A Chat with Sediment Bruise (12.12.23)
Inspired by the likes of Radiohead, Massive Attack, Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, and many others, Greek post-rock band Sediment Bruise has been dubbed “the Greek Radiohead” – at least that was what one lady said. Combining the talents of brothers Nickos (guitars) and Michael-Angelo Nikolaidis (vocals and keyboard), Vag Mood (vocals), Sotiris Fotinitsoglou (violin) and George Moukos (drums), Sediment Bruise has an international following across Europe, North America and beyond. We speak with guitarist Nickos about their EP Heterentropy, why they make music, future plans and more.
OSR: Cliché but how did Sediment Bruise come about? What drew you to music?
Sediment Bruise: MTV! I am not kidding! Back in the 90s, MTV used to be what its name implied. A television with a lot of music. It was free and apart from the pop hits, there were a lot of shows playing alternative video clips. The grunge scene was there, Britpop heroes were there, electronica was there, and even gangsta rap was there in the late hours. So we bought some musical instruments with a dream to be the next rock stars (we were kids, we didn’t have a clue!). It was simple, me (Nikos), my brother Michael and classmates Vag Mood and Sotiris made a school band, that after a few band member changes, still exists up to now (strangely).
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Sediment Bruise: Music is life. I can’t imagine life without music. We are listening to a ton of music every day, and we produce ours at night. Uneasy feelings hide behind some kind of music. Our music tries to unveil all these hidden feelings we need to express, that can’t be expressed with words. It’s a landscape.
OSR: You released the four-track EP Heterentropy last month. Is there a backstory or concept to the EP? Tell us about it.
Sediment Bruise: Heterentropy, is a fusion of the term ‘entropy’ from the realm of physics and the evocative Greek word ‘heterontropy,’ signifying a sense of intriguing discomfort and unease. For us, it actually represents the interplay between complex systems and human systems, such as bands. It is always difficult for complex systems’ parts to cooperate and to co-exist after all, and some specific interactions between them may cause the breakdown of the whole system. Last year, Sediment Bruise were on the verge of a break-up. And this is often the case with couples, families, even the whole humanity regarding the social reactions during the Covid-19 years.
OSR: Heterentropy is the first release from Sediment Bruise since 2019. Why the break?
Sediment Bruise: The world of 2019 seems now like a distant dream. Back then, we released In Between and embarked on our longest tour in Greece and Europe. Driven by the positive reviews of our album, we immediately began working on new material. So, everything seemed to work in our favour. And then, silence. Covid arrived. We couldn’t perform live, or even rehearse. Relatives and family members got sick badly. I went through a serious panic disorder. Members left the band. Things that brought our band, to the brink of dissolution. Yet, we endured this difficult period and somehow managed to distil its essence into the four songs of our latest EP Heterentropy.
OSR: Do you believe Heterentropy is a good representation of where you are with your sound at the moment?
Sediment Bruise: It is exactly where we are with our sound. We try to make soundscapes that express all the emotions we are going through at the moment. And this soundscape is sometimes dreamy, sometimes moody, usually slow, with a few distorted explosions, mostly atmospheric. But I actually hate taglines for our sound, because with so many diverged influences, the final versions of the songs are difficult to classify (at least for me).
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Sediment Bruise: Its emotion. And its sincerity. We hope to connect with as many people as possible through the expression of some of our common experiences.
OSR: Why do you make music?
Sediment Bruise: Because we have to, in order to retain our sanity. Without making music, the stress of everyday life wouldn’t have a way out and would have exploded inside. It is vital for us to express how we feel through music.
OSR: Random questions: Which of your past teachers would you like to sit down with and talk to today?
Sediment Bruise: Honestly, I remember very few of them right now. What I still remember is a quote about the importance of building a way of thinking rather than gathering tons of knowledge and information. Information is infinite and nobody will ever know the whole truth. What matters in the end is developing a character.
OSR: What is the best compliment you have ever received?
Sediment Bruise: That our music is a trip to unknown lands. That was a kind of poetic, and I loved it. Also, being huge Radiohead fans ourselves, there was a lady that called us “The Greek Radiohead”, which, I must confess, made us feel a little proud!
OSR: What does the future hold for Sediment Bruise?
Sediment Bruise: Having in mind the plans we made in 2019, and what happened afterwards, I really don’t like to make big plans. For sure we are planning a Greek tour next March, and we hope to make a small UK tour at the end of spring 2024. And of course to write some new material around the summer of 2024. I hope you’ll hear from us soon!
Many thanks to Sediment Bruise for speaking with us! For more from Sediment Bruise, check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
