Athens
Live Gallery: Night Beats – Temple, Athens 14.10.2022
The brain-child of Native Texan Danny Lee Blackwell, Night Beats have just finished a tour where they brought their brand of R&B-inspired Western Psychedelic sound to Europe. Backseat Mafia’s Manos Kalafatelis was there to witness the band on stage at their gig in Athens. By Manos Kalafatelis Find out more via the band’s Website or …
Live Review : Efterklang – Temple Bar, Athens 30.04.22
I’ve waited a long , long time to re-join the Athens scene , so to speak. Not just as a musician myself, having made the grand exodus to London to live the dream like most of us in Athens have. So i decided to pave my way back with my journalists hat on, and , …
Live Review: Grouper – Parnassos Hall/ Plissken Festival, Athens 20.04.22
There are really only two ways to enjoy electronic music : dancing in the comfort of your own home, or at a festival. So when Backseat Mafia made its way to the first Athens review to watch American -Ambient artist Grouper, courtesy of Plissken Festival, I arrived at the majestic venue of Parnassos Hall, a …
Say Psych: Live Review: A Place to Bury Strangers, Plattenbau & HAU @ Temple, Athens 19.03.2022
Tonight it’s a pleasure to be at Temple, Athens (Greece) where a band who need no introduction, A Place to Bury Strangers, are supported by two who do. Opening are local duo HAU who offer distorted noise to the early birds of the event. These guys know how to make some noise and mash up …
Say Psych: Album Review: Holy Monitor – Southern Lights
Athens based quintet Holy Monitor last week released their eagerly awaited third LP Southern Lights on Blackspin/Primitive Music. They are a psychedelic rock quintet whose sound incorporates elements of krautrock, space rock and ambient music. The band’s reverb-soaked vocals crawl beneath waves of pulsating minimal rhythms, while fuzz driven guitars and prog style keys create …
Say Psych: Track Review: Holy Monitor – Blue Whale
Athenians Holy Monitor are back with a new single, ‘Blue Whale’ taken from their third LP Southern Lights which will be released later this month. Holy Monitor were founded in Athens, Greece during the summer of 2015 by guitarist Stefanos Mitsis, singer/guitarist George Nikas, keyboardist Vangelis Mitsis, bassist Alex Bolpasis and drummer Dimitris Doumouliakas. Over …
Say Psych: Album Review: Kooba Tercu – Proto Tekno
Arriving via a triangulation of Athens, Crete and London, yet existing at a psychic intersection between the ruins of crumbling infrastructure and an intimidating future dystopia Kooba Tercu have seen fit to take arms as only they see fit. This week they unleash their latest offering Proto Tekno on the world, via Rocket Recordings. Led …
Album Review: Bambara – Stray plus tour news
‘Stray’ by New York band Bambara is one of those albums that provides a delicious, vicarious thrill on first listen: it has all the brilliance of a coterie of bands stretching from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to Alabama 3, Wall of Voodoo, Sisters of Mercy to Tindersticks: swaggering, poised story-telling that is visceral …
Premiere: The Shut-Ups reveal new video for Et,Tu? Tomorrow
Taken from their forthcoming fifth album ‘Just Another Generation’, Altanta-Athens quintet The Shut-Ups have revealed a new video for the track ‘Et,Tu? Tomorrow’, and we’re delighted to premiere it here on Backseat Mafia today. Harmony driven but comfortably indie at heart, Et,Tu? Tomorrow skips along (in keeping with the rest of the album) as if …
Album Review: Linqua Franqa – Model Minority
Out right now is Model Minority, the debut full length from Linqua Franqa, aka Athens-based rapper and linguist Mariah Parker. The linquist doctorate student at the University of Georgia has produced a record of maturity and impeccably crafted hip-hop, that must rank amongst the best hip-hop records of the year. Made up largely of her …