We are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a German band offering Psychedelic sounds contaminated by Oriental and Space Rock traits whose new album “Lunar Dunes” was released on June 21, 2022. Welcome Grombira.
Hi how are you?
I’m fine thanks
The genre you propose is a psychedelic Rock with different contaminations between Oriental sounds and Space Rock, where does your passion for these sounds come from?
Oh yeah that’s a good question. When I was a young boy in the age of five or six years my grandpa gave me an old worldradio receiver. I started to listen all night to the strangest sounds and languages I didn’t understand. One night I had my first great experience with gamelan music from Bali, what definitely had an great impact to my sight on the world and was the ignition for my understanding of music. Lots of layers, psychedelic sounds, polyrhythms, all that is still my base and source I’m working with. Later on I became a jazz drummer and percussionist and studied asian and oriental music. All that Krautrock stuff really did something with me. It was like a constant positive and powerful flow i had to go with. My horizon opened wide in all musical directions. I realized one day that there must be something like a spark because for me it did not really matter what kind of music it was but how it was performed and what the message is was very important for the authenticity. You can’t just recreate or repeat phrases cause it’s already there. You have to translate and transfer it in your very own way. So oriental and especially music from India have a this concept of session music. You have phrases and patterns as a base of communication. From there you enter new layers and connect yourself with something that mostly turnes out to become very funny and always giving birth to new ideas.
Your new album “Lunar Dunes” was released on June 21, 2022 how would you describe this work?
Lunar Dunes is definitely the most orientasian psychedelic funk alchemical mixture I ever made before. Our bassplayer Achim had a deep impact on the funky, sometimes P-Funk – GONG like RHCP grooves. Our keyboard player Andy created some huge space jazz influenced carpets, effects and oriental solis, while Fred our drummer worked out great and tricky fitting beats. It was like cooking a big meal for everyone into Spacerock, Krautrock and Worldmusic. For me it was a playground where I could play all the different cultural styles and instruments i love. The result provides the spark of giving birth to an intensive and authentic teamwork. What more could we want. To explore your borders means to create independence- something I’m always looking for but finds you when you’re least expecting it. I also did the cover design and was lucky to find Takao Sakagami, an artist from Japan providing the front cover pic.
Long tracks, elaborate plots, what are the themes of the album?
Well, to start with Saraswati Supercluster was the leading step into and through our (inner) universe. I composed the theme a few years ago while I was working on some classical Indian Ragas. Achim had the idea, to implement something like a trance dance part which worked well for me and the others. I always loved the key solis in the style of Tim Blake, Miquette Giraudy and George Duke. I think Andy is the only one I know on this planet to do that. The Track describes the beauty of creation without being religious in pecific . I read about a group of astronomers from India, who discovered a huge mega structure in deep space. They called it Saraswati Supercluster which is a wonderful name I think. Theliteral meaning of Saraswati is “the essence of the self” as sara means “essence” and swa means “self” in Sanskrit. She is perceived in three major rules: as river, as Vak (speech), and as goddess. In early Hinduism, Saraswati is perceived as a river goddess associated with the Saraswati River. And that’s how our music flows through space and time. Civilization one was composed in the early days when Achim joined the band. We jammed as a trio the first time for new tracks and so it’s something like an opening for everything new to come. Later one we where talking about life in general and it’s maybe meanings at a rehearsal. I decided to take a trip to Essaouira/ Morocco for some Jamsession with friends and vocal recordings . The dunes and the sea, the Gnawa sounds at night were pure magic. I had a dream that night where I met an old guy somewhere in the mountains. He pointed to the stars and said: Over there lies your heart, in the unknown, so close. That’s the spirit of this track. Dune Tune is a pure opposite reference to my track:Caravan on the first album. Andycomposed the most of the theme and I started to improvise on it. It became very cool and laid back. It was not in my tuning at all and meant going a step further into new tunings. More jazzy, more relaxed. I love the drums and the bass working together with percussion and my Oud. Andy played a cool and floaty Fender Rhodes Part what makes me always thinking of mint tea somewhere in the souks of Marrakesh, thinking of a journey through
the deserts. Moonface Kumneitodis is a pure anatolian space rock theme. It’s a journey from your inner dreamscapes right into the outer world where they’re becoming true and more adventurous you’ve ever expected. The Mad Mullahs is a story told about four Mullahs sitting by the fire pit, bragging and pretending who’s the best dancer. It’s most likely a battle of four lonesome dudes caught stuck in tradition and invisible laws. In the track you can literally see the dance battle and the will to break free.
Your music is full of contaminations of different genres and styles, how does the composition of the songs take place?
I usually jam at home and try different instruments for different ideas. The themes are used then at the rehearsals where we work out breaks an parts. Sometimes things just happen. Like on the Desert Warp LP where everything was jammed and turned out to be very cool. On Lunar Dunes Andy and I worked together on the themes and styles, while Achim and Fred made it kind of funky and danceable.
Many of your fans and our readers are wondering if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have any plans for that?
We just finished our Germany tour with our Lunar Dunes LP. The next year we will play several festivals in Europe. It’s not fixed yet, but you can always find our tourplans at tonzonen.de and at grombira.bandcamp.com
In an ever-changing music market, how do you see the future of your genre?
I don’t think so much about future. The Genre: Oriental Space Rock is very unique and I invented it in 2006. We made the support for Karma to Burn and their manager said she had never heard something like us before. So I thought it was a good idea to give it a name. Because of that I’ll be going on playing what I want. Our fan base is small but already roundabout 4500 fans around the globe. We continue to develop our style and try to reach out for new challenges and borders to cross.
Yours is a very interesting album full of ideas, do you already have plans for the next releases?
Thank you
We have a lot takes made the last years and did not even check our tapes completely. But there are some more experimental stuff waiting for to be released on tapes an and one LP. Actually I’m working on a live record with great recordings from the last 4 years. Which is not so long time as it sounds because of all the lockdowns and forced brakes.
The music market has changed a lot in recent years, how difficult is it to establish yourself with a more sought-after music genre like yours?
As I said already, we’ll continue to play and record what’s happening and what we want. I’m sure our fans and friends will take more rides with us and appreciate our longing for the right tune at the right time.
What advice would you give to a young band approaching the modern music scene by offering psychedelic sounds?
Don’t follow trends! If you feel it’s the wrong way for you: leave it! Please yourselves, spread love and authenticity. Never stop being curious.
As usual I leave the last question free, to allow you to talk about any topic of your choice not touched on in the previous questions.
If I were to react to every accusation of cultural appropriation with my band Grombira, I could just leave it alone. My music is about the diversity that I experience and that is in me and my history. I find it completely irrelevant where the influences come from. In essence, I show my respect and express my appreciation for the cultural diversity of our living space and my joy in learning. Music is a great way to do that. I experience the limits of what I do at most in the authenticity of the interpretation. Of course, a person of Arab origin, for example, might play his instrument more professionally than I do. But my approach to a fusion reflects my authentic impression from my point of view and my cultural environment. That is exciting, incredibly fun and enriches me. In the language of music, I feel boundless anyway. To convey this feeling on stage and to see people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds dancing together is, for me, one of the most beautiful things on this planet, next to fried potatoes, peace and sex. � ☝
I thank Grombira for the pleasant interview, wishing them the best for the continuation of
their musical career.
Read our review of “Lunar Dunes” here: https://progrockjournal.com/review-grombira-lunar-dunes/