“The world needs more
empathy and less waste.”
GOLAN, a brilliant five member electronic band consisting of Alex (keyboards, flute, trumpet and the hang pan drum), Florian (bass, guitar and synths), lulian (drums); Ernesto (percussions) and Mihai (vocals, live sampling, DJ), currently stir up not only the Romanian electronic music scene but are attracting increasing attention worldwide. We had a chat with the fantastic quintet about playing on festivals and their latest single ‘Rocket Love’ which is an ode to hazy summer nights, the feeling of contentment and those moments of pure solitude.
Hey guys, thanks for your time! Describe each other in a few words. How do you know each other and when was the decision made to form an electronic music band together?
It all started at the end of 2013. The interesting part is that we didn’t know each other very well, but we definitely shared the same perspective on what we wanted to sound like, regardless of our very different backgrounds.The dynamic of the group changed more than once throughout the first two years leading up to the present formula.
How is the Romanian music scene –is it hard to establish oneself over there and as a second stage go international. How did you manage that?
We feel that for the last couple of years the Romanian music scene has undergone quite some change and so it happened that we emerged right from its outset. Still … what developed later on didn’t come easy. From the start, we poured in the same amount of energy into the band’s studio releases as well as in the live performances – in spite of any financial issues we might have encountered. Regarding our international experience we traveled and toured on our own. We wanted to get a real feel of the European audience and of the different fellow artists and acts that would perform alongside us. The network that developed around our endeavours as individuals – as well as a group – helped establish a wider reach and opportunities for us to return to different countries more than once.
You play at quite a lot of popular festivals. How is this experience for you? Is it harder than one would think in terms of organisation and the energy that it costs?
Fulfilling for one. Breaking out of our comfort zone and performing for various audiences brings the kind of excitement and thrill that overcomes any trace of fatigue that is typical for touring. The thing with popular festivals is that, most of the time, they are also the big ones. The complex organisation behind all of them surely brings more pressure and we find ourselves both determined and eager to live up to the circumstances of the event in question. Therefore, it is harder and more energy consuming but it is all worthwhile.
“Breaking out of our comfort zone and performing for various audiences brings the kind of excitement and thrill that overcomes any trace of fatigue that is typical for touring.”
After your session do you dive into the festival as visitors or you just retreat?
First of all it depends on how our performance went that given day and what comes next. If all goes smooth and we don’t have to travel the next day, we usually stay and have a good time.
You played as opening acts for Roisin Murphy & Parov Stelar. How was both of those experiences and was there anything that you learned new for yourself from that experience?
Talk of a challenge. Opening for such big and successful acts proved to be quite different from what we experienced up until then. We learned that we had to adapt our live performance on the spot for an audience that didn’t know what to expect whilst not expecting us at all.
Your latest single ‘Rocket Love’ is “an ode to hazy summer nights, the feeling of contentment and those moments of pure solitude.” When and where was the last time that you were feeling that way – totally content. Or enjoying the bliss of solitude?
Switzerland, Sierre comes to mind. We played at Lac de Géronde, the setting for the “Week-end au bord de l’eau” festival. The tiring long drive there was completely wiped clean once we arrived and found ourselves totally immersed in that beautiful, serene landscape. Somehow, we all remember that particular day as a state of total peace and relaxation.
“One should keep an open mind in order to really see the remarkable traits that our country has.”
Why did you chose to make the video in Brazil?
That wasn’t really our idea. We had the great opportunity to work with the very talented Sander Houtkruijer (Asaf Avidan ‘One Day’ / Floating Points ‘Nespole’), who happened to be there at that time. Lucky for all of us the remoteness of the location didn’t interfere with our creative dialogue.
How would you describe your country and culture there for someone who has never visited Romania?
Historically based, we find that Romania is a rather “new” country from a socio-cultural perspective. We feel the influence of various western ideas and behaviours, whilst acknowledging the centuries old traditions, shape so much of our personality and way of living. One should keep an open mind in order to really see the remarkable traits that our country has.
Your biggest idols?
It’s hard to pinpoint a few names. There are five of us, each one having been influenced differently by several musicians along the way. It varies from all time greats like Quincy Jones and Jean- Michel Jarre to the more modern acts like Massive Attack, Jamiroquai, Recondite and Rodhad.
The world needs more of… and less of…?
The world needs more empathy and less waste.
