Birthmark (band)

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Birthmark are a rock band from Athens, initially formed in 2001 under the name Cuore Nero.

Birthmark
Origin Flag of GreeceAthens, Greece
Genre(s) Alternative Metal
Heavy Metal
Hard rock
Years active 2001 — present
Label(s) V2 Records
Website http://www.birthmarkmusic.com
Members
Adamantine Arvanitis
Argyris Tsoukalas
Kostis Pirenis
Ilias Goulas
Mampre Kasardjian
and
Panagiotis Delinikolas
Former members
Alexandros Trampas

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation and first years (2001-2004)

Birthmark were formed in 2001 in Nea Erythraia, Athens. The three founding members Argyris Tsoukalas, Ilias Goulas and Adamantine Arvanitis had met in 1999, in a local school's graduation concert and played together for a while, 'till Argyris Tsoukalas left for Italy for study-related reasons. When he returned, two years later, they came together again, started rehearsing and looking for a bass player. One of the possible solutions was Kostis Pirenis, a guitar player who could also play the bass but when they met to rehearse, the three members realized that Kostis Pirenis was a very skilled guitar player and so he soon developed into the band's lead guitarist. After a year in which the band played with many bass players, Argyris Tsoukalas brought to the band Alexandros Trampas after his guitar teacher's recommendation, who soon became the bass player of the band, who then adopted the name "Cuore Nero"(which means "black heart" in Italian). The band recorded some demos and they began to perform live in Athens who had a small but active indie scene in the early 2000s.

As the band's live bookings increased, some producers began to show interest in them and the band had a proposal to record an album in "Sierra" recording studios, one of Athens best equipped recording studios at the time. The band, feeling unready for something like that, rejected that offer and continued performing live in the underground rock music scene and advancing their music. Later, in early 2004, prompted by the other members, Alexandros Trampas left the band due to musical differences in a very difficult time for them and the band ceased their live activity for almost a year. The gap created then was not filled until late 2004, when Mampre Kasardjian became the band's bassist.

Shortly after, the band changed their name to "Anima", -because "cuore nero" was too hard for most people to remember-and seeking for a more personal sound, they added to their lineup Panagiotis Delinikolas, a violin player. They produced a demo cd, which featured six songs, one of which was featured in Spinalonga records' first IN THE JUNKYARD compilation that featured Greek indie bands. Most importantly, two of the demo tracks, "My Ecstasy" and "So Confused" were sent to the pop-rock contest festival of the "Philippos Nakas Conservatory", an Athens-based music school. The band qualified in the finals of the contest, where they performed live winning the competition in the Christmas of 2004. The prize was a recording contract with V2 Records, with which the band finally signed a one-album recording contract and an appearance on the local music magazine "Rock & Roll". Shortly after, the band discovered that the name "Anima" was already taken by another band and so they changed it to "Birthmark". Birthmark started rehearsing in an isolated cottage, located in Oropos, a small provincial city near Athens, where they also recorded their debut album. Birthmark at that time had a very active live presence giving many concerts, including support acts to Diorama (band), Nina Nastasia and Holly Golightly.

[edit] Product of Black Days (2005–2006)

Several months after winning the pop-rock contest, Birthmark started recording and producing their debut album themselves in their rehearsal-recording studio. The recording sessions began in the spring of 2005. Having perfected the songs live, by October Birthmark had recorded all the ten songs of the album including "My Ecstasy", "Lonely Ride", "Lust in Love", "Sacred", "All the Lovers", "Angels", "BlackHearted", "So Confused", "Product of Black Days" and "Safe from Harm" (a "Massive Attack" cover). The recording sessions were relaxed, with the band playing at all hours of the day and listening to their favorite bands for inspiration. The album by the middle of 2006 was mixed and mastered. Product of Black Days' album artwork was designed by Demitri Delinikolas, while the album's cover consists in a slightly processed photo of Greek photographer Takis Tloupas taken in the mid-1940s.

Birthmark released their album in the spring of 2007. Mostly composed of melodic rock songs, their record also found them presenting diverse influences experimenting with guitar sounds and the use of violin and vocals. The album "Product of Black Days" finally featured nine songs, since the Massive Attack cover was not included.

[edit] Present (2007)

Birthmark are currently working on new songs, both in their rehearsal-recording studio and live performances. One of them is "Sunday Morning", an early version of which appeared for the first time in the small length movie "Distance Between" of director and graphic designer Demitri Delinikolas.

[edit] Influences

Among Birthmark members' earliest influences were artists such as Radiohead, U2, Pink Floyd, Prince, Cypress Hill, Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Doors, Queen and Rage Against the Machine. However, by the mid-2000s, around the release of Product of Black Days, Birthmark began showing an interest in electronic music, such as that of trip-hop acts Massive Attack, Lamb and alternative-metal music, such as that of Tool, A Perfect Circle and System of a Down, which they claimed as major influences on the sound of Product of Black Days. While working on new material, the band have continued to mention alternative rock, metal, electronic, and hip hop musicians as favourites—particularly Radiohead, Tori Amos, A Perfect Circle, Kate Bush, DJ Shadow and even some reggae-dub and jazz music acts, like Asian Dub Foundation and Charles Mingus.

[edit] Musical style

Birthmark' s musical evolution is based on the band members' varied influences. Adamantine Arvanitis, influenced by hard rock, alternative and soul music evolved an emotional and expressive singing style. Until now Birthmark' s orchestrations can be described as vocalcentric, since -as showed by Product of Black Days' production- the other members of the band are very concerned in not violating the vocals' territory. Argyris Tsoukalas is a rhythm-focused guitar player influenced by rock and funk guitarists. Kostis Pirenis features an expansive playing style incorporating electronic-like, funky and metal sounds, experimenting with multi-effect guitar setups.

Mampre Kasardjian is a mostly Jazz-influenced bassist. Having artists like Frank Zappa, Charlie Parker, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Gary Willis as personal heroes, his playing is harmonically rich and rhythmically tight to the drum playing of Ilias Goulas. Ilias Goulas, influenced by hip hop and metal music features a steady playing, dominating all the rhythmical aspects of Birthmark. Panagiotis is the only classically-trained member of the band. Being the latest entry in the band's lineup, he worked a lot to find his role and to separate his sound from Kostis Pirenis' melodical playing. At the time he tightly connects his playing to the vocal lines, enforcing them and backing Adamantine Arvanitis' voice, while still maintaining a lead instrument role. Songwriting in Birthmark is a collaborative process, as all members have an essential songwriting role. All the band's music is officially credited to Birthmark and the lyrics to Argyris Tsoukalas and Adamantine Arvanitis.

[edit] Members

[edit] Current

[edit] Past members

  • Alexandros Trampas - (bass), (2002-2004)

[edit] External links