Rock Monsters Romania

We’re getting closer to the last show, but the end is just another start!

The SESAME project aims to support the mobility of artists from regions surrounding the Black Sea, France, and the Republic of Moldova, fostering intercultural collaboration through music. Over the course of five creative camps held in Bucharest, ten bands come together for seven days to create, learn, and perform. Each camp concludes with a SESAME Live Session event, where the artists showcase their newly created music to a live audience.

Today, we’re heading to Bulgaria to speak with Kake?, an interesting band that will blow you over with their style.

Who are KAKÉ?

KAKÉ? is a Bulgarian-English post-punk trio that has been making waves since 2019. Formed in Sofia by Andrew Anderson, Martin Penev, and Martian Tabakov, the band’s name comes from an old Bulgarian phrase meaning “How is it?”—a reflection of their curiosity and thought-provoking approach to music. KAKE? sets itself apart by steering clear of love ballads, instead exploring themes like mortality, spiritual poverty, and consumerism, all while delivering electrifying performances in signature kimonos. With two members also working as visual artists, the band merges raw post-punk energy with experimental artistry, making them as visually striking as they are sonically compelling.

To help the public get to know you: what is one thing people should know about you before reading this interview?

We can be your friends. Think of us as actors who have come on stage to play the roles of musicians. We are good-natured and sexy in a provincial way. Some call us true Renaissance people, others call us trash.

If you could describe your musical style in one word and your local music scene in another, what would they be and why?

We can’t settle on one word as a description. So we settled on the word “we” as a description. We, the people on stage, we the big family behind the stage, we as all people who love smiles, hearts and happiness, discussions about mortality, we as all people who create the fabric of human culture and civilization.

The local stage? The global stage? “We”. This is a kind of wishful thinking, but we wish. One cannot say West African Peanut Stew, without saying “we”.

What’s your favorite milestone in the process of creating a song—from the initial idea to writing, recording, and performing it live? What makes this moment special for you?

We think it’s the goosebumps, or the tears shed, or the laughter, as if of a donkey watching a farmer fall off a 2 meter high bridge into a river. But playing it live? That’s when we get to make people question their life choices.

What impact has the support of friends, family, or fans, as well as your participation in camps, conferences, and workshops, had on your career so far?

Without our friends and family, we’d probably be lost in a basement somewhere thinking we were still “finding ourselves” (we actually practice in an attic, not a basement).  The camps and conferences? Oh, they give us challenges, we become better people. We have learned how to speak in full sentences and express our profound and beautiful minds. We have also learned to respect and appreciate all the sound gals and guys. 

How did you hear about the SESAME Project, what motivated you to apply, and how do you see it impacting your career and presence in the European music scene?

Our manager had a dream. Then he woke up and began to look for worthy opportunities for the group. We thought the event was a secret underground MMA fighting arena. We wanted to get in just so we could collect knocked-out teeth from the ground. We love to suck on teeth, they’re like pebbles, but different. When we found out it was about music, we thought, “Why not?” We hope this project will turn our “outsider” status into “a little less outsider” across Europe. We’re aiming for “slightly popular in one country” at least. We also love to play, we’re kids, give us games.

What challenges do you expect to face in this program, and is there anything you’re nervous about? What skills, knowledge, or qualities do you hope to gain or bring to the creative camps, and what’s your biggest goal for this project?

Oh man! We love learning, we love challenges, we love new perspectives, we love friendships, we love heartfelt advice, we love interaction. What’s not to love about the coming days?! Of course we’re nervous, we need to learn to speak human and look outside our shiny bubble. Our bubble is nice and warm, and we can’t wait to share it with others too.

What do you hope the Bucharest audience will feel during your performance? Is there a memorable concert moment from the past that you’d love to experience again?

Hey questioners, we want the audience to have fun in our presence, of course! Memorable moment? We had a great concert in a Sofia club, with a lot of energy and audience response, on the night when a former prime minister was arrested for corruption. What a night! The man is out and fine, still in politics, still a player in the game, don’t worry. But we realized that we can’t wait for order to be established in a country to put on a great gig. We have to be good performers and not wait for justice anymore. We expect to be good enough.

If you could give one piece of advice to upcoming artists who are reading this interview, what would it be?

Dear reader, get a life. And when you get a life, start following your artistic impulses. Be polite, be the sunshine of your environment. If life gets tough, KAKE? can be there for you. But do you really want to be hugged by members of an art rock postpunk euro boy band?! Get your act together and reach out! Stay healthy!

Interview by Ana-Maria Corjos and Radu Mihai