Sleek Interview: 'We've got new challenges now!'

The Fuzzy Hound meets Sleek! Our rock outfit opens up in a seriously interesting interview!

How would you describe your journey from the moment the band came together in 2021 up to the release of Still Hurts? Are you friends with each other? What are the elements that shape you musically?

'From the band's formation right up to the release of our first record "Still Hurts" last April, the band has matured a lot. All of us in SLEEK had experience from working with various outfits in the past, but the process of writing, of the discussions about the final direction of the tracks, of the mixing and the mastering, threw new challenges at us and made us more mature musicians.

At the same time, it bonded us as a band and helped us understand clearly what we want from our sound and which direction we want the band to take. As for our relationships, beyond the musical chemistry a strong friendship has developed too, one that keeps us united and gives us energy both in the studio and on stage. Musically, we're influenced by a lot of different styles – hard rock, AOR, country, blues, even grunge – and that combination creates our particular character. "Still Hurts" is the fruit of all that effort, of our experiences – musical and otherwise – and of the relationship we have with each other.'

Still Hurts has influences from Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Poison and Dokken, but at the same time it redefines that sound by grafting modern elements onto it. Where does the balance lie between nostalgia and your own contemporary style?

'We think the final answer will come from the listener. We all love the rock scene of the '80s and '90s and it's true that in some of our tracks you can pick out the influence of bands like Guns N' Roses and Poison. However, our music doesn't stop there. The different influences each of us brought in – from Van Halen and Scorpions to Pearl Jam – combined with our need to write original material with passion, created the result you hear on "Still Hurts". We hope to attract an audience that will find that same balance – and the nostalgia, if you like – in our songs, which remind every listener of something different.'

Tell us about your songwriting process and about your experience in the studio. How do you work as a band?

'For the most part, our singer Joe R brings in the melody lines and the lyrics. He has the gift of hearing a riff and immediately coming up with vocal lines that transport you straight into an '80s atmosphere. From then on, everything is the result of collective work: our guitarists Nick E and George K work together on the guitars, "dressing up" our tracks, Alkis R writes the bass lines, and together with Greg S (drums and keys) they create the rhythmic foundation the rest of us "build" on. Through plenty of rehearsals, ideas and cut-and-paste work in the studio, we arrive at the final result. The good thing is that we talk everything through and there's a team spirit and mutual understanding right from the start of the creative process, which helps us get past any disagreement fast. All our decisions as a band, on every issue, are collective, and that's how we want it to stay.'

How do you think your on stage chemistry carries over into the studio and vice versa? Is there something specific you do live that you weren't able to capture on the album?

'The truth is that the raw energy of the stage, with the improvisation and the spontaneity that the crowd's reactions dictate, is hard to capture in the studio. That said, listening to the result after the mix and before the record's official release, even we ourselves realised that all of us were in sync and had a good grasp of what we were doing and what we wanted the next guy in the band recording after us to do, where we needed to leave "space" musically, what to do and what not to do. That definitely comes down to our chemistry both as friends and as musicians who share the same vision, and it's something we want to carry over into our next records too.'

Tell us how you make use of the studio: how much does it help you develop your sound and transfer the energy you bring to the stage?

'Our studio is basically the space Greg has built with real love, fully equipped so that nothing's missing, and that's where we do most of the work. Our get-togethers run for hours: we start from a basic idea, experiment, take a break for a chat and a beer, and go back to it until we find something that inspires us enough to hit "rec". Although I'd dare say that for some magical reason it was on the sofa at our guitarist Nick's place that the backbones of all 9 tracks on our first record were born!'

Still Hurts came out through Good Time Music from Denmark. What does working with a European label mean to you and what ambitions does this partnership open up for the future?

'Our partnership with Good Time Music is so far one of our biggest achievements. The recognition, the access to an audience outside Greece that it's given us and the willingness to get behind our material open up new prospects. "Still Hurts" is now distributed in record shops and digital platforms abroad, and there have already been very good reviews from magazines and blogs in northern Europe and Asia. We're aiming for more shows and collaborations abroad, without forgetting Greece, of course.'

Are there specific songs on the album that you feel best capture your ambition for Sleek to make a strong entrance into the international hard rock scene?

'Although every track on the record expresses our ambitions, we'd single out "Still Hurts", which opens the album, but also "Heavenly Skies", "A Life In Chains" and "Friends".'

The lyric video for the title track Still Hurts is the start of a series of audiovisual productions. What should we expect from you on the visual side in the near future?

'In the next few days the lyric video for "Life in Chains" is coming out too, a really original project, which will go up on YouTube, on our social media and of course on our website (https://sleek.band/). More will definitely follow, since we believe that these days the listener wants images along with the sound, from the very first second.'

What do you make of the fact that Greek listeners have seen you on stages like HolyWood Stage and Level 69 Live Studio? Which live experiences do you consider a catalyst for your further development?

'Those stages are among the best known in Athens and they're among the few that support the hard rock scene. We thank them warmly for giving us the chance to present our material at the beginning of our run. One of our strongest experiences was definitely our first show at HolyWood Stage, where we really felt the energy we have as a band and also the audience's response: the way people reacted to our songs, the fact that quite a few were dancing and everyone was "there", even though all the songs we were playing were unknown to them, made us understand exactly what we're after now in our songwriting and in our final sound.'

What message do you want Still Hurts to get across to the fans and what role do you think it will play in the band's growth abroad?

'The message of "Still Hurts" is that the passion for creating, the live shows, the nights with friends and guitars, are all still alive, even if the times we live in push isolation and alienation more than anything. The music we love and play stands for values like freedom, equality, dignity and love. The more those things are lost, the more it will keep on "hurting". And of course, we want to show that melodic hard rock not only exists, but is still strong and isn't going anywhere.'

What are the next steps for Sleek after Still Hurts? Are there plans for a tour, festivals or new collaborations on the horizon? Thank you very much for the interview!

'Thank you! As for our next steps, work on the second record has already begun. At the same time, we're in talks with promoters and we'll soon be announcing the first events and official dates for shows in Greece and, hopefully, abroad as well. Stay tuned!'