.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

I would say “Seasons Reversed”. It is so fun to play cause of all the different types of riffs and melodies. The outro is solely distorted bass and drums. It grooves hard and it is still so powerful! The most requested song is “Stellar Sky” though.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

I usually compose the songs on guitar. A riff or a melody is my starting point and then I build everything around the main theme of the song. I do the pre-production as good as I can. As close to the vision that I have for the song. Then, with the help of my producer, (Panagiotis Katsaounis, P.K. Productions) we end up with the final form of the song. I can be inspired by many things. Usually the concepts of my songs are about social and/or philosophical topics. 

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

The songs in my debut EP are dealing with several topics. Existential questions like the energy in an empty mind, or how connected are we with the universe? Nature or Nurture? In addition, climate change and global warming is a very sensitive issue that I am trying to raise awareness in the song “Seasons Reversed”.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

One of the reasons that I formed Sidus (one-man band) was because of many disagreements that I experienced in several bands in the past. It is truly difficult to organize different people and different minds under the same vision, but if it happens, it might be one of the most powerful things!

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

I am working on my next release very hard. The pre-production is taking more than I thought by I believe this is the right way to go. I am very excited so far with what I have and can’t wait to share the new material with my fans! In the meantime, the merchandise page will be online very soon via Bandcamp.