Film
Athens, Attica, Greece | Established. Jan 01, 2002 | INDIE
Music
Press
"Kick-ass band from
turbulent Greece that makes truly breath-taking indie-rock." - gogoyoko.com - Gogoyoko newsletter
WHO: Modern rockers from Athens in Greece, whose local popularity was enough to get them on the bill with New Order, Hooverphonic and Radio 4 at the Ejekt Festival there in June, where I saw them and fell for them.
WHAT: Angular, arty, occasionally aggressive, frequently derivative but constantly entertaining new-wave influenced four-piece. The band is best described visually as a cross between Interpol and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with vocalist Eleni Tzavara the kind of striking front woman that young men often profess to stalk.
WHY: “Film’s new album can be described as a concept album, where the song are a cut-up of cinematic scenes. the cuts are quick and melancholic, raging and nostalgic…”
WINNERS: On ‘Away To Say Goodbye,’ Tzavara screams like (her evident idol) Karen O; on ‘Alarm,’ she does a more-than-passable impression of Kate Bush, and whenever bassist Dmitris Borsis butts in with spoken words, as on the opener ‘Stop Stop,’ Film remind us how good were The Sugarcubes. (It doesn’t help that ‘Stop Stop’ actually includes a lyrical reference to “cubes of sugar.”) So, okay, it’s true, Tzavara often can’t escape her influences. But the band itself has a hard-driving sound that’s somewhat more original, and when Tzavara finds her own voice, as on the finale ‘SSS!’, the combination is thrilling.
WORDS: “If I can’t have you/if I can’t have you/I get crossdressed and visit my house as if I were you.” (‘Away To Say Goodbye.’) For someone’s second language, that’s a mighty horny line.
WHINE: There’s more noise than substance here; for all that I love Film in theory, I can’t put hand on heart and say there’s one song here you simply have to own. And yes, obviously we’d prefer Tzavara to sound less like her heroines and more like herself.
WEB: Filmband.gr is a Flash-heavy site that appears to confirm the group’s local popularity. (Or, perhaps, just EMI Greece’s investment.) Check the Greek side of the site if you want to brush up on your classics.
- Tony Fletcher
"Clear heritage managed so smart and lovingly on stage that it could turn into a cliché, instead it becomes exciting” - www.gaffa.se
"At least poor beleaguered Greece isn’t creatively bankrupt too. FILM are a rare export from their indie rock scene, journeying to Denmark due to the new InterSPOT international mini-festival that now rounds off the opening night. A good fist they made of it too, pummelling a busy bar with their pleasingly atmospheric post-pop shudder, and boasting a frontwoman who is, as my Grandad would put it, “not un-comely.” Which is always handy." - www.clashmusic.com
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Film’s compelling cinematic soundscapes revolve around nihilistic urban settings and inspire celluloid fantasies. The work of this Athenian avant-garde three-piece as it morphs into a nebulous electronic amalgamation of dark-pop and 80’s facets, resembles the mystique of an enigmatic motion picture soundtrack. Their flickering sequences, somber sonic textures and distorted outbreaks draw inspiration from the iconic legacy of Film’s universally-acclaimed compatriot Vangelis as well as a wide range of electronic acts of the 70’s and the 80’s.
Film enjoy a leading status amongst the Greek indie scene and have enviable live credits with support slots for behemoths such as The Cure, New Order and The Flaming Lips. They have a discography of 3 albums and 2 singles so far and have extensively toured Europe with gigs in the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands. FILM have also appeared in important showcases such as SPOT (Denmark) and POPKOMM (Germany) and they did a number of gigs in Reykjavik when they were selected to play at Iceland Airwaves(Iceland). After a long period of experimentation on new material, Film recently released their latest album "Eclipse", out via Inner Ear Records on Sept 26, 2014
"Clear heritage managed so smart and lovingly on stage that it could turn into a cliché, instead it becomes exciting Gaffa (SWE)
Pleasingly atmospheric post-pop shudder Clash Magazine (UK)
Visually strong expression Gaffa (DK)
"Exploring the avant-garde of pop music on their latest album 'Persona' makes FILM an exhilarating addition to the scene of art-rock" Gogoyoko (ICE)
FILM enjoy a leading status amongst the Athenian indie scene and have enviable live credits with support slots for behemoths such as The Cure, New Order, Iggy & the Stooges, and The Flaming Lips. They have extensively toured Europe with gigs in the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands, and are among the very few non-Nordic acts that have performed at Denmark's SPOT Festival.
FILM recorded a single with Hildur Stefánsdóttir, the soothing voice of Rökkurró, Icelands finest folk-pop outfit. 'Harmur Fuglsins' (Icelandic for Sorrow of the Bird) is the arresting outcome of a collaboration infused by strikingly contrasting geographical and artistic backgrounds, released on Kimi Records/Inner Ear. Subsequently the band performed on 8-10 September in Berlin at the international music trade fair Popkomm, followed by a common appearance with Hildur at Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavík on 13-17 October.
If you've for some reason been looking for your ideal Greek post-punk band, this is it. Heavy bass licks and slaps a la The Pop Group and thick sonic attacks, complete with superb singing and an intense stage presence. Makes you think of a more bleak sounding Aphrodite's Child-era Vangelis and reassures you that Greece is still churning out good music. Cause they're all about being the birthplace of Western civilization and stuff."
Reykjavik Grapevine - Faktory, Thursday
"Funny how an artist can convince you their music is good just by the way they move to it.... Films music revealed itself to be both cerebral and grippingly physical, like a less melancholy Blonde Redhead, with a more jolting, danceable beatsonic waves breaking against an eager crowd."
Reykjavik Grapevine - Nasa, Wednesday
"The bands mix of disco beats and surf style guitar licks and post-punk angles could warm the hearts of any music-fan. The front lady, Eleni Tzavara was the highlight throughout; pulling shapes, wide eyes and fierce vocals. Even when she wasnt singing her moves were sharper than any vertex. The crowd... were happy."
IceNews - Gogoyoko Showcase, Thursday
Links
