Zoom. Interviuri. Interviu EN

AlithiA (Tibor Gede). AUS

Publicat in: 30.04.2014, 06:47AM
Autor: Richard Constantinidi
Comentarii: 0
Vizualizari: 4667
Etichete: Alithia, Astral Space Core, Cvetan Hadzsiyski, Horizon Music, John Rousvanis, Melbourne Australia, Metropol Studios, Mihaszna Film, Occultism, Thirteen Revelations, Tibor Gede, To The Edge Of Time

ALITHIA is a band at the forefront of a new movement in music known as ASTRAL SPACE CORE. Influenced by post modernism, ASTRAL SPACE CORE taps into the chakra and connects the cosmic consciousness of its listener.

---

AlithiA originally started in 2002 with John being the only current member. The group was pretty much a grunge-punk band but then John and Danny started jamming with each other in 2003 which helped open up the door to the more progressive/psychedelic sound the band now has.

---

In Australia, AlithiA has toured the country 5 times and performed alongside the country’s best in prog, post-rock and psychedelic music sharing stages with bands such as Sleepmakeswaves, Jerrico, The Red Paintings, Breaking Orbit, Mushroom Giant, Voyager, Greenthief ...and many more.

---

The bass player, Tibor Gede, has been based in Budapest, Hungary for 2 years now and he has started a booking agency for Aussie bands to tour around Europe called Horizon Music.

---

AlithiA is currently on a European tour that includes 3 shows in Romania - Bucharest, Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca…

---

RiCo for CZB.ro: Who came up with the name AlithiA and what does AlithiA mean to you?

Tibor Gede (bass, AlithiA): John Rousvanis the singer and guitarist of the band has Greek parents and came up with the band name which comes from the Greek word that means Truth. The word needs little explanation other than we are in a constant endeavor to live our Truths in harmony with everyone else’s at all times.

---

RiCo for CZB.ro: You seem very attracted to Hungary (even having an ethnic Hungarian band, Tunderground, as a top recommendation on beat.com.au). Does anyone in the band have an ethnic connection to Eastern Europe?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): Yes, it’s actually me, the band’s bass player.

I was born in Melbourne Australia, but my father is Hungarian and my mother is Spanish. When I was 12 my family went to Hungary for the first time in my life… it opened my life and broke the programming in my mind for the rest of my life as I grew up in the ‘comfort and safety’ of Australia… going to Hungary connected me to reality and that life doesn’t just happen to you, but you have to make it happen - not only for survival, but for the glory of achieving beyond your perception. After a year my family went back to Australia, and then I returned in 2006, where I have been living a double life - spending half my time in Australia and half my time in Hungary.

Tunderground (from Transylvania, Romania) is one of my favourite bands, I feel they musically stretch the boundaries of ethnic music and sounds we have never heard before, they really inspire me.

---

CZB: Why did you decide to work with Metropol Studios for your debut album and Mihaszna Film for your latest video? Both are based in Hungary.

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): We were planning a European tour for 2012… and then we also had an albums worth of material ready to record… a very good friend of mine showed me this fantastic studio Metropol which has loads of analogue gear and is located in an artist complex, so it has a fantastic energy and you are always bumping into musicians and other artists.

The director of Mihaszna Film actually saw us at our BUDAPEST SHOW IN 2012… he approached us and he loved the music… he said he really wanted to work with a band where he could visually do some crazy things… we saw his work and we were blown away… it was a match made in Jupiter :D

---

CZB: This is your second tour to Eastern Europe; most Australian artists try to launch their international careers in London; why are you building and consolidating bridges to this part of Europe?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): We’re not interested in impressing the media or the industry… we know our music can never be accepted for commercial radio and neither do we care about it… actually, our music in some ways is kinda geeky and will never fit any trend… so because of that, going to London without any fanbase or any such place like that would be a waste of time. Secondly, I've been to London many times… and I personally hate that place passionately; it reminds me of Melbourne, but with even more rules…. Insincere politeness in the culture and a self-centred censorship…. OK, I'm being harsh now… but we much rather prefer Eastern locations… society is more honest and direct… its harsher and crueller in some ways and sadly, living conditions are much harder and worse for people… but we are attracted to it because we receive a lot of open hearts on this side of the world… and that for us it is the most important reason to be alive… to share and connect and grow and support growth with good will… and that’s what we find when we travel to this part of the world… there's no competition or jealousy… just sincerity and creativity.

---

CZB: The pyramid and snakes are fundamental elements of your band emblem… You used a series of symbols in your Thirteen Revelations video: the chameleon, all the circles and circle drawings and 13 in the title… what are you trying to get across to the common viewer?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): The video for Thirteen Revelations is the visual interpretation of the lyrics… the we gave the director free creative reign and told him to do what he wanted… so he used the concept of the Apocalypse… the biblical symbol of the Apocalypse… and he stretched the lyrical meaning to what you see on the video today… the point of the narrative actually is not destruction… but in fact Hope… the end of the video shows that after everything is destroyed… infinity begins again and the protagonist has a second chance to change everything… which we hope we can all have... second chances in our lives.

---

CZB: How did you first get interested in Occultism …or is this just an image concept that fits the music you are currently producing?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): Our singer John Rousvanis is heavily interested in the theme… he is quite a superstitious guy… which we tease him about a lot… but I suppose he is attracted to the spiritual meanings behind Occultism.

---

CZB: Why have you chosen the path of developing a loose collective of artists and what are the three (or four) permanent members of the band doing when they aren't touring or recording music with AlithiA?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): We have John, Tibor, Vel and Danny who played on the album. Jeff is a new addition to the band as he joined last year… so he didn’t have the chance to play on this album… but we still wanted to recognize him as a member of the band and have his name with us on the CD… although he didn’t play on the album we felt he needed to be recognized so we put ‘tour member’… but on the next album he will definitely play on it.

Our jobs will make you laugh….

John looks after people with disabilities, so he is a Carer…
Danny is a sandwich maker for a television studio…
Vel is a Prosecutor :D…
Jeff works in markets stacking fruit and vegetables…

and I am a Community Theatre worker …basically I run and direct theatre projects for young people from refugee countries or street kids… on the side, I have a booking agency (Horizon Music) and I book tours for bands in Australia and Europe.

---

CZB: Why did John (guitar, voice) legally change his name to Sparky?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): Haha… no that’s a joke, sparky magic is his nick name… not his legal name…. we just like teasing him :D

---

CZB: How do you feel about playing in Transylvania for the first time and was this just something that happened or have you wanted to get to play here?

Tibor Gede (AlithiA): We have never played in Transylvania… and oh my god it is an exhilarating feeling to know we will be there! We heard the audiences are really open minded, so we can't wait to visit the beautiful countryside!

---

CZB: John, Vel, Danny, Tibor, Jeff… what's your poison?

John (Guitar/Vocals): red wine
Danny (Keys/Vocals): bad pop music and corporations
Tibor (Bass): love
Jeff (Percussion/Keys/Vocals): sex, drugs rock'n'roll
Vel (Drums): ouzo

---

Interview conceived by: RiCo

---

Recently, Melbourne’s space rockers AlithiA released the epic short film Thirteen Revelations, taken from the debut album To the Edge of Time. Over eighteen months in the making, Thirteen Revelations was filmed across landscapes in the Canary Islands and Hungary.

---

Thirteen Revelations features guest artist Cvetan Hadzsiyski from the band Smallman playing the traditional Bulgarian instrument, Gaida.

---

AlithiA. Thirteen Revelations

---

AlithiA’s debut record ‘To the Edge of Time’ was recorded and produced at Metropol studios in Budapest, hungary and features an array of international guests such as New York based MC Illspokinn, violinist Matisz Flora, Undos from Hungarian art-rock band Grand Mexican Warlock, and LÅ‘csei Bence (ex-Poison of Marvel/Exe) frontman. ’To the Edge of Time’ was recorded in Budapest, Hungary at Metropol Studios while the band was on their European tour in late 2012 which saw the band play in 16 cities across 8 countries including Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria.

---

To the Edge of Europe 2014 European/Russian Tour