France’s 1970s infused Komodor provide answers to our questions as their brand new self-titled debut EP sees the light of day.
You formed as a band in 2017 – not so long ago – how did your formation come about? What previous bands have you played in – how did you meet – have you all known one another for a long time, etc.? Why Komodor?
The classical story: four buddies from Dz City Rockers, (Brittany) passionate of ’70s stuff! Two guitars, one bass-guitar and one drums, what else?
We all played in local bands just for fun, except our drummer who played in a band called The Octopus, which was locally famous. Like we said, we all come from the same town so we have known each other for a long time.
As for the name of the band, one day we were fixing an old Honda CB 400 four and Elrik, our drummer, thought ‘what about commodo’ – which is the French word for control pods – then we worked on it and we finally found Komodor!
What’s so special about the ’70s that you felt so inspired to create music in that sort of sonic template?
We love the raw vibes and the soul of the songs, with the authentic sound of the tape machines. The spirit of jam sessions, the feeling of madness and freedom in ’60s and ’70s music which is less present nowadays. The general atmosphere seemed to be cool, fashion, V8 motors; a kind of “peaceful easy feeling”.
We’re about to step into a time machine headed for the 1970s and a very well-stocked vinyl record shop: which albums should we return to 2019 with?
Wow… your question start to make troubles inside the band!
Slyde [guitar and vocals]: I would say Then Play On by Fleetwood Mac. The guitar riff blew my mind when I listened to it for the first time.
Elrik [drums]: High Times by the MC5. I just want to make love and fight at the same time when I listen to it!
Goudzou [bass guitar]: It’s hard to choose, but if I had to choose one I would say High Voltage by AC/DC. It’s the first album I bought with my dad and I still listen to it as loud as possible.
Ronnie [guitar]: Well, I would say the first Allman Brother Band album, to me it defines the sound of the late ’60s and the early ’70s blues/rock.
Do you take any any inspiration / influences outside of the decade or are you permanently stuck in a 1970s time warp?
Yes our influences mostly come from the ’60s and ’70s. We also like recent bands, but most of them are also influenced by ’60s and ’70s stuff. We could mention bands like Dewolff, Blues Pills, Triggerfinger, Radio Moscow, Graveyard, The Hellacopters, The Dastuns, etc…
How did you come to collaborate with the entire Blues Pills band to create your new self-titled mini-album? Were they involved in any of the songwriting? Their bassist Zack Anderson recorded all four songs? How did this come about/what was the experience like?
Dorian (Blues Pills) is one of Slyde’s best friend, they’ve known each other since kindergarden. That’s why Slyde went on tour with Blues Pills as a backliner and started to be friends with the other members of the band. Then we decided to organise the recording session with Zack Anderson. The guys from Blues Pills were hanging out in the studio, so we said, ‘Hey, it could be fun if you could record some stuff!’, and they did!
Zack helps us to arrange some parts of the songs, but we also shared them with the other members and they gave us some advice. It was very interesting. Yes, Zack recorded everything on his good old analog Studer. In spite of the cold, it was an amazing moment and a wonderful journey, we learned a lot from them. It was the first time that we lived together as a band for such a long time; it was a bit hard, but we had a lot of fun!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes you hope the listener will pick up on specifically?
You can all ‘Join The Band’.
Thanks, we’ll grab out flares…. How did you come to work with Soulseller Records – what do you hope to gain most from the label relationship?
Our friend Dorian Sorriaux from Blues Pills signed on SoulSeller Records for his first solo EP Hungry Ghost a few months before us, then he made the connection between us and Jorn from SoulSeller Records. He took the time to listen to our tracks during the half-time of a Europa league football match! Luckily, the answer was ‘DEAL’! Thanks to him we release our debut EP on January 11th, 2019 and a full-length album should follow as soon as possible. We hope to spread our music as far as possible with the label.
You have some live dates coming up – what should we expect from you in that setting – any surprises?
We do not have any surprises for the moment… Sorry. Actually we have some shows in Brittany, and we are working at a tour in Spain and France in March 2019. We are looking for more shows everywhere, so do not hesitate to contact us… Music is made to play live!
You can listen to the track ‘Join The Band’ and pick up a copy of the EP at Soulseller’s Bandcamp page: soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/komodor
Komodor tracklist:
1. Still the Same
2. Join the Band
3. Nasty Habits
4. 1984
Komodor is:
Goudzou – Bass
Elrik Monroe – Drums
Ronnie Calva – Lead Guitar
Slyde Barnett – Lead Vocals & Guitar
