motel void

This time we interviewed a talented indie rock band Jimmy Knows from Greece.

You come from Athens, Greece. Honestly, I don’t know many indie Greek bands or much about Greek music scene in general. How would you describe the current music scene there?

There are some very interesting groups and acts out there that are putting out some good stuff, but unfortunately few people fancy this kind of music around here…

I discovered you with your single ‚Flowered‘ which was one of my favorite songs of 2021. Will it be on a new album or was it just a standalone single?

It’s part of an upcoming mixtape which we hope to release soon. It will be called Midnight Spots, sort of the sequel to the Soft Spots mixtape. But it’s not going to be as rough. Once we release MS, we are going to focus on recording our debut LP.

I’ve listened to one of your playlists that include what I suppose are your favorite musicians: there are artists like The Microphones, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lana Del Rey, John Frusciante, Car Seat Headrest… do these artists influence you in your music? And how does your music taste differ among your members?

Well, we’ve got a similar background as listeners. We like catchy melodies and intreresting atmospheres. I think the pop element is the glue that sticks us together as a band. And that’s what we are constantly getting after. Finding the “pop” in everything. Artist like Will Toledo and John Frusciante, you know, that’s what they do at the end of the day, they write good, soulful, catchy songs.

I’ve noticed that you record in a professional studio. How is the experience? I’ve listened to your first EP Soft Spots from 2019 that has very raw, warm lo-fi sound so I suppose this one was recorded by yourself?

Well, the I’ve been withing lovesongs EP was recorded at a friend’s home studio, where we got to work with a decent set of equipment. But it certainly was a huge step in terms of sound quality compared to Soft Spots.

How do you write your songs? What part of the song comes first? And what is more important for you in this creative process – lyrics, melody, music? Is there a „main songwriter“ in your band?

Yiannis: Most of the time it’s just a blur, I’ll just pick up my guitar and find a chord that I like, hum or scream something on top, find a phrase that sparks a vibe and go on from there. I’ve realised that you have to tap into a part of the subconscious and not think about it too much. You got to be open and trust the process, cause the goal should be to express whatever you feel like expressing. That’s the first step. Then the band comes along and the fun begins.

Thank you for the interview!