Our regular run-down of as many of the upcoming Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! Semprah play the New Blood stage on the Sunday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Bielsko-Biała, Silesia, Poland
How long have you been playing together as a band?
In the present squad, we’ve been playing since 2021. I hope that after 20 years we will still be playing together. I love these guys.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Word Semprah doesn’t mean anything. I wanted to create a unique name that will be associated only with our band. There was only one condition – the name had to start with the letter S.
When I was about 13 or 14 my dad used to take me to the CD stores. I looked at my favourite albums and dreamt that someday the album of my band will be in the same shop next to the Slayer and Sepultura records. It’s stupid but that’s why our name had to start with the letter S. What I didn’t consider was that in a few years this store would run out of business and the music would be available primarily on Spotify.
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
We won the eliminations in Poland. Marcin, the organiser, did a great job. He oversaw several qualifying concerts with headliners throughout the country! It was a special time for us. We met lots of awesome bands that showed us how professional the Polish underground metal scene really is. Thanks to the eliminations, Semprah has definitely matured and improved. We were also introduced to many new people, both from the jury cast, and from the guest bands, who gave us some pointers and explained their approach when it comes to being the best version of yourself on the stage. This allowed us to look at things from a wider perspective and develop a more professional attitude.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
Final announcement was a very special moment for us. We spent month’s for preparations and that consumed all our free time and we didn’t think about anything else. We were happy like children, and it was a very positive moment that improved our relationship as friends.
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Stage times haven’t been announced yet, so which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
The choice is really hard because in the lineup there are dozens of great, huge bands that we are big fans of. I think that I’m waiting the most for Whitechapel, Crypta and Nervosa. These bands are huge inspiration for me and I’m a big fan of them. Two days before Bloodstock, I’m seeing Whitechapel in Kraków so it’s going to be a loud week. This year, we also had a big opportunity to play a support gig before Nervosa during their last show in Kraków. They played an amazing show, and it turned out that they are also great people, so we are very happy that we are able to see their concert again.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our songs are characterized by aggressive female growl, driving rhythm sections and aggressive riffs.
I think it’s hard to define the specific genre we play. Our inspirations include Vader, Crypta and Cradle of Filth, so fans of these bands should have some good time during Semprah show.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
I think it’s cool that we’ll play the whole set in Polish and most of the audience will have no idea what the hell are we singing about. Polish language fits metal songs perfectly and I’m really curious about the reaction of the Bloodstock audience.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
It will be the first Bloodstock for all of us and we are extremely excited for that. We’ll be at the festival from Thursday, and we treat it as a great holiday. The lineup is great and we’re excited that there will be so many events happening this year, especially for Motorhead fans. We love Motorhead, with “Rock Out” as our band anthem. We play it in the car after every concert.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We haven’t decided on the setlist yet. We’ll definitely play our singles from Infernal Claws, i.e. Dywizja Śmierci and Jeździec Apokalipsy. If time allows, we would like to play a cover of “Obituary”.
What are you working on at the moment?
After Bloodstock, we will start working on a new material. We have several concerts booked for the autumn. After this autumn tour, we’ll probably be able to go to studio to record a new album.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
On stage, we try to be polite and not make the work of the club staff difficult ;) We really like to be close to the audience, so, if possible, we like to go down to them, and dance pogo while playing. But I think that’s the maximum of our madness.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Our rhythm section never drinks before a show. The rest of the team enjoys Aperol and Prosecco.
