Artist Interview: Europa

Tell us about yourself and your music

My musical journey began when my parents bought me a 5 piece drum set. After a year of playing along to every song I could get my hands on, the summer before high school I was voted to play guitar and sing. We called ourselves the Schizo’s and played parties, (pre-rave) empty warehouses, a skate park (where we built the stage and landed on Wayne’s World-esque public access cable channel for most of the school year. I also redirected my skate zine into a music one and interviewed Bill Stevenson from Black Flag/Descendents/All fame, plus Green Day, White Zombie, Tool, 7 seconds, Bad Religion, and PIL. Next was a merchandise business out of the graphics department where apparel such as hats/shirts/hoodies, and prints really made us serious concern. So much so that Flipside and MaximumRocknRoll did biopics on us the summer before sophomore year. It felt like I finally belonged…After high school, I attended Classical guitar and MIDI keyboard applications and rather than taking turns using the lab, I spent 60,000 of my proceeds and bought my own tier 3 studio and started reading manuals. Hence my love for Electronic music practically overnight.

Talk to us more about your latest release

My first release was a 7 song demo cassette that sold nearly 20,000. The breakdown was half around Tampa at the merch booths, the other half on my mailer where for $20 you got all 10 magazines, a shirt, and a cassette/sticker surprise with permission to duplicate for as many friends as you wanted. The music wasn’t the usual 3 chord noise you’d expect from a 14-year-old, so other zines worldwide called for interviews and we then agreed to trade ad space. Symbiosis at it’s finest was my motto!

What inspired you to write this release?

I have never been one for nostalgia or self-reflection, and this opportunity gave me for lack of a better word, an excuse? When I began it was all me, me, me (in other words an id), and now that I have had time to mature, coupled with the sorry state of the industry at present. I suppose one likes to see his or her achievements on paper and it means something. For example, I was in Vegas and a guy at a Blackjack table recognized me 12 years after the fact. I did what I did to fill a hole inside and only then did I realize my essays and music helped fill others, if only for an immeasurable time.

Describe the writing and recording process

I always have music in my head, but practically I have 30 cassettes of demos from 14-21 years of age. I also write essays for magazines, poems, and even hip hop lyrics (minus the guns and gold). Sometimes the right beat or bass line triggers one of two things. Either a) a whole new leap of faith sonically or one that’s 10 years gone but only to my ears. It is the epitome of a crap shoot.

Any plans to release a video?

No. I would like computer-driven art on a backdrop if I ever did a massive tour, but I am of the generation where Safety Dance, Big Country, and 99 Luftballoon popped that idea for good. I’d be keen to do a laser light installation or even a collage before attempting a feature in 3:30 minutes.

For example: Europa – Astral

Any plans to hit the road?

After going DIY from 12-28 years of age, I feel the man behind Enigma has the right idea. I see bands who are my heroes like The Cult, Social Distortion, TSOL ad nausem, and I am glad I tore it up as a young wildcat. That is not to say if LiveNation came calling I would certainly not slam the door in their face of course.

As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?

Two things: I am a multi-instrumentalist so I can have no idea where I’ll be an hour into the future and 98 times out of 100 it still gets my juices flowing. Also, at this point, I am trying to hone in on the 19-25-year-old artists and guide them (which is an uphill battle). However it is one I feel worth fighting for because the culture and the arts, in general, were the first to go after the crash in 2008 and if those of us who hide behind gated houses and figure they got “their”, then we are in a greater state of peril than I ever imagined. We cannot expect Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, and Kevin Seconds to carry the burden forever. Art is something you spend your life doing because it’s that fire in the belle, not the balance in the bank.

Who have you been listening to lately?

Queens of the Stone Age, Miles Davis, Death Cult, Dagnasty, Bad Religion, bootleg Zeppelin shows, Fugazi, Daft Punk, The Crystal Method, Rabbit In The Moon, Lou Reed, Johnny Cash, Elvis

Who are your biggest influences?

Steve Jobs, Wolfgang Amadeus, Augustus Caser, Enigma, Machiavelli, Ralph Waldo Emerson, every member of the USA armed forces, Bruce Rao, and most importantly by far…my mother!

Tell us about your passions

Freestyle trick frisbee on Clearwater beach. We bring a ghetto blaster with my songs and play 3 per side with 2 discs and out of towners film us. I also swim laps in my pool, teach kids on guitar, bass, and drum, read incessantly and Create and sell websites as a way to pay for all the other hobbies, sans music. I am truly blessed.

What else is happening next in your world?

I am becoming politically active (how can one not base on the state of our country and it’s “leader”? Continue to build a global, like-minded artist coalition, exercise, and keep inventing new sounds on my keyboards. Also taking the leap of faith using software to produce music. Otherwise, keep meditating every sunrise to be my best self guided by my better angels…

 

 

Thanks for an awesome interview, Glenn

 

 

Connect with Europa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenn.roberts.9849Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/teiSoundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gforcemediagroupYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLsKR5N-R9g

Genres: Electronic

Source: ArtistPR Indie Artist Interview