Cargo Lift: 'Our listening habits create the melodies of 'THEN'.'

The Cargo Lift in an exclusive interview with Fuzzy Hound! The band, on the occasion of presenting their latest record titled 'THEN' (about which we've shared our impressions in this article), talk to us in an interview about the music and their future plans!

Today we're welcoming Cargo Lift Fuzzy Hound! What are your current feelings about the album "THEN"? Are you happy with this release? Did it achieve its purpose?

Good evening and welcome! It's been 7 months since the release of ΤΗΕΝ, and we're completely happy with the result. After 2 EPs where we were essentially searching for our style and sound, we released our first LP in February. This is basically our identity… At least for now! The purpose of the release was to push our music a step further, and, judging by the response it got, it did that and then some. So yeah, it hit its purpose 100%.

Tell us a bit about this work and how it came about. When did you compose the tracks and on what basis did you choose them for the album? Also, where did the title 'THEN' come from?

Look, writing tracks is something that happens constantly. Almost every rehearsal an idea is born and either we work on it and it becomes a track, or we decide we don't like it or it's giving us too much trouble, so it either goes in the bin, or we set it aside for future use. I can't remember a single rehearsal where we just walked in, played the tracks we already had, and left. So at some point enough ideas had piled up and we said "why don't we record them"?
The tracks started being worked on in the summer of 2019, right after our 2nd EP that is. However, the bulk of the composing and pre-production happened during 2020, during the lockdown. As for the album's title, there's no nice story behind it. Kostas (vocals) just threw it on the table, we liked it, and we kept it!

"THEN" has a Hard Rock character with a lot of progressive elements. What's your take more broadly on the contemporary Hard Rock scene in Greece?

We're thrilled with how the music we love has been developing in our country. Over the last 10 years there's been an incredible effort by everyone to promote the scene. This is happening from people of every background and age. A lot of the time from people who don't even listen to this kind of music! Remember what live shows with Greek bands used to be like? We could never have imagined a live show with 4 Greek bands and 300 people down there living it. Of course, supporting music just because it's from your own country isn't enough to push the scene forward on its own. But it's a very important step, and a sign that we're all probably doing something right. Besides, on foreign forums and zines you now hear about the "Greek Scene" quite often. As for the progressive elements you mentioned, we won't hide the fact that we're not exactly the biggest fans of stoner, which dominates the domestic scene. So we try pretty hard to make our own music stand out, at least!

What are your influences in general? To which artists or bands do you “owe” the creation of “THEN”?

I think what comes through the most on THEN are Alice In Chains, Corrosion of Conformity, Soundgarden, Τool, Perfect Circle, but also more contemporary names like Royal Blood. In general, everyone has their own listening habits, we find things here and lose them there, and what you get from the album is 100% whatever comes out of that process. Overall, I think our influences come from the late 90's/early 00's, without us necessarily aiming for that. We've all grown up with other sounds and stimuli, and that excitement of "I heard this band, you gotta hear them!" is still there.

From a lyrical standpoint, tell us about the stories your songs describe. What was the inspiration that drove you to write these songs?

Lyrically the songs don't follow any specific concept. But the album, musically, as I think is pretty clear, is split into 2 conceptual parts. One is more lively and edgy, and the other more contemplative and abstract. The lyrics move along a similar pattern. In some places they rile you up and try to wake you up, and in others they calm you down and understand you. Some songs were written out of frustration, others out of joy and a zest for life. Certainly though, the situation with Covid-19, the lockdown and the measures affected us, just like it did everyone else.

Do you follow any specific method when you compose?

I wouldn't say so. Usually we just go to rehearsal for the sake of hanging out, without anything specific in mind, and the ideas start from there. Other times Χρήστος will bring in a riff and we'll work on it, or see how it fits with ideas that already exist. But there's definitely no plan or method that we follow.

All music and the artists representing it have suffered more or less during this pandemic period. How did you manage this situation and what do you expect to happen from here on out?

Of course the pandemic was definitely a strange situation for us too, but I think we made good use of it. During the first lockdown we finished composing the songs and rehearsed -in secret, of course- to tie them together. In the summer when the measures were temporarily lifted, we went into the studio to record them. I think the pandemic had its upsides too, honestly. We all found time to enjoy ourselves and our homes, and even write a song or two! Now, as for whether we expect something to happen, honestly we have no idea. We'll see as we go.

Is there a chance you'll perform live now that the situation has improved somewhat? Do you have plans for live shows in the immediate future, and in general?

Of course we've missed live shows like crazy, but we don't have anything set up at the moment, nor any plan for the near future. What we're doing now is rehearsing and writing new material, which might end up in a future release, or might end up in the trash, we'll see!

Are you preparing anything creatively these days? When should we expect the follow-up album to “THEN”?

I got ahead of myself and jumped the gun on this one in the previous question! There's material that, in terms of quantity, will soon be enough to "release" a new album, let's say, but there's no reason to rush. When the songs get where we want them to be, we'll start the process for the follow-up. I believe it won't take more than 2 years for the next album, if everything goes -relatively- well.

Guys, thank you very much for being here, and we wish you success in everything you do! You can close out our conversation however you like!

Thank you very much on our end for the hospitality, the review of THEN, and of course for supporting the scene and its people. As much value as the musicians on stage have, the audience has just as much.