Time for the weekend to kick in, and giving it that kicking today we have Joneser…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Hi there. I’m Stas Verechuk and I’m the frontman of Ukrainian indie-rock band Joneser. We are from Kiev, Ukraine. The situation with alternative music is terrible here, unfortunately. But we’re going to fight!
How did you meet?
Finishing my work on the album Back Two Me I realized that it would be great to have some concerts. So, I started to find a drummer and a guitarist. My friends helped me and advised me two really cool guys. And in September 2019 Joneser was joined by Alexey Yuriev – guitarist of Kryhitka and hasGotten bands and the drummer Andriy Bogdanov, known for his performances at Mysteries of the Third Planet, Bahroma and Youra (Ukrainian projects).
How long have you been playing as a band?
Only for 8 months, from September of 2019.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Joneser is the one who will stop at nothing to render whatever he is “Jonesing” for. So, I’m a Joneser. It was me who created this project, who wrote all the songs and who is jonesing for taking some tiny place under our big musical sun.
First, I named this project Ttyme but a bit later I realized that Joneser matched my ambitions much more. So, I renamed the project after releasing the 1st single in November 2017.
What are your influences?
I was always inspired by the music of Apparat, Radiohead, alt-J, Depeche Mode, Foals, Balthazar etc. So, I definitely have something from their songs in my music J
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
I think that we play true modern indie with sensual and powerful guitars and electronic sounds, melodic vocal lines and dreamy feel of this. I believe that we make really creative product with engaging videos.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Yep. All my songs are about the way of someone. About his mistakes and victories. About his self-development. I think, that’s all about me.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We only had our first gig on February 18, 2020, at PC “Masterskaya” in Kiev (Ukraine) where we presented our album Back Two Me. We were planning to have gigs on different Ukrainian festivals this year but now we don’t know at all what we’ll have this year because of this terrible situation with the coronavirus.
Our live music sounds heavier than our studio recordings. I think, that’s good to have more drive during the concerts.
What are your plans for 2020?
In the nearest time we are going to release two music videos in the animated short movies style for the songs June and Going (both from the album Back Two Me). It is supposed to happen in June and September 2020. Then, 3-4 singles with some music videos are going to be released till the end of 2020. We’re looking forward for the possibility of touring but now the world has much bigger problems then our concerts. So, we are waiting and working on the new material.
We’ve just released our last album Back Two Me. I’m really proud of this album and I do think that the songs “Miraline”, “June”, and “Folie” are the best of what I’ve ever created in my music reality as of today. I like our current sound. Though, I would add in our next songs more live instruments like a bass and drums. You can listen to the album on all the usual platforms.
At the same time, we released a video for the song “Miraline” in the animated short film style. You will surely enjoy this dramatic song with appealing vocals over a slow burning instrumentation full of infectious synth lines and dreamy arrangements, with beautiful harmonies and emotional vibes.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Radiohead, Apparat. Regarding some new band, I would love to recommend you Ukrainian band Love’n’joy. It’s quite interesting.
Joneser: facebook | instagram | soundcloud | bandcamp | youtube
