Interview: Group Rhoda

Your music is stripped down to the more basic elements. Why did you choose to go this way?

Many reasons.  I seem to think that way.  I also am attracted to very simple musical ideas that are rich in texture and I like building complexity of tone within a simple framework.  Additionally, it is a solo project and most songs are structured around what I can achieve live which is inherently restricting and I started the project knowing very little so some of the simplicity was just due to my own limitations as a writer and performer.  

Suicide

Is a non thinking state.  As a listener I get caught up in a kind of entranced state.  Marten Rev creates a landscape and Alan Vega delivers a skizophrenic gospel.

Ann Clark

She is a poet.  Really.  She is simple and honest.  She speaks of her fears and dreams.  She reveals the distopia we live in.  I feel very close to her ideas.  

Cabaret Voltaire.

Is all about movement and form.  My imagination runs wild with each song.  Plus there is a strong  influence of punk, dub, funk, and experimental.  I feel like they are not just timidly borrowing from these influences but actually embodying them.   In my opinion, its very physical and visual music.

Tell me all about the second album. What are the major differences with the debut.

The second album is a little more diverse in the type of songs and production.   Thematically it is also very similar.  

You toured with the mighty Soft Moon. That must have been something! Any interesting experiences?

It was a great short learning experience.  It was a window into what it means to be a professional band. They are all great musicians that can consistently play good shows.  I got a view into some of the darkness and the light that comes with being a band on the rise.  There is a lot to balance and constant forces working for and against you.  It seems to take a lot of commitment and persistence.  Those guys are almost always on the road and have put in tremendous ground work.  I had great fun on the tour when the shows were well thought out with a welcoming audience and good promoters.  I also liked making jokes in the car with them as they are all quite fun to be around.

Name 5 things that come to your mind about Greece.

Olive trees, leather sofas, Plato, classical columns, beaches.

Group Rhoda will tour Greece for the first time next week: 26/05 Thessaloniki, Residents,   27/05 Larissa, Hobo, 28/05 Athens, Yperokeaneio