You will, most likely, spot them in the streets of Greece’s co-capital, Thessaloniki, strolling around in their hoodies while carrying their analog synthesizers. Their band is one of the few ambassadors of the greek dream pop scene with three EPs and five singles under their belt. George Samaras and Angelos Paschalidis aka Plastic Flowers are known for their experimentation with ambient sounds, ethereal vocals and clockwork whirrs of percussion exclusively pressed on vinyls and cassettes, as appropriate.In March 2013 they toured USA, Portugal, UK playing in many venues including the world famous SXSW festival in Austin, TX. Their debut LP, entitled “Evergreen” will be released November 18 through Crash Symbols (USA) and Tip Top Recordings (UK).
What did music use to mean to you before Plastic Flowers?
Same thing, but now inspiration plays a bigger role. We always loved playing music and now through Plastic Flowers, we are able to express ourselves in a more personal way.
How difficult was it for you to ‘form’ your current audience considering the virtually non-existent dream pop scene in a small country like Greece? What were the difficulties you had to face and in what ways have these motivated you?
Gladly there are some small venues in Greece where we used to occasionally perform during the first year. This helped us to connect with the audience we were looking for while being able to show them what dream pop means to us. We were trying to experiment and during the beginning it wasn’t that easy to perform cause we didn’t have the right equipment. So through those difficult times we found some news ways to acquire a more personal sound.
Hypothetically, if you could play one of your songs for the rest of your music career exclusively, which one would it be?
George: In You I’m Lost is my favorite one.
Angelos: Love Is Above All, which is a new one.
Do you see your music like some form of expressing your own thoughts or more of an art statement?
It’s about expressing our thoughts and the way we feel during the recording process.
Would you describe yourselves as B-side tracks lovers, supporters of the non-commercial part of a vinyl/cassette?
Yes of course. Since 2010 we only release our albums on cassettes and vinyls which is something we truly adore. Vinyl is the future, although George loves cassettes more.
It would be fair to say that your music brings up ethereal images to the listener. In what kind of dream could your songs become the perfect soundtrack?
Probably in a broken nightmare where two lovers meet and hell appears from nowhere. That’s the way I guess.
If you could perform live next to any artist from any era of your preference, who would it be?
Joy Division for sure. Their sound was something unique.
What are the biggest stumbling blocks you fall onto when it comes to composing a new track?
There aren’t any stumbling blocks but it’s not always an easy process finishing all news tracks, especially when we are stuck with something.
Watching the video for the ” In You I’m Lost ” you introduce your audience to a surprisingly warm but raw and at the same time, honest side of Plastic Flowers. What was the deal with that?
Two very close friends paid us a visit and they really liked “In You I’m Lost” so we decided to film it. During that weekend they also captured moments of our everyday life. Good days, it’s been almost a year.
So tell us about your new album. Should we expect any new surprises?
Our debut LP is called “Evergreen” and yes, you can expect many surprises. We changed our sound a lot making it more organic. It’s probably the best thing we’ve ever done. You’ll have the chance to find out in November.
It is the first time we see you collaborating with other artists. Who came up with the idea? Could you describe the overall experience?
It was George’s idea and we decided to go for it. We collaborated with Ed Askew, a songwriter/painter from NY and Keep Shelly in Athens. It was nice working with them and we decided to give them freedom to experiment with the tracks and do their own thing.