Hi guys! How's it going? How was your flight back home from Kiev? How did it go?
Hi there! The flight was smooth and easy. Our heads were still dazzling from the great Robust fest and we talked about the great experience in the capital of Ukraine.
All right, let's get down to business, when you were going to Kiev to do the show what were you expecting to see?
Well, I know Phill for several years and I follow Robust productions online so I knew he was taking it all very serious, but the whole weekend was beyond our expectations. We expected to have a ‘punky’ organized fest, but instead we played in a beautiful venue with a great sounding PA and people going crazy.
What can you tell us about the RobustFest? We could use some constructive feedback ??
Honestly, if we would be normally welcomed like we were welcomed in Kiev, then we would tour our ass off It was all organized on an extreme high level and we, as a foreign band, felt very honored. We love Kiev! Ukraine has some extremely talented bands and the fans are very loyal. Nothing but positive vibes going on there! Respect!
Not so long ago, you released your third album. Have you received any feedback yet? How many copies have been sold so far? What does the record label think about all this?
We released “III” on September 11th 2015 via Belgian label Consouling Sounds. They’ve done a great job and we could not be more happy to work with them. Reactions to the album are great. It’s not the some high anticipation when we released “II” in 2012, but we were having a great year then when we toured Japan and Europe with Saint Vitus and Acid King. Nonetheless, reactions to our new album are great and we’re both extremely happy with the album and consider it to be our personal artistic highlight.
As I understand it, your regular jobs won't let you tour as often as you might want to, am I right? Since you did all the shows from your last tour on weekends only...
Yes, we both have dayjobs and other bands too so we have to be very picky when and where we play. We enjoy the weekend shows a lot and prefer those above touring for a week or longer. Also, when we do weekends it’s always fresh and it doesn’t get boring.
Guys, I know you are quite active when it comes to music. Are there any other projects besides Sardonis?
Roel also handles the axe in Hedonist. They recently released their debut full album titled ‘The Collapse’. Besides Hedonist, he also plays guitar in Solenoid and Barabbas. That makes 4 (indeed four bands.
Besides SardoniS, I also play drums in Bathsheba. We’re currently recording our debut full album which will be released later this year via Finnish label Svart Records.
Check bandcamp, facebook, youtube, iTunes,… for those bands.
We'd like to hear what you think about the physical releases. Do you think they are necessary?
Yes, they are. People in this genre still buy music on cd and expecially on vinyl. If we sell music, we have a certain cash flow to print merch and do tours and shows with a financial risk. Offcourse merch and especially shirts are the biggest income for a band, but cd’s and vinyl are important too.
And you know, people like to have a physical copy of a band after they enjoyed their show. People in this type of music still support the bands and the connection between band and fan is closer than in any other genre.
Tell us about the most challenging show your band has experienced. What happened? What did you do to overcome the challenges?
When we toured Europe in 2010 we played in a Geman venue near the Tjech border. The day after we had to play in Ostend, Belgium. We drove + 1100 km overnight in the nightliner and only arrived 5 minutes before the start of our set. Thanks to the whole crew in the nightliner (18 people) we managed to set up and start in less then 5 minutes. We were so pumped up then we played too fast and our set ended too early
Does the Sardonis have its favorite drink?
As good Belgians we enjoy a fresh pint of beer
Almost forgot! You've recently celebrated 10 years of Sardonis! It's a great anniversary! Congrats to you!
Thanks!
Any other comments or stories you would like to add? Any plans to visit Robust Fest again? We’d love to have you back! ??
For now, we take it quite easy. We have 1 show lined up this summer and we don’t plan on doing a lot more this year since the focus is now on 2 of our other bands with which we’re releasing new music this year.
Coming back to Robustfest would be an absolute thrill. We really enjoyed every minute of the festival and we hope to come back one day. Good luck with Robustfellow, the fest and all other thing you do in life. We would like to greet the people we met in Kiev. Thank you again and stay heavy! LOVE, SPACE & HEAVINESS!
Interview by Alexander Bilous
Photos by Iaroslav "Necromandus" Prokopchuk
Video by Kirai Gigs
Photos by Iaroslav "Necromandus" Prokopchuk
Video by Kirai Gigs