Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A:
– Dessy grew up in a tiny town in the mountains of Bulgaria. She played piano as a child and her mum used to make her sing at weddings and school performances. She picked up singing again in her mid twenties and decided to form The Kobras as a fun experiment.
– Chloe grew up in Leicestershire, London and India. She played the piano as a child, then bought every instrument during the pandemic and quickly settled into bass.
– Harry grew up on the outskirts of south east London. His parents are great admirers of music which gave him great exposure to good music and when he was around 10 he picked up his first guitar.
We all wanted to start a career in music by being inspired by great music and seeing it performed live. I think it’s an easy step to also want to do what the artists you love do, as well as put your own stamp on musical history.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: We all had teachers when we first started as kids picking up instruments, Dessy and Chloe with piano and me (Harry) with guitar. Me and Dessy both then stopped after a few years and pretty much forgot everything we had learnt, so I would describe myself as partially self-taught. Dessy had vocal lessons at the beginning of the band. Chloe was also very new to the bass when she first joined having only been playing it for a month or so.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘The Kobras’?
A: There’s loads and loads and loads but the strongest would probably be Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and The White Stripes. The band name was Dessy’s creation, she says she liked that it sounded kind of old school, has strong animalistic imagery and the K is from her Bulgarian origins.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Stardust’. Is there a story behind it?
A: The main story behind the song is that we see people get caught up in conflict over superficial and ultimately pointless things. Especially when looked at through the lens of the Universe. So we wrote the song as an antidote to these tendencies. The world would be a better place if you loved the ones you hate. For you and them.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: At the moment the only other release we have coming out is the single “Rabbit Hole” which we see as the companion piece to Stardust. It’s a lot heavier throughout and has plenty to get stuck into, it should be out in the early summer. We would love to record an album but it’s an expensive enterprise that we can’t commit to yet but hopefully in the near future we can get to it.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: The main message we want to get across in our music is unity to one another and the Universe as a whole. As well as rejecting what divides us on superficial levels and getting past politics and differing beliefs, since these are the things that are weaponized by people who profit from the world being divided. We also see music as the most powerful artform for enacting change, not that we are revolutionaries but we believe if you live your life from a place of love all the semantics that are argued over will no longer be of concern.
We describe ourselves as Psychedelic Rock’N’Roll.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: We are enjoying what we do and are proud of what we have created but we want to be able to live off our music, which hasn’t quite happened yet. So fingers crossed.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: We don’t have a set process when making music but we believe in exposing yourself to new ideas and experiences as well as putting in the time with the tool you want to create with and generally something makes itself manifest.
We write songs in many different ways. Some start with jamming around a riff and building off it whereas others come from a chord progression, it’s often just trial and error, seeing what sounds best eachstep of the way. For example with Stardust I had written the chord progression with the two opening lines in the verses, with a slightly different melody, as well as the riff from the chorus but at a slower speed. Dessy and I then sat down and got the rest of the lyrics, with her much more angelic voice. Then once we started jamming it out with the band the tempo of the choruses soon picked up and the “solo” section was also formed. It’s a mystery to us how it all comes about, we see ourselves as conduits to the music.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: Not being rich and famous 😀
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: We played the Electric Ballroom, opening for Dream Wife last year which is the biggest crowd we have played for. They were amazing, really energetic and up for having a good time. Nothing can beat a crowd that responds well, especially if they are hearing your songs for the first time. We are hoping for many more nights like that.
LISTEN TO THE BAND:
Follow The Kobras:
Spotify – YouTube – SoundCloud – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram