John Verve: Classic and electric guitars
Vag Elis: Bass, Vocals
Taz Papastamou: Electric and acoustic violin
Costas Peroglou: Drums
John Camp: Vocals
Aris Christou: Production, Sound engineering, effects

Rock group with a violin player who in the age or 24 has accomplished to perform with the Greek National Radio and Television Organization Symphonic Orchestra. Greek Band whose sixth member is a group / sound engineer with an endless flow of ideas and challenging imagination. Young band making audience and critics rave with its every live performance and release. A band without a contract who however does not lose its optimism and already plans its domination of the European markets. What out of all these is Closer anyway?

Closer is all of the above, at least till yesterday. Because today it is something more. More experienced therefore more properly organized to make their dreams come true. What are these dreams? “We want to play the music we like and evolve” is Vagelis Pappas’ answer every time a reporter puts the question. But right all recorders get put aside, he puts his bass, pumps up the amplifier volume and smiles, because he knows better than anyone else that if his dreams were that humble he would not ask for the audience’s attention. But that is what really happens.

Closer just want to play their music in front of a lot of people in Greece, in England, in Europe and, why not, in the United States. He knows that his band has already escaped from the Greek reality. The wanted result for Closer is not recording another masterpiece such as “In The Market”, but that the everybody included will make sure that this new masterpiece reaches all the people it should in order to make a Pan European release possible. After that, all of the rest will come on their own and in about a year form now when Closer will be sending their greetings from the stages of Reading and Glastonbury we will be feeling lucky to have seen them first performing in clubs of 300 people or even support the gigs of Puressence, Jesus and Mary Chain, Echobelly or perform in Rockwave just before Sonic Youth and Pulp.

Six full years after their creation, two years after their first release “Fly In The Milk” single (Studio II Records) and after tens of live performances, as headliners as well as supporting act to great names such as Echobelly and Puressence, here comes the time for the public to know the best kept secret of Athens’ indie music scene. Closer, having created a myth already around their name and their devastating performances release “In The Market” a 70-minute symphony of guitar noise which adopts the status quo of the whole picture of the greek rock scene.

Kept away from marketing tricks and hype, Closer imprint on “In The Market” their live tested material building a impenetrable soundwall owning as much to the New York avant-guarde as to current post-rock aesthetics. “In The Market” features these well known flammable ingredients that give to the Closer sound mixture its detonating properties: John Verve’s inspired guitars, Vag Elis’ and Nick Zografos’ tight and flexible rhythm section, Taz Papastamou’s violin produced lyrical tints and razor blade cutting vocals of Andrew Pappas.

Responsible for the production are held both the band and Aris Christou with a series of successful productions with some of the top greek bands such as Deus X Machina, NightStalker and Make Believe.
“In The Market” includes Closer’s collaboration with one of the special female singers of Athens scene: Flora Ioannidis of Make Believe whose ethereal vocals shine on the dreamy orchestration of “Blue Pussy” giving us a pop work of art of invaluable sensitivity.

Tag: Closer - Suddenly Comes…