Como Las Grecas sit down today with Andrei Orlov & Nash Albert after their recent release. A stunning remix that has been on full repeat in our office. Lets find out a little bit more about them.
Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music?
Andrei Orlov: I grew up in a small town near Moscow, filled with scientific institutes and surrounded by beautiful forests. In my childhood I had classical music training
(choir singing, the classical Spanish guitar), I played in various indie bands in my youth, and eventually ended up producing solo, with loads of synths and other instruments.
Nash Albert: I was born in Georgia, then studied in Moscow and in early 90s moved to the USA. Music was always around. The major turning point for me was listening to The Beatles for the first time as a kid. It was like another dimension opened. I always felt gravity towards music and performing.
Who have been your main inspirations (both musical and in «life»)? And how have they affected your sound?
AO: I really love synthesizer music of the past – melodic instrumental library music of the 70s, space synth, italo disco are definitely my thing, it does tell something to my soul.
At the same time, I don’t want to sound retro and write pastiches, we live in 2022, after all – I really like djs and producers with strong personality and eclectic taste.
NA: I really like the music that resonates to me: John Lennon, The Doors, Bob Dylan, David Bowie. The message has to be pure and strong enough to make me interested in that music. And I try to pursue the same when I write. There is a lot music coming out nowadays that I like, but still get inspiration from these great artists.I am sure their music still sounds fresh and experimental.
How would you define your sound?
AO: I write, produce and perform romantic electronic music with a strong emphasis on melody.
NA: The core of my sound is the melody and the lyrics and arrangements really evolved over the years. now I am happy to say it’s more psychedelic and more sophisticated, more electronic in some sense.
How has your sound evolved so far? Do you see yourself as part of one style of music?
AO: Now I try to merge various genres – it’s fun. At the same time I cannot imagine my music without melody, and I am not afraid to sound straightforward and even naive sometimes…
NA: Yes, it did. With our band Blast in the 90s we were purely following the Manchester guitar genre. Now that the band split up I am much more interested in combining electronic music with singer/songwriter concept with some Georgian folk flavor. I feel this direction has a potential and fits my current mood.
What can you tell us about your last release? What inspired you? What do you want to convey?
AO: Remixing a prog rock song was a bit of a challenge. The voice part of the original was definitely an inspiration and a starting point –
– I just felt the vibe and then the rest of the track composed itself. To be honest, I did not plan the remix to fall into a certain narrow genre
– and I am surprised now to see the interest from progressive house, techno and even trance djs and producers.
NA: I was in Berlin all September 2021 felt the spirit of the city and loved it and later that fall we came to an idea with my co-producer Ilya Mazaev that this song has a strong flow and deserves an uptempo remix for the dancefloor scene. We wanted this cold and confident Berlin style remix. You can hear Nitzer Ebb and Chemical Brothers elements there that I like as well.
What modern artists are you enjoying? Maybe you can share some lesser known artists we might not know of?
AO: There are so many of them… I can tell you the Russian electronic scene is flourishing, in spite of the fact that the borders are now getting closed…
Electronic music has always been a global thing, so I am sure this cultural exchange will continue.
NA: It’s to name particular bands. But scrolling through the internet I often see a lot great music and it’s a shame it’s not getting exposed. Sadly that the model record business follows today.
What projects are you working on right now?
AO: I am always working on new tracks and remixes, of course. I am also invited to perform a one-off audiovisual live show, at the 150th anniversary of Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, in Janury 2023. I will have lots of analog synths onstage which I will play along with a very intricate and emotional abstract computer graphics real-time film made by very talented Russian media artists I collaborate with – their collective is called ‘stain’. I am looking very much forward to it. NA: At the moment we are preparing for the release of our next album roughly scheduled for 2023. We did it together with my friend great producer Ilya Mazaev who currently lives in Georgia famous British producer Tim Palmer who did David Bowie’s Tin Machine, U2’s ALl that You Can’t Leave Behind, Tears for Fears – Elemental and many other albums with great sound and feel. It’s our second album in collaboration with Tim and I feel that he brought a lot to the way my music sounds now. We are making another remix with Andrei Orlov for the opening track ‘Thought as Time’. I am sure the audience will love it.
