Interview: Stonus

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

Hey guys, thanks for reaching out!

I believe music is in our nature. I mean from the moment you are born you hear the first birds singing, the leaves of the trees moving in the wind and the sound of water flowing. So I guess the interaction with the environment is what spikes the interest towards music, the need to feel something transcendental in an oversaturated life.

Although, to be fair music is not our main occupation (except our drummer Kotsios who actually studies music) the rest of us are into sciences from Pharmacy to Engineering and Math although we often see repeating patterns between the two. So I guess if we were not into music we would be some kind of scientific nerds (haha) but honestly I cant even imagine how one could leave without music, its like imprisoning your soul.

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

As I mentioned above, except Kotsios, we are all into sciences which takes most of our time since we often do experiments or reading. T the same time we all have different artistic sides other than music. For example our lead singer Kyriacos loves drawing and writing lyrics, our lead guitarist Pavlos used to be a graffiti artist and he is experimenting with some electronic beats/DJ and me, Nicky (rhythm guitar) I love poetry and nature. Therefore in our spare time we often seek inspiration from all the above and we truly believe in artistic freedom and expression.

How long has your band been around?

It all started back in 2015. and since then we have released 3 EPs (‘Supertrip’ in 2017, ‘Lunar Eclipse’ in 2018, ‘Séance’ in 2021) and our debut album ‘Aphasia’ in March 2020. We are an active band and we had the honour to participate in festivals and gigs all around Cyprus and London as well as participating in Soundart Festival in Romania. We played alongside with some of the best bands of the scene such as Nightstalker, Planet of Zeus, Riverside and Sunnata. Following the release of ‘Aphasia’ we were planning our first European tour, which unfortunately had to be postponed due to COVID-19.

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

We are originally from Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean a bit below Turkey and Greece with a population of less than a million. There is ongoing political suspense in Cyprus between the two sides since 1974 and most of our families are refugees and as you can imagine this had a huge impact on most of the population. As you can imagine this has an effect on our character and life so we often try to pass messages of peace and unity and on other times we shout for corruption and injustice as we see how some people struggle for survival while others drink from golden cups.

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

Well we will leave that to the people to interpret… all we can say is we love heavy music and having fun!

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

The best shows we had so far were in Soundart Festival in Bucharest Romania where we shared the stage with Planet of Zeus, Sunatta, Weedpecker and Riverside. It was an amazing experience as it was our first festival abroad and we got to meet some of our favorite artists in the scene. Another show that is marked in our memories was when we supported Nightstalker in Cyprus as they are an iconic band for us and it was a dream coming true.

Obviously when gigging sometimes things do not turn how you expect them. For instance we had a show in London in a pub in near Finsbury park. The venue was really bad and the same goes with the sound but nevertheless we always have fun no matter what.

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

In Cyprus we have two pretty good venues with capacity of around 200 people; Downtown Live and Savino Live in Nicosia and Larnaca. When we play there things get pretty intense which is ideal for our shows The sound tech guys in both venues are amazing and the management is very professional. Furthermore there are quite a few nice festivals such as ‘Into the Limbo’ which is based on heavy rock. Since we move to London a couple of years ago we had the opportunity to play in a few venues such as the Unicorn in Camden which is a pretty good venue for bands who want to get their first exposure in the city. Black heart is another amazing venue in the heart of Camden where we would love to play. Same goes for all the Dessert Fest’s where you can see the biggest names in the heavy rock scene in just three days.

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

You can’t miss out on Black Sabbath, Kyuss, and Tool on this one hahaha. Who knows one day maybe…

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

Take it easy, be yourself and most importantly believe in yourself. Being self-conscious and aware also helps and being open to feedback and suggestions is crucial. But for us the most important factor of success is the chemistry between the band members, the means of communication from material to ethereal. Once you find your character you can then start developing and the sky is the limit here…

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

To be ourselves, be more authentic and not to be afraid to dream.

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

On a personal level the song that means the most to me (Nicky) is “Coming In” which is our first single back in 2017. I wrote both the lyrics and music in this song and it was a very emotional period for me as I just got out of the army and left to the UK for my studies. I was pretty lonely and past scarred memories would often come in exposure in those lone times. Maybe it was the need to fill up the hole? The need to love and feel loved again? For me “Coming In” symbolizes exactly that.

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

We love playing our high energetic heavy rock songs live such as “Awake” and “Evil Woman” as they punch up the energy and let the people party! We also drop the beats in our more doomy songs which people seem to enjoy nodding in a trance. Our core fans in Cyprus love our song “Black Rainbow” which we don’t play live that often due to its long duration but when the set time allows it we do.

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

We start off with a riff sequence often written by Nicky (rhythm guitarist) we press record and we jam around it. After we are done we listen and discuss the ideas and concept of the song. We get inspired by our surrounding environment which often includes issues that irritate us on a social or personal level. We hate to see inequality, violence and racism and subconsciously our concerns are transmitted into our music.

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

The lyrics are mostly written by our lead singer Kyriacos and they talk about social and personal issues that irritate us. What we want is to pass some messages through our music so that people are more aware and conscious and they realize the important things in life. We want them to chase their dreams and freedom.

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

When working in teams it’s expected to have some tension and disagreement and this is because of the ego people naturally carry with them. Therefore there are occasions where for instance I will write a song and it will never make it to a record or it will be completely altered by the time it does and sometimes it does hurt but seeing the big picture always helps. This is where you have to kill your ego and consider all inputs from band members, you have to take a step back and open your mind.

The way we go about it is we try to be equal and fair with each other. Its not about being the best but about having fun with your best friends, people often get confused when money comes into the equation but you have to keep it true and stay focused to your ideals as a group.

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

After the successful release of our debut album “Aphasia” last March we were preparing for a European Tour which got quickly cancelled due to the Pandemic. This gave us the opportunity to record a new EP “Séance” which was released a couple of months ago. We decided to record the EP as we were sure live shows were not an option and we are really glad we did from the respond and support we received so far which brings us closer to our dream. For our music to be heard all around the world and hopefully people might use it to feel, to party, to cry and to connect. We want to prove that anyone can achieve their dreams if they work hard enough and stay focused.

Thanks for having us!

Stay heavy,

STONUS