Thursday, February 7, 2013

Music Thursday - Fjodor

It is Thursday again so the time has come to reveal my absolute number one of Croatian rock bands to notice and adore and it is Fjodor.






As some of you maybe remember I watched these guys play before Zechs Marquise and I was flebbergasted with their mad skillz and gregarious delivery. At that time new album was in the works and there was to be a gig celebrating its release next Saturday so I contacted guys to ask them a few questions and they agreed to speak to me. Aljoša kindly took the center stage in representing the band.

DF: According to various sources available online Fjodor as a band exists from 2005. or 2006. and lineup was changed quite a few times - solve a mystery for us; how did it go down?

Aljoša: Band was formed in 2006. and there were a few changes to the lineup and our SoundCloud page gives a thorough explanation so you can check it up there.

DF: So, as Fjodor you have released three (going on four) albums: I (2008.), Riding through Black Hole (2011.), St.Anthony's Fire (2012.) how come none of them are available for online purchase? How do you distribute your materials?

Aljoša: Well,.. with first two albums (I and Riding Through The Black Hole) being 100% DIY we did not have much of a distribution, except concerts and a few web-shop enthusiasts. At this moment albums can be bought only by directly contacting the band and they are available in two versions - CD or USB stick (4gb). Of course, that only goes for first two albums; St. Anthony's Fire is currently in mastering and it will in April or May be released to CD and vinyl.When that comes all three will hopefully be available online by worldwide distributors and also at our enthusiast friends I already mentioned.

DF: And your fourth release?

Aljoša: About fourth album... I would not like to go into details, it still being "in the shop". There is still some recording to be done, and then mixing, mastering, ... so you can really expect it around 2014. if we don't win the lottery in the meantime. [laughs] Of course we're not buying lottery tickets.

DF: You played abroad a lot - how do you pick where to play? Audience?

Aljoša: Fjodor has been touring regularly since 2008. both through Balkan area and later Scandinavia.We're not solely oriented to a particular audience group but on past few tours it turned out that stoner/psy audience could be closest to our repertoire, I guess.

DF: If online materials, reviews and gig-reports are to be believed you look firmly oriented to stoner-psychedelic audience, but I'm actually convinced that your sound and energy has to be served to a broader listener base. How do you see that?

Aljoša: I believe you are right and I do think Fjodor sound has a broader reach. I am sure other subcultures also contain more than a few of our fans.

DF: What are your plans for 2013?

Aljoša: Some of our plans are Baltik and Scandinavian tour again, but this time with Temple of the Smoke. Other,... it still remains to be seen [laughs]. We're working on new stuff, it will definitely be recorded this year and we will play some 2-3 concerts in Zagreb and about 50 across Europe I hope.


DF: So, thank you guys for your time and I will definitely keep my eyes open for any announcement for your gigs as I hope to see and hear much, much more of you! In the meantime for all you present and future worshipers of this cool band here is their Facebook page and their Youtube channel so you could check it out, notice and adore!

And here's some sugar for the end:




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