1. ΛDΛM’s been in the music scene for a while SO I GUESS you’ve had YOUR SHARE OF good times and bad times along the way but you’ve always kept going. What has helped you hold it together JUDGING BY how hard it is to be in a rock band nowadays?

It feels crazy but this August marks our 10th anniversary as a band. We’ve had our share of ups and downs along the road and actually some friends gave us the title of the unluckiest band in the world but we somehow managed to pull through. I’m not the “woe is me” kind of person and to be honest I feel thankful for every single obstacle we’ve faced so far. It takes guts, patience and a little craziness. Struggle is important because it tests you and it helps you discover your drive and your limits. I love what we do and I wouldn’t wanna have it any other way.

2. Your debut RELEASE “SUN” IS a concept album EXPLORing CERTAIN THEMES, hence ITS name. YET RIGHT NOW you are NEAR THE COMPLETION OF your second ALBUM SO I’d like you to share a few things about it, ALSo TALK TO US ABOUT the ways you feel the upcoming RELEASE is gonna be different from “SUN”.

“SUN” & “MOON” were written around the same time period pretty much and we just mixed and matched each song by theme and vibe. The original plan was to work on a huge double album but time, money and life wouldn’t allow it at the time. I feel both albums are kindred spirits. In their essence they are about hope. As an artist, I’ve always loved to work on the concept of duality. Light and darkness. Love and hate. The physical and the spiritual. It’s very interesting to discover the extremities and the whole spectrum between them.

“MOON” is about trying to find hope while you’re staring into the abyss. It’s about the darkness that’s permeating one’s life. It’s about obsessions taking control over you. It’s the process of digging yourself out of a black hole. It’s about a walk to hell and back and the things you’ve lost along the way.

I like to imagine “MOON” is like a cornered animal. It seems vulnerable and weak but at the same time it’s when it is most vicious and unpredictable.

3. “SUN” received rave reviews, it was also a commercial success. A feat, in my opinion, for a Greek rock band. HAD you ever expectED your first album would be met with such warm reception? Has this set a precedent for WHAT should COME NEXT?

I really believed in that material so I expected and hoped for some sort of acknowledgment but I really didn’t expect it would turn out to be such a huge success. This has definitely raised the bar and has made us hungrier to create something bigger and better.

4. Say you’d like to show someone the real you without having to explain anything in words. Which 3 places would you take them to and why?

1. The Haus of ΛΔΛΜ. Our own little recording space we’ve set up. This is where the magic happens. This is where you’d get to see us at our most creative or experience the true meaning of procRastination.

2. The weightroom. I guess this is the only place where I let go of inhibitions and I feel truly free. It’s the one place that I’ll visit whenever I wanna clear my mind. Weightlifting can be a transcendental experience when you manage to get your body and mind in sync.

3. The beach. That’s how I envision my Shangri-La. The one thing I look forward to every year is for the summer to come so I can get zoneD out in a sandy beach anywhere. My dream, my drive in life is the perfect wave. Eternal summer.

5. Imagine taking all the fictional characters / artistic vibes / sonic & visual sneak peeks that have stuck with you over the years and piecing them together to create a film scene you star in and sums up all your life. NOW describe the scene to us.

I’m afraid this has already been done. I’m not just gonna give it away because once the mystery’s gone we’re fucked, right? All I can say is that it’s a late 90’s film where the main dude has a cockroach tattooed on his skull. If you don’t know, now you know.

6. I feel that people recognise in you (ΛDΛM) the fact that you’re SORT OF carryING on the rock tradition in a way that’S not reminiscent of outdated norms or short-lasting gimmicks. What core values inform your musical approach?

I couldn’t give a shit about rock tradition. Rock is dead and no one cares. Rock’n’Roll died because people were confined to the idea that bands had to look, act and sound a certain way. Rock’n’roll was about doing your thing, sticking it to the man, you know? All the edge is gone. Artists don’t wanna experiment out of fear of alienating their fans. Why would you even experiment or try something different when rock fans have been listening to the same five songs on the radio for the past 40 years and they seemingly don’t give a fuck? Why would you even bother with that when all rock fans care about is some 80 year old dude’s tired-ass comeback or when the alternative, the new blood is some Led Zeppelin tribute band? Ever since the 80’s, rock has been pretty much pop music with a different packaging. I mean the same dude that wrote songs for Katy Perry also wrote the biggest rock hits of the 80’s and THE 90’s.

And maybe that’s our gimmick. We’re a rock band that hates rock music!

As far as songwriting is concerned, all we do is just go with the flow and see where that takes us. I really believe that no idea is bad as long as it is honest. We don’t like to think in genres or styles rather in moods and vibes.
We make soundtracks for films that are never going to be made.

7. Could you describe TO us the most surreal and tragi-comic incident you’ve experienced AS A BAND?

The entire recording sessions for “SUN” were surreal. We had spent a lot of time and money setting up our own little studio in the center of Athens. First we had troubles with the neighbors and we would have the cops called on us on a daily basis over noise complaints. Then came the 2019 Athens earthquake that damaged the building and almost took a wall down. Our bass player at that time dropped out on us the day before the bass recordings. Then the studio was broken into and all of our equipment got stolen which forced us to move back to good ol’ Haus of ΛΔΛΜ for the final recordings and I ended up recording the vocal tracks while deaf out of one ear because of a nasty cold turned-into-ear infection. Killer stuff, right?

8. Which song IS reflecting your life right now?

T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection) by Turnstile.

9. What are your summer plans? SOME Long-needed vacation? Recording sessions? Any live gigs that we should know of?

We are going to be supporting Clutch and the Hellacopters at Release Festival in July and we’re also going to be sharing the stage with Nightstalker, Calyces and many other great bands at New Long Festival. IT’s gonna be a mogging. We’re hitting the studio immediately after. We can’t wait to get our new music out and into everybody’s earholes.

10. WHAT QUESTION WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED US TO ASK YOU AND WHAT WOULD BE THE ANSWER?

Q: What is best in life?

A: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women.

PANAGIOTIS CHALOULAKOS is THE LEAD SINGER AND GUITARIST of ΛDΛM WHO WILL BE PERFORMING LIVE AT THIS YEAR’s RELEASE FESTIVAL ON 19/7 AND AT THE NEW LONG FEST ON 30/7.