[Interview] Stonus [CY]

stonus, soundart festival 2019
We took the chance and had a little chat with STONUS, the heavy rockers from Cyprus that have recently participated in Soundart Festival 2019, Bucharest, alongside Riverside, Planet of Zeus, Sunnata, Weedpecker.

Read this mini interview so that you get to know them better. Enjoy!

1.-Hello and welcome to Downtuned. First of all, give us some info about the band's background just to let people know you better.
Well, it all started in an old metal bar in Nicosia, Cyprus back in 2015 over beer and Nightstalker playing in the background... Since then, we played in festivals and gigs all over Cyprus and since 2018 we started playing abroad in London. In 2019 we played in Bucharest at Soundart festival making our first appearance in a festival abroad.We released two EPs: "Supertrip" and "Lunar Eclipse" as well as two singles "Memories" and "Coming In". Over the last year we started gaining international recognition by being mentioned in several blogs and magazines. Currently, we are working on our debut album.

2.-Did the members of the band participate in other projects or bands in the past and what kind of music did they play?
Yeah, most of us were invlolved in various projects throughout the years mainly around rock and metal genres including hard, progressive and alternative rock.

3.-How did you come up with the name "Stonus" and does it mean something particular for you?
It was an idea, it became a band and its something we love and breath for. As for the actual meaning of the name, we'll leave that to you...
 
4.-How big or active is the underground music scene at your place of living? How easy or difficult was for you to make your first steps as a band? Was it easy to find an audience for your music at your place?
The underground music scene in Cyprus is limited and the average crowd expectancy does not exceed 200 people. On our first steps as a band it was very hard to engage the crowd as the genre was not only new to the crowd but also to us. However, over the last years we have seen an improvement in the crowd engagement possibly due to the huge impact that the Greek stoner bands have given spark to the underground scene.

5.-Two years have passed since your first single release "Coming In". What has stayed the same and what is different today in the band and in the way you work?
Of course we are a more experienced band due to the recurrent exposure to various live performances and recordings. In our latest material we have improved the way in which we engage our music by including various underground sounds and a wider musical perspective. However, we have the same passion, ambition and motivation to create music that we consider it describes best our inner world.

6.-What were the biggest difficulties that you encountered in producing and releasing your music so far? Are those difficulties going to affect the way you'll handle a full album release in the future?
Nowdays, it is very hard to be an independent musician as the music scene is limited, therefore the income cannot overweight the economical demands of a full recording procedure. However, with our endless passion and love we are optimistic that we will achieve our goals in the future. Additionally, we have our discography online on Bandcamp, as well as merchantise and hard-copies of the CDs and everyone is welcome to support our work.

7.-Do you have plans for a new full album release soon?
Yes, we are planning to release our debut album in the next two years. Stay tuned for more details.

Stonus band photo, cyprus
8.-How would you describe your music to someone who doesn't know you yet? Is that the style that defines "Stonus" or is there room for experimentation in the future?
Our music combines various music genres inculding doom, hard, psychedelic, stoner and heavy rock. There is always room for experimentation and improvement, but the core remains the same

9.-What were the main reasons and influences that made you adopt this music style?
We were influenced by the major movement of the stoner rock scene in Greece which was expected, since Cyprus is heavily influenced by Greece in various aspects including music. Therefore, we have influences from bands such as Nightstalker, Planet of Zeus and 1000mods. The reason why we choose this type of music is because we feel that it can express our music ideologies while promoting our culture and desert climate. We love it!

10.-How does the whole songwriting process work for you? What are the emotions you want people to receive when they hear your music?
Songwriting is a very important factor for every musician that wants to stand out. Therefore when we write songs we try to express our feelings and concerns through our lyrical and muscial vibe. It's a very emotional procedure which requires past experiences and constant research and we hope that our listeners manage to explore and enjoy the moment through our music.

11.-During a gig, is the communication with the crowd important for you? Does the positive feedback from the crowd motivate you to perform with more passion?
I believe that all musicians are influenced by the crowd reaction, anyway this is one of the reasons why we started playing at the beginning, to express our feelings to people who will engage our music and express it back to us with their reactions. On the other hand passion is something that we show in every gig and rehearsal that we perform and if we would characterise the band's performance we would definately correlate it with passion.

12.-Are there any "special" bands that you dream to share the stage with?
There is a bif list of them haha. However, the main ones are Nightstalker, 1000mods, Fu Manchu, My Sleeping Karma, Electric Wizard and All Them Witches. And last one for our drummer: Tool!

13.-How do you imagine "Stonus" in 2029?
stonus band logo, cyprus
As we already started perfroming in various countries, by 2029 we would expect to release some albums that will reveal our character and musical perspective. Additionally, we are hopeful that we will perform and headline big festivals around the world. But the most imporant parameter is to express our music and passion to the world no matter what.

14.-What are your plans for this year? Is it a priority for you to try and participate in gigs outside your country?
There were certain goals set when our latest EP "Lunar Eclipse" was released, and one of them was to participate in a festival abroad as well as promoting our music in Europe and mainly in the UK. With the pass of the first four monts, we managed to play two shows in London, we supported Balothizer in Cyprus and we participated in Soundart Festival in Bucharest, Romania. The latter was an extraordinary experience as we played with well known bands of the stoner rock scene such as Planet of Zeus, Sunnata and Weedpecker. Our plans for the rest of the year is to continue working on new material for our debut album as well as participation in festivals in Cyprus and gigs around Europe. Stay tuned on our social media for updates

15.-We wish you good luck to whatever you do in the future, the epilogue is yours…
Check us out, listen to our music and try to understand it and enjoy it as much as you can!
Support us if you like it! And of course, if we are playing in your city feel free to come around so you can meet us in person have a few beers and chat! We can sign a few autographs for you aswell (haha)
Stay Rock n' Roll people, STONUS \m/

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