It’s pretty rare that we get to hear new music from Greece, so I was excited to discover Red Tree Religion before I’d even taken a listen! Thankfully, their new EP Quick ‘n’ Dirty was well worth the wait, seeing the band perform a form of classic rock with more than a hint of the blues. Naturally, with the music being this good, I wanted to have a chat with the band – don’t forget to check out the record too!

By Jane Howkins

You recently released a new EP titled Quick ‘n’ Dirty. What can you tell us about the record?

Yep! We started recoding the record in late September-early October. We worked in Chronos Studio, a place in Nikea, Pireas, which is also our rehearsing place, and it feels like home for us! Most of the songs had been inspired before or during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of them had also been part of our live gigs. So, when the time to enter the studio came, everything was set and we had the luxury to improvise or make some things better, like recording some more vocals which we really enjoyed a lot!

We also wanted to include some female vocals in the recording and the band that Elina Strati fronts, Sweat Gaga, are close friends of ours so it came kind of naturally! Her vocals remind us of Fergie from Black Eyed Peas, so we were really excited! Also mixing and mastering took place with people we are familiar with and good friends, Lazaros and Yiannis (Sweetspot Productions) respectively, so everything went smoothly in this aspect. At the end, the album was released on digital platforms on 14th May. So here we go!

How has the reception to Quick ‘n’ Dirty been so far, and where can it be purchased?

We were really happy that even in the first days after the release, we received some good feedback and comments from our friends and fans. In addition, although still a bit early, we have received some very good reviews – e.g., from the local (Greek) Metal Hammer magazine, who describe our band as one of most qualitative and multifaceted bands of Athens. A few days ago, Dancing About Architecture characterised the album as “rock and roll with all the grit and groove, bombast and muscle left in, that sacrifices all the unnecessary studio gimmickry for honest, raw and righteous punk-infused rock music”!

So, in fact, there has been a really positive feel. Someone can purchase the album from Bandcamp.

Do you have any singles planned for release soon?

No, not really; the album is a five-track EP, so we will stay with this. No singles. Apart from that, from an artistic point of view, we feel this album as a unique venture that starts at its beginning and culminates at the end. So, this is the way we would prefer our friends and fans to approach the record.

Are there any plans to release a full-length album in the near future?

In fact, we have already released a full-length album, Kingdom of the Cool, back in 2016. You can also find this album on our Bandcamp webpage. So, we have the experience!

What we see is that currently the trend of the music business due to various reasons, like the speed of the internet, the largeamount of music that is released around, is more in favour of singles or EPs rather than full-length albums. But as James Bond would say, “Never say never!”

How did the band get together?

The band was started in the early 2010s by our bass player and vocalist, Greg. Active at that time in cover bands, he wanted to try some music stuff of his own. So, he entered the studio and started recording ideas along with his mates and friends. In fact, the band was a purely studio project at the beginning. This way we released our first two albums Sparkin’ Night Lust (2012) and Kingdom of the Cool (2016). It was after the latter was released that we decided to hit the stage as a trio.

So, it was Greg (bass/vocals) along with Manos (drums) and Fotis (guitar). After some successful gigs, Fotis decided to move to the UK, so he was replaced by Nikitas.

Your music has a bluesy rock sound. What/who are you most influenced by?

Various artists and styles. Starting from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More, to classic rock bands like Deep Purple and also punk. Classical music (especially J.S. Bach) is an important influence, as well as Greek traditional music, where we like to experiment a lot by mixing it with rock and funk.

What have you been listening to recently?

The latest album by Slash really kicks ass!!! We love it! Also, Tzamal, a local hip hop artist who recently released a new album which is really strong!

You’re based in Athens. What is the local music scene like in your part of the world?

It’s been more than a decade where the scene of Athens and Greece in general has really reached out. Everybody knows Rotting Christ, everybody knows Firewind, especially after Gus G joined Ozzy’s band. There are so many bands touring around Europe, so they cannot be considered local anymore. We are also great fans of Nightstalker from their early days! On the other way around there are still local bands (like us!) who present much interest, have released nice albums and/or give great gigs with much energy and fun!

Do you have anything else exciting coming up over the next few months?

For the time being, there is nothing to be announced! Currently we are quite busy with the promotion of our new EP Quick’n’Dirty. Moreover, we would like to put some sense of suspense in our reply to your question!

Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?

Nope! But let’s stay with the suspense!!!

Any last words for the fans?

A lyric, actually a yell, from our song Hot as Hell: Bring’ the f***in’ noise!!!!