Athens psych-rockers Holy Monitor released their forthcoming LP ‘Southern Lights’ in February via Blackspin Records/Primitive Music. It’s an astonishing follow-up to their 2020 EP release, ‘This Desert Land’.

Holy Monitor is a psychedelic rock quintet whose sound incorporates elements of krautrock, space-rock and ambient music. The band’s reverb-soaked vocals crawl beneath waves of pulsating minimal rhythms, while fuzz driven guitars and proggy keys create a hypnotic sonic ambience. Holy Monitor deals exclusively in hypnotic ambience and utopian soundscapes.

“An endless journey and the exploration of a New World”

‘Southern Lights’ was a really positive surprise when it came out in this difficult year. How are you guys coping with the pandemic?

George Nikas: We spent a lot of time at home, so we just wrote more music. During the lockdown we released ‘This Desert Land’ EP and ‘Southern Lights’. It was a bit hard dealing with the whole no gigs situation, but at least we tried not to stay idle and made something out of it.

What was the recording process for your latest album?

For the first time we entered our bassist’s Alex studio with a bunch of ideas, jammed them all together and decided that the best way to record them was live. No metronome, no overdubs. It was the funniest and most effortless studio time we ever had.

<a href="https://holymonitor.bandcamp.com/album/southern-lights">Southern Lights by Holy Monitor</a>

I always admire your cover artwork. Who created it?

Bewild Brother created the artwork of the album. He did an amazing job as always.

How would you compare your album to the previous releases?

‘Southern Lights’ is the first album we wrote all together and you can hear that difference on every single track. It is more earthly.

It seems to me that every release works as a concept, a continuation of your ideas …

The first album’s idea was a blend of astronomy and ancient Greek mythology. On the second one it was the elements of the Earth. This one is about an endless journey and the exploration of a New World.

What does the name “Holy Monitor” refer to in the context of the band name?

The Holy Monitor is the eye that’s watching you from above. For some it is God, Buddha or Allah. For others it is the sun or the moon. And for some a lost one. For us it is that thing that keeps us glued and makes us create music.

What are some bands/musicians that have a big influence on you?

We were lucky enough to have played alongside some of our favorite bands like Wooden Shjips, Kikagaku Moyo and Black Angels.

Are any of you involved in any other bands or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?

Alex is also playing with The Steams, Dimitris with Vinyl Suicide and George with The Noise Figures.