Rock Monsters Romania

It’s always amazing to see new talented bands in Bucharest, but there is something special about new bands with well-known individuals from the industry.

This is also the case of Claro Que No, a new alt-rock band from Bucharest. They fuse a fresh rock sound with influences spanning a wide range of music genres, drawing inspiration from bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, Royal Blood, and more.

The band consists of Dany Serrano (vocals, guitars), Andrey Baydin (lead guitar), and Andrei Ilie (drums). These musicians are already well-known in the Bucharest live music scene, having contributed their talents to numerous established bands across various genres within the local music scene. Some of the notable bands and artists they’ve collaborated with include byron, Irina Rimes, EMAA, Spike, and Valeria Stoica, among others.

With such an intriguing project on the table, we felt compelled to explore further insights and discover their future plans and details about their initial releases.

How did you all meet?

We’re all part of the Bucharest session scene, so we met through working together in various bands over the years. The first time we all got together was playing for Valeria Stoica all the way back in 2018.

How did the idea for the band originate? What’s the meaning behind the band’s name?

The idea of us putting a band together and writing original material had been up in the air for a while. We have a lot of common tastes and influences, but it was just a matter of finding the right time for us to come together and do it.

“Claro Que No” means “of course not” in Spanish. Honestly, we were just having a hard time finding a cool name in English that wasn’t either crap or already taken (or both!), so we just went ahead and said what we wanted to say in another language altogether. We wanted something playful yet not strictly attached to a particular emotion, much like our wider intentions with music, and this resonated with us the most.

Dany’s mum also thought it’s a cool name. So that’s a pretty big endorsement.

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

Groovetastic.

You’ve been involved in other musical projects before this. How does it feel to start again from the basics?

Very exciting! It can really feel like an uphill battle to sort of start from scratch again, but the fact you have a blank canvas to let loose and go crazy with, and the possibilities that brings are very encouraging. We’ve obviously been through the wringer numerous times and know a thing a two about how to approach it all, but creating something that isn’t even defined, especially as it’s the first time the three of us are doing this together and chipping in with ideas, and seeing what comes out of it, is a hugely enjoyable process.

And not just the music, but everything involved in the creative side of the band and how we present it to the world.

Why did you decide to start a new project? Are you using the same instruments as in your old projects, or have there been any changes in this regard?

We had been wanting to make exactly the kind of music we would get excited about if someone else was playing it to us. And so far I really think we’re succeeding in that approach.

Andrey (guitar) and Andrei (drums) are playing the same instruments they play in every other project you’ve seen them in before. But this is the first time Dany is fronting a band as lead vocalist – everywhere else he’s either a guitarist or bassist.

You mentioned that the band’s style was inspired by well-known Romanian artists like byron, Irina Rimes, EMAA, Spike, or Valeria Stoica. Their music genres are definitely very different. What have you taken from their styles?

We either play or have played with all these artists, and while we wouldn’t necessarily say that our style is inspired by all of them, we have most certainly learnt things from all of them. First of all, we’ve obviously had to mould ourselves to play a huge variety of styles, and that inevitably makes you a better and more accomplished musician. And the things you learn from other styles and other artists will always make their way into how you approach making your own music, to a degree.

But also, playing at that kind of level in Romania comes with a certain dedication, professionalism and way of doing things that you would simply not experience in other environments, and that’s something we’re both grateful for and lucky to be able to bring to the table as a collective. I think any session musician who’s played at that level would say the same.

In February, you released your first single, “Lose Control”. What’s the story behind it and what inspired it?

“Lose Control” is about the breakdown in a relationship as a result of poor communication and the withholding of one’s true feelings, even when someone’s desperately clutching at straws to make it work because they’re too scared of letting go. The song, of course, is inspired by a true story – and one that a lot of people can relate to.

The music video is also very suggestive. How was it made, and who came up with the idea?

We wanted to play with metaphors for the video rather than being too explicit or too obvious about it, so we thought that a game of poker gone awfully wrong would make a perfect representation of what we wanted to say with it. We were lucky to have Boogie Bar letting us shoot there, and our filmmaker of choice George-Andrei Ilie made a killer job of bringing it to life. So much so that he’s making our next video, too!

When are the next releases planned? Are there any plans for live concerts soon?

We have just wrapped up filming for our next video, which will most likely be out in April. We’re super excited about that one: it’s another big groovy belter, big riffs, catchy hooks, shake-your-butt-to beats… the whole lot. And we’ve gone next level with the video, which was huge fun to put together. We can’t wait to share it with the world!

We’re also just about to send a couple of other tracks off to mixing for release in the summer – and those two are touching on very different flavours, musically speaking. We’ve worked with an outside producer for the first time and he’s brought some really, really cool stuff to the table that’s allowed us to flex our creative muscles way beyond our usual confines. Again, we can’t wait to share those, but you’ll have to wait just a little longer.

So all in all, we’re keeping busy.

We are planning to start hitting stages around the country soon too, most likely later in the spring, but the best way to find out as soon as we announce anything is by following us on social media. Go on there and tell us where we should come and play, too!

What other plans do you have for this year? And for the upcoming year, what are the long-term goals of the band?

We have already written a number of songs which will continue recording and releasing throughout the year, in between doing shows of course. The long term goal is to keep developing, keep exploring and discovering and continue making music for ourselves to get excited about, whether it’s on guitar or on a theremin hooked up to a paper cup, and bring it to as many people as possible for them to enjoy it, too. Because keeping it to ourselves would just be a bit too selfish.

Does world domination sound a bit too ambitious? No? Then world domination.

Do you have any message for the people who will read this interview?

Drop absolutely everything you’re doing right now and blast our debut single “Lose Control” at full volume. And dance like nobody’s watching. Your neighbours will thank you too.

These guys have great plans, so we recommend keeping an eye on them and attending their concerts before they become even more popular!

Interview by Radu Mihai