GOLAN has taken the music scene by storm since their debut album and shows no sign of stopping. For the Romanian-based band, their talent is showcased within their ability to fuse eclectic harmonies and electronic sounds into their personal blend. In addition to using live instruments, sampling, and DJing, the emotionally driven vocals are more than likely to have you replaying GOLAN‘s songs while adding them to your playlist for feel-good tracks.

Amid their upcoming live show at Rocanotherworld #7, the band is constantly looking for inspiration, as “creativity is something that can occur in any moment, from any thought or mood imaginable. The most important part is to be available when it does and to allow it to take shape. Sometimes, just doing the most boring chores you can imagine can open a huge appetite for creating. Pay some bills, finish some contracts, and you’re good to go.

We never really agreed upon a sound that would define the project.

GOLAN is the perfect modern band – enigmatic, vibrant, and mysterious. While their music may seem engaged in a constant tug-of-war between futurism and nostalgia, that band reckons they “never really agreed upon a sound that would define the project.” In addition, the band told us that “exploring different musical areas was always fun and exciting, so we decided to do that as much as possible.”

On how much they feel creative decisions are shaped by cultural differences and how much, vice versa, the perception of sound is influenced by cultural differences; the artists told us that “given the fact that the perception of music is subjective, cultural differences might influence some aspects of how we go about our creative process. We don’t know how much, but we hope not a lot.”        

The band’s discography is vast and impeccably packed with modern sounds, synthesizers, live instruments, and club-ready beats. There is a fair amount of thrill for technology; at the same time, the desire for human connection speaks loudly until it gets tuned out by the possibility of shutting off your brain and getting lost in a fictional, tech, and algorithm-powered lucid dream. How one listens to music may, at times, enable one to learn to play. It was different for each of GOLAN‘s members, but they can “all agree on the fact that the way you listen to music can influence a musician a lot.”

When speaking of influences, GOLAN says, “individually, we had a wide variety of influences, but as a group, we think Massive Attack, Moderat, Chemical Brothers, and Gorrilaz were some of the names that we looked up to the most.” It’s interesting how whenever Mihai Ristea sings, and he travels into his dreams, the listener follows.

With all their songs in mind, there were a lot of questions to ask. If there are specific reference tracks that drove their productions, GOLAN said, “We always start working on an idea thinking that we know where it will lead, and 90% of the time, we end up with a totally different material.” Whether their instrumental track is produced with lyrics tailored to fit the vibe or they write the songs first, they reckon it’s rarely the same process, but they generally focus on “what feels more excited at the moment and follow that path until the track is finished.” Moreover, most of the time, they write the music first, then think of ways to adapt it for their live performances.

Perhaps passion and hardworking are what make their impending upward trajectory seem crystal clear. Knowing that all the pressure of the music industry often becomes too much, we asked GOLAN what centers and brings them back to their passion for songwriting and singing. They replied, “we come back to the reason we started doing this in the first place. To the simple joy of making something out of nothing.”

Finally, with a whole lot of heart comes amusement, too. GOLAN recalls, “since day one of touring, we cracked jokes from the moment we stepped into the car until the moment we got back home. Sometimes we almost suffocate laughing. This got us through the highs and lows.” For the band, art direction and music go hand in hand, much like the balance between the different instruments in their songs and the dynamic among the members. If not telepathic chemistry, they certainly complement each other in terms of talents and skills.

GOLAN will play at Rocanotherworld #7 in Iasi, Romania, on the 25th of June.

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Still can't tell exactly my origins because of my suspiciously ‘Chinese eyes’.