Interview: Stavroz (BEL) - Auckland and Christchurch New Zealand Shows

Belgian sonic voyagers Stavroz are touching down in Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time ever next week, performing at Auckland's The Tuning Fork on 26th March and Christchurch's The Assembly on 27th March with special guests. Touring their expansive new album Take a Seat, Chris Cudby spoke with the hugely popular electronic collective via the web about their genre-traversing sound, their organic approach to recording and innovative live setup, some of the stunning locations where Stavroz have performed, and more...

Stavroz (BEL)

Thursday 26th March - The Tuning Fork, Auckland w/ Uone, Mia Kober & Dirdygerdi
Friday 27th March - The Assembly, Christchurch w/ Simon Kong, Byte Size

Tickets on sale via stavroz.com

Chris Cudby: How would you describe your approach to your latest record? Was there a main theme you had in mind for Take a Seat?

Our approach at the beginning was actually very open. We just wanted to start making music again without overthinking it. As the demos and sketches slowly began to take shape, a kind of theme naturally emerged.

The idea of Take a Seat became about taking time — something that often gets lost in everyday life. For us it meant creating a record that invites people to slow down and really sit with the music. That’s why many of the tracks have slower intros and a lot of space, giving every element the time to find its place.

Do individual members bring in ideas for the group to work on, or do you compose your musical works collectively — or something in between?

Definitely something in between. There isn’t really a fixed method or manual for how we work. Sometimes a track starts with one of us, sometimes two of us work on something together, and other times we’re all in the room building an idea collectively. It really depends on the moment and on the track itself.

What are each of your individual roles in Stavroz?

Gert: Keys, Arranging, Kaospad, Trumpet
Pieter: Bass, Saxophone
Ijsbrand: Mixing, Keys, FX
Max: Guitar

Your music brings together live instrumentation and electronic grooves, in a way that you have very successfully translated to the stage. I was admiring the tables of electronic devices shown in your recent Live on KEXP performance. How has your live setup evolved over time?

Our live setup evolves together with the music. As the songs change, we also change the way we play them — sometimes with different playing techniques, longer or more cinematic notes, slower builds, and evolving beats. That often means new effects and sometimes different hardware on stage. Recently Gert also added a microphone because he now sings on a couple of tracks using a vocoder, which brings a cool different vibe. In the end it’s always about serving the songs, while trying to keep the setup as light as possible since we travel so much.

Your songs bring many genres together — for example, I can hear elements of motorik, Balearic, dub, psychedelia and minimal techno, even rock in 'The Wild'. Are there any specific musicians you currently consider to be inspirations for the sounds you make, or peers / fellow travellers you admire?

Of course there are, here are a few: Darkside, Connan Mockasin, Glass Beams, Soulwax, Daniel Norgren, Angine de Poitrine, Pink Floyd, Stimming, Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, Jon Hopkins, Dope Lemon, Sonic Youth, DJ Koze, James Holden...

I understand three quarters of Stavroz are from Ghent. I was lucky to have visited Ghent in the early '10s, a beautiful city with an incredible history of electronic club music. Are there any elements of your music you see as being distinctly Belgian, eg. in style or sensibility?

Three out of four of us are indeed from Ghent, and I think we all grew up with the music of the Ghent-based Dewaele brothers from Soulwax and 2manydjs. They had a huge impact on electronic music worldwide, and definitely on us as well. In Belgium there has always been this openness to blend things together — electronic music with live instruments, club music with more emotional or cinematic elements. I think that spirit of experimentation is something that really shaped our sound too.

There are some stunning Stavroz live videos online. What are some of your personal favourite shows / locations you've played at together?

One moment that really stayed with us was a show we played a long time ago on top of a valley near Grenoble (in France) for Cercle. It was a beautiful location, and there was no audience — which made it even more special. At times it felt like we were just playing for the birds flying by while the sun slowly set.

What can attendees look forward to for Stavroz's shows in Aotearoa New Zealand this month?

You can expect a dynamic and energetic live show, with plenty of new material. Trumpets, guitars and saxophone layered over a groovy, swampy, slightly sexy bed of beats. We’re incredibly excited to play, because it’s our very first time in Aotearoa New Zealand — so we’re really looking forward to sharing that energy with the crowd.