Posted on May 13, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

An occasional flicker?

Edinburgh musical scene has really something to say, and some indie bands stands to prove that its scene is just more than “an occasional flicker”. Delicate mesmeric brit sounds with White Album acoustic moods mixed with american country music and dixy drum shade. All that coming from… Greece! Let’s found it out in our interview with Giorgos Bouras from “The Occasional Flickers“

Mark Zonda: How did “Occasional Flickers” came to life?

Giorgios: The Occasional Flickers started as a one man band while I was still in Athens, Greece. I always wanted to record my songs but I didn’t know how to do it. Then, at some point in 2001, a friend gave me his old computer sound card and I recorded the first Flickers demo. These recordings are quite embarrassing, but it was a start… In 2002, we recorded a 7″ single called ‘Rain Until Monday’ and at the same time I started working on the first album “Scattered Songs” which was released in 2007 by Plastilina Records. I recorded this album mostly alone in my bedroom and, although I enjoyed the process, I don’t think that I would ever like to record again something that doesn’t involve other people. In 2006 I moved to Edinburgh and, finally, last year we formed a proper six piece band, which is very exciting. The band consists of Ryan Marinello, from “My Tiny Robots” , Bart Owl, from “Eagleowl”, Ailig Hunter, Jamie Scott and Ola Rek, from “Long Long Walk Home”. Also, the contribution of multi-instrumentalist Sergios Voudris, from “The Voyage Limpid Sound”, is really important in the recordings. Right now, we are recording our second album for Plastilina which will, hopefully, be ready by the end of the summer. It feels great to work with all these great musicians as a band in which everyone contributes his/her own parts.

Mark Zonda: How did it came that you moved from Greece to Edinburgh?

Giorgios: Hmm.. The main reason for coming to Edinburgh was that I wanted to study in the UK, but the truth is that I always wanted to try living abroad. The choice between Scotland and any other place in the UK was easy: I love the Scottish indie scene and, in fact, coming here was a dream come true (I’m just forgetting it from time to time). I miss Greece quite often, but Edinburgh feels like a second home now.

Mark Zonda: Beatles, Nick Drake or Belle & Sebastian? Which are the bands inspiring you the most?

Giorgios: The Velvet Underground perhaps is our biggest infuence, but who is not influenced by them.. Then there are really lots of bands and artists that in one way or another have shaped our sound. I guess everything we like sooner or later finds its place in our music. I have a love for the sixties and especially for albums that sound out of time like “Forever changes” by Love or “Astral Weeks”by Van Morrison, but I’m not very sure how audible this can be in our music. And, of course, the Scottish indie-pop scene: Postcard Records, Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian, The Pastels and so on. Lately, I am listening to lots of country stuff like Glen Campbell and Flying Burrito Brothers, but I guess that’s just a phase. I remember there was a time that I couldn’t listen to anything but doo wop..

Mark Zonda: The 20 Euros question: Is the stardard  plastic blue  glockenspiel becoming indispendable to perform with an indie band?

Giorgios: Ha!ha! Yes, I guess this glockenspiel has become a standard for every band. It’s funny because after buying mine I started noticing that so many bands were playing with this on stage. I guess this is the best “value for money” instrument I’ve ever bought.

Mark Zonda: “When The Sky Looks so Gray” is such a marvellous song. Like Devics meeting Van Morrison. How did the writing process started? That song has got a marvellous fingerpicking, was the song written upon that, it was the whole idea of the song already in your mind, you started from a melody… or what?

Giorgios: Thanks! This song is one of my favourite too. And, in fact, it helped me to overcome a writer’s block which had lasted a bit too long after finishing the first album. Roque Ruiz had asked us to record an E.P. for Cloudberry Records but we didn’t have any new songs. One day I decided to try to learn a song by Alasdair Roberts, a Scottish folk singer-songwriter who plays amazing guitar using all sorts of alternate tunings. On one of his records there was a list of all the tunings he used, so I retuned my guitar and tried to figure out what he was playing. But in less than 10 minutes I got bored and gave up and started fiddling around. I changed the tuning in a couple of strings and that’s how the main riff came. I worked for days on it and when I was happy with the guitar part I added the melody and lyrics. This was a really valuable experience, because until then I was just waiting for the songs to come to me by themselves. ‘When The Sky Looks So Gray’ gave me a whole new approach to songwriting: for instance, now I can start a song from just a title and build it little by little in a course of a month or so.

Mark Zonda: How much did Scotland influenced your melodies? Would “Rain until monday” have sounded different if written on Acapulco?

Giorgios: I guess everything influences our melodies in one way or another. And, indeed, since I moved to Scotland the songs have become a bit darker and gloomier. I guess the weather has to do with it, to some degree. But what is really inspiring is the interaction with all these great bands from the local indie scene. ‘Rain Until Monday’ was written while I was still in Athens, which is strange enough. But how many songs can you write about the sunshine? Recently, I realized that a significant number of our songs has to do with the weather which is quite worrying. I used to think that people talk about the weather when they have nothing to say. I hope that’s not true!

The Occasional Flickers – “When The Sky Looks So Gray (Reprise)”

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