Rock Monsters Romania

Interview and text by Ionela Pleșan

Last year, in the last part of the year, I kept hearing Irina Marinescu talking about Fittonia. Fittonia up, Fittonia down. And since then, the virus has gotten into my blood too. Fittonia is a group of guys who don’t play the metal you’d expect when you see them. If you want to know what it’s like at one of their concerts, you can read about it here.

What I like about this band is the fact that they’re not snobbish at all, and they don’t expect anything from the audience about who they are. When you see them all, you wouldn’t put them together as a combo.

They have keyboards that sometimes work, a bassist with a guitarist’s attitude, clothes from another movie for each one, and an energy that you won’t catch. Because I care about them, really support their project, and believe in them, I decided to talk to Vlad, one of the guitarists, about their journey, how they met, what stands in their way or not, but also, most importantly, about their future plans.

Fittonia releases their video and their new song, Catch Fire, on March 20th. It’s a DIY video made by them together with their tough gang. It’s highly appreciated all the work they put into the video, and it’s clear they had fun making it. That being said, let’s see what I grilled Vlad about…

Photo by Laura Trăilă

Let’s start with some foundational inquiries: What sparked the inception of the band, and could you share the narrative behind the choice of the band’s name?

The band started as a proposition from me (Vlad) to Daniel. We knew each other and kinda started chatting some more. We decided to start a side project and play metal for fun as we both had our main bands, playing rock. We settled on metal because we both liked old school thrash (esp. Megadeth), we were both looking for a change, and none of the main bands would fight for whatever we wrote together in a different genre.
We are horrible with names (LYEB, KoBe to cite a couple of recent examples), and we couldn’t settle on a band name. Laura, our media creator and videographer, keeps plants, and she did have a fittonia, and she thought it might be a cool name. She proposed it to me, I found it cool as well and I also liked the “nerve plant” nickname, as you need a bit of nerve to work in the music biz. 🙂 We were also looking for a feminine name with no implied action (e.g., exterminator-one that exterminates) so our music can afford flexibility and not have our name limit our creative avenues.

How did you all meet?

When I decided to form a band, I knew for sure that I only wanted to play with the best guys I knew. It so happened that among the best I knew were 3 guitar players. Dorian was playing guitar with me in Stiff Kicks and Cătă-Dani were playing guitar in their band, Crusader. Id rather take a guy that had the drive to be a good guitar player and have him put that drive towards becoming whatever we need him to be, rather than taking on a fully formed average bass or piano player. We knew about Milu as one of the screamers in town, and he came in for a rehearsal. Little did we know that screaming isn’t close to his best attribute, and he has such a great singing voice. As for the drummer, we found love in a hopeless place, as RiRi would put it. Rares wrote to us on Facebook, responding to a post we made looking for a drummer.

If you had to sum up this band in one word, which word would it be and why?

Evolution would be the word, as we always strive to better ourselves and improve our product.

What are the major musical influences that inspire you and help shape your distinct style?Why so blend?

I think the biggest influence on our music is that we don’t have any major or domineering influence as for it to shape our sound. We like so many genres, eras, and bands between us that it would be futile to recite them all. The blending comes precisely from the above; we listen to lots of things and if we happen to write lets say, a metal song, we always think what else could this be. And here comes a funky guitar layer, a jazzy piano part, a rap verse, etc.

What inspires you in the creative process of composing music, and how does it reflect in your new song?

It rarely is something that inspires, as you can’t prepare for inspiration (unless… As Rick Rubin said, we go fishing, and sometimes we end up with a great song, sometimes we end up with nothing, but consistency is key. We do, however like our songs to have a nice big chorus and some ear candy tucked away in the mix.

How challenging was it for you to produce the video, and what tactics did you employ to ensure efficiency while keeping costs low?

It was a bit challenging, as we honestly pictured it in a snowy landscape. We soon realized that snow was gone for the year, and we just filmed it as normal.

What recommendations do you have for other underground bands aiming to create visually appealing videos on a limited budget? Do you believe music videos are crucial for underground bands, or do you see them as a secondary step in their career?

We are not in a position to make recommendations since we are very lucky to have Laura working with us, but if you have a good video idea, an iPhone is a fantastic tool to capture it. We do believe that music videos are crucial, especially in the beginning stages of a band, because people are visual creatures and form stronger connections if they can also see the band.

Photo by Laura Trăilă

What drove the choice of theme for your new music video and how does it tie into the message behind the song?

We tried to make a video that reflects the lyrical theme in the song with the addition of a few visual metaphors. I don’t think that the knot between the video and the song is vaguely sketched or hard to understand so I won’t give it all away myself.

How did you collaborate in the process of producing the music video? Was it a new experience for you?

It was a new experience for us, as it was the first time we had additional help besides Laura. We had Ana doing our make-up, she is a friend and co-worker of Raul, and we had Dani’s girlfriend Astrid assisting with the hairstyling. As for the actors, we had Pisi and Narcisa, childhood friends of Raul and Rareș, respectively. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work.

What aspects of your music career do you feel set you apart from other similar bands in the industry?

I think that we excel in building an active and engaged community, and as all things that people are good at, we do it because we love it. We love our fans, and we love that they love us.

What are the key events or performances in your band’s history, and how do they influence the music you create today?

We fondly remember our show at Rebel X, where we played in front of a few hundred people. It definitely gave us a confidence boost, especially since they knew some of our songs. It influences our music in the sense that we want to keep a high standard and get similar or bigger gigs.

What impact do you believe technology advancements have had on your music and the way you promote yourselves?

There were no major tech advancements since we started; we found them all here. Social media is a powerful thing if done right, and is a great tool to promote your band for free. I would also mention the advent of software amplifiers, as they sound great and cost little to literally nothing in some cases. Great sound and great money saver.

What are your future plans regarding tours or new songs?

We don’t really plan for organizing a tour ourselves, however we are working on our live show for the gigs we have. New songs will keep coming, so don’t leave anywhere. 🙂

What advice would you give to young artists trying to find their own voice and develop their careers in the music industry?

I would suggest that they don’t religiously pick a genre (or, even worse, a sub-genre) before they even get together. Even if they all like deathcore, they might just discover that the stuff their collective writes is metalcore with a bit of pop, and that’s perfectly fine as long as they like it themselves.

What led your band to pursue a path in the underground music scene rather than aiming for mainstream recognition?

We did not start off as an underground or mainstream band. We just started a band to write the music we like and release it for people who feel the same way.We wouldn’t turn success away, but you’re not gonna see our tidy whites on mainstream TV anytime soon.

How does the underground culture influence your music and artistic expression?

It very closely influences our process as we are trying to bring in DIY concepts, a layer or two that sounds purposefully rough, borrow lyrical themes, or songwriting philosophies. It is a weird concept that DIY doesn’t necessarily have to sound like ass, but I guess that’s 2024 for you.

What challenges have you faced as an underground band, and how have you overcome them?
Getting summer gigs has been tough throughout our existence. It’s frustrating, as it seems to be the season to play, yet we’re mostly home. The situation seems to be steadily improving though, probably because the organizers saw that we’re not a one release wonder and they can trust us and our longevity.

How do you engage with your audience in the underground scene, and what role does community play in your band’s journey?

Our community is everything to us, and we try our best to engage as often and as real as possible. The music we are releasing is for them, not for venue owners, journalists (with some exceptions), or music contest juries.We met amazing people through our band, and we are grateful for the love we received back.

What are your aspirations and goals within the underground music community, and how do you hope to contribute to its growth and evolution?

We have no aspirations for the larger underground community, as our focus is directed to our community. We do hope that we indirectly benefit the community by elevating a standard that is worth following by younger bands.

Do you have any message for your fans? And for the people who are going to read this interview?

A warm ”ascultați Catch Fire băi duuuurilor” to our fans, and we would like to invite the readers of this interview to check out our new single cuz it’s surely a crazy ride.

After all these words, durilor, you are really obliged to keep an eye on YouTube to watch their video, but also on Spotify to listen to their music. What’s certain is certain; you are definitely going to meet me at their concerts, and I’ll become an Irina Marinescu for you too. I will endlessly pester you about Fittonia.