Rock Monsters Romania

If you’re tired of the mainstream Romanian underground, you probably know about PLANT. What is mainstream underground? Well-known bands that have the same sound from album to album and all they do is sing about unrequited love at 40-plus. It’s cute to sing about that in your 20s-30s, but after a certain age, it becomes pathetic. PLANT is part of the true Romanian underground, a scene that in recent years has started to produce more and more bands with quality material that you can genuinely be proud of.

I discovered them at the end of 2023, with the release of their debut album Electocasnic. I really like this album, even though it feels quite raw, because it brings ideas and sounds I haven’t heard in the local scene recently, or maybe ever. The lyrics are deep, universal, and open to contemplation, so you could call these guys both poets and philosophers because you can interpret their words however you like. You could philosophize about them over a beer with friends or even at a literary gathering. I like this album so much that I even own it on vinyl, and I don’t even have a record player yet—thanks, Bazar de Muzică.

PLANT is made up of Sergiu Frățilă (vocals/guitar), Dan Gugiu (bass), and Teodor Șindrilaru (drums). Beyond their music, I also appreciate how they promote themselves online and how close they are to their audience. Sure, you could say they have a niche in this “vast” Romanian underground scene, but they have people at their concerts whom I’m starting to recognize because I keep seeing them at their shows and at similar bands’ events.

I chatted with the guys about themselves, the band, future plans, and the creative process behind their songs. Yeah, maybe these seem like simple questions, but I swear, I couldn’t find the answers just by doing a quick Google search. So let’s see what I managed to bug them about.

P.S. Let’s help them get a gig in Timișoara!

Side note:

• S = Sergiu Frățilă
• T =Teodor Șindrilau
• D = Dan Gugiu

How did your journey as a band begin? What was the turning point that made you form Plant?
T: It all started in 2019 when a mutual music friend introduced me to Sergiu, one awful Protomartyr cover later we started flirting with the idea of forming a band.
S: After two more members joined and left, Dan became the missing piece that solidified the band.

Photo by Toma Hurduc

What are your main sources of inspiration for your songs? Do you draw inspiration from everyday life, personal emotions, or some other place?
S: Since we all live pretty average, similar lives that must impact the songs we write. It’s sometimes about embracing the mundane, other times it’s about escaping it.

What do you want to convey to your audience through your music? Is there a central message or theme that often appears in your songs?
S: Not so much a specific message, but we always cared about writing in Romanian, with a different approach to the lyrics. We always choose vague words to leave a lot for interpretation.

Which artists or bands have influenced you the most in developing your musical style? Do you feel more connected to the local or international scene?
D: At the time of forming the band there was a new wave of post-punk in the UK that drove us to that certain sound (Fontaines D.C, Shame, Idles, Squid), but at the same time each member came with their own unique musical background.
S: We all developed our music tastes deep diving the internet so naturally we are more connected with the international scene. However in real life we are very much a local band.

When creating music, do you have a more spontaneous approach, or are there specific genres or trends you try to incorporate into your sound?
S: We used to be more spontaneous in the way we write, but lately we sometimes find concepts that we can turn into songs.

How do you see the evolution of Romanian music from the perspective of an underground band? Do you think it has impacted your music in any way?
PLANT: When we started out there were only a few bands from our generation that we could say we identified with (Cardinal comes to mind), but now more and more kids have varied internet music backgrounds which leads to lots of interesting newcomers.

Have you thought about collaborating with other artists from Romania or abroad? If so, who would be on your dream collaboration list and why?
PLANT: We had a studio session with a well known Getchoo frontman guy, he does all the ooohhh ahhhhh backing vocals on one of our new tracks. We are excited for you to hear it.
We are thinking of ways of using collaborations to boost our songs on spotify like the rappers!

How does the creative process work within the band? Who is responsible for the lyrics, and who takes care of the musical aspect? Do you collaborate from the start, or does everyone contribute separately?
S: I bring unfinished ideas to the table and we sort them out in the rehearsal space together. Lyrics are mostly mine, but there are some notable exceptions.

Is there a memorable creative moment that led to an important song in your repertoire?
T: 9:00 AM on a very sunny September morning while our minds were buzzed on redbull and cheap gas station coffee, we came up with the most ridiculous scary song we could muster while humming all instruments and by the time it reached the rehearsal space it was already done.

What kind of music do you usually listen to when you’re not on stage? Which artists are currently on your playlists?
S: MJ Lenderman, Mount Eerie
D: Prison Affair, Island of Love, Moms with Bangs
T: asia menor, julie
PLANT: We make playlists on our spotify page of the interesting stuff we listened every 3 months, for a more complete picture you can always stalk us there.

How do you think these personal preferences are reflected in the music you create? Do you feel that external influences have shaped your style over time?
PLANT: We don’t think they influence us very much, but we have moments where we communicate different ideas using references to certain artists we all listen to. Over time we have moved away from trying to sound like our musical preferences when we found a sound of our own.

You’ve described yourselves as part of the new wave of Romanian post-punk. What does it mean for you to be a part of this movement? Do you feel that your style fully aligns with this genre, or do you believe you have elements that set you apart from other bands in the same category?
PLANT: Bogdan Șerban kind of gave us that label, and we just went with it. From our perspective it could have just as easily been the new wave of Romanian garage rock, however the label of post-punk fits us well.

Do you see the evolution of this new post-punk wave in Romania as sustainable in the long term, or do you think it’s more of a temporary trend? How do you, as a band, contribute to the development and consolidation of this genre on the local music scene?
PLANT: We don’t see ourselves quitting the band anytime soon, so we will certainly be making music in the long term, as for the genre it depends more on it’s own staying power as more and more newer bands enter the scene. We see it more of a generation in terms of the age between the band members similar to how generations are referenced in football.

Some might wonder if labeling yourselves as part of this new wave of post-punk movement, along with other bands, was done simply to attract attention or sell tickets. How do you respond to this perspective? Was there any strategic marketing behind it, or is it something you truly resonate with?
PLANT: People love labeling things and it was a cool opportunity set up for the three bands by Bogdan Șerban, it is most certainly some form of marketing, and it attracted more attention that we thought it would initially, honestly we treat it more as a joke most of the time.

You have a strong and dedicated fan base, and your online presence is quite woke and funny. How important is social media and online promotion for you? How do you manage to engage so well with your audience, and what role does your unique online persona play in your overall success?
T: Thank you, that’s what I was going for, woke and funny. I think social media plays a big role in promotion right now, especially for small bands and DIY shows, and success is mostly down to knowing your audience, being genuine and most of all being consistent, even if posting makes you cringe most of the time.

Photo by Toma Hurduc

What are your short-term plans? Are you considering releasing a new album, EP, single, or going on tour soon? What’s next after Electrocasnic?
PLANT: We are releasing an EP this October, and hopefully a very spooky video.

Where do you see yourselves in five years as a band? Do you aim to stay in the underground scene, or do you dream of performing on bigger stages and internationally?
PLANT: Honestly, we hope to get to Timișoara soon…

What kind of impact do you want to have on Romania’s music industry and your fans? How would you like to be perceived by the public in the years to come?
PLANT: We love that some newer bands are made of people who met at our shows, honestly that is the best impact we can have. We dream of a future where our music makes Bazar de muzică a millionaire.

What message do you have for the people who supported this project? But for the ones who are discovering the band through this interview?
PLANT: We are very grateful for all the people who supported us so far, we’ll just keep making music, hope that’s ok with everyone! If you made it this far, we hope you check out our music, deep dive in the fans also like on spotify, support the local scene and all that stuff.

I hope you made it to the end of the interview and that these guys sparked your curiosity enough to give them a listen and sparked your interest in seeing them live. You’re in luck because on Friday they will be opening for Moses at the 16th-anniversary celebration of the Control Club. So if you want to see them live and enjoy a set from the ‘Electrocasnic’ album, which I understand they don’t intend to play very often after the concert on October 4th at Control, now is the time. Grab your dancing shoes, bring your energy, and come to Control to see if we’ll get on ‘autopilot’ or not this fall/winter.

Text and interview by Ionela Pleșan