Exclusive Interview: Hilltops Are For Dreamers talk “In Disbelief”!

After the release of their sublime debut album that blends influences from post-hardcore with acoustic blues melodies, progressive structuring, heavy riffing, a dash of black metal and all the while exploring electronic and cinematic paths (if you have to hear it to comprehend that, we fully understand), it was never a question of if, but when we would have a conversation with Hilltops Are For Dreamers multi instrumentalist Vasilis Papageorgakopoulos having previously enjoyed the gentleman’s company. So without further pomp and circumstance (we’ll leave that to HAFD), the conversation went something like this…

How does it feel to have an album out in “In Disbelief” via Italian label Rockshots Records? As a few bands have done recently, a crowd funded project has switched to one with a label so how did their involvement in the musical journey of Hilltops Are For Dreamers come about? What has it been like working with them? “I believe it’s great to be working with a label like Rockshots. They are doing quite a lot to promote the material and definitely that’s good exposure for the band. More plays and more views are always welcome. Crowd funding has helped financially to produce the album but I would say that the great sound achieved in the mixing/mastering stage has definitely helped to find a home under a label. The album has already been released, so we are now on a stage where we would expect reviews and interviews to take place. We hope that the press and the audience will really love the album”

When the album was announced and single “Revival” you must have had dreams but getting fast approaching 35.5k of combined Spotify and YouTube streams before the album dropped must have felt special? Or are you more of the mindset that the work almost starts here and you want to build on the success? “It was really great to see that ‘Revival’ has been accepted quite well. Streams and views play a significant role in the music industry today. Of course, it’s good to have them but I believe having real fans is the thing. So, I would say that the mindset is now focused more on getting this creditability within the scene, and when you do that the rest will come”

From the outside looking in, it feels like the turning point for the new sound for the band came with July 2020 single “The Tide” and the arrival of Michael Enger as vocalist. Do you feel like the direction of the band was changing at that point before his arrival or was he the catalyst? Tell us how that all fits together? “I believe that the direction has already changed and there were songs already prepared behind the scenes. ‘The Transition’ EP with ‘The Tide’ as a single would be more a ‘covid-isolation’ experiment than the actual new sound of the band. I don’t believe that Michael’s involvement changed things that way as he worked with us as a studio musician, performing vocals. Of course, his unique vocal style and expression helped to shape the band’s sound and we are really thankful for that”

In previous interviews we’ve spoken about how you’re an international band with members of Greek heritage living in London, England and Michael Enger living in Oslo, Norway. Have you considered playing live and what that might look like in the future or do you see the band as being primarily a studio project at this point in time? “That’s a good one. I would definitely like to play live. Saying that though, I see this band more as an art than an actual performing act. However, I believe that a steady line up would be necessary at this stage. So, the next steps would be to engage with musicians, share common mind-sets and visions and move ahead. That would definitely help to shape the new material and then head out of the door rehearsing and playing live respectively.”

We’ve mentioned the album as being a more avante-garde record in a similar vein to bands like Wilderun but how do you feel the sound has changed over time? Did the final album match the vision that you had for it two years ago when you started or did it evolve over the duration of its creation? “To be honest with you, I don’t know a lot about Wilderun, but I will check them. I am proud of this album because I did let myself free without thinking of musical genres and wrote what I felt at the moment. So, yes, I believe the vision is still the same. I think that ‘In Disbelief’ has all these musical influences I developed through the years. The challenge now would be how the next one would sound compared to that. I might do the same, but I already feel that I am going more traditional metal/rock for some reason, haha…”

This time around we notice that in the liner notes Dionysus Maratos has been credited with only programming and not bass as previously, so has their been a shift in the dynamic of the band? “Kind of yes…Dionysus helped significantly on the creation of the album, adding personal elements and music but because of current circumstances, it proved better for me to play the bass. I am not sure about the future on that aspect at this point, but I believe things will be clearer in few months’ time”

Your influences previously were in the Post-Hardcore of Thrice and the Melodic Death Metal of Soilwork but this time around the extremes have pushed out with moments of Black Metal, Jazz and acoustic Blues melodies all adding to a rich tapestry. Do you feel that your influences have changed or rather that this represents growth musically as a band? “I always liked various metal genres and musical expressions from rock to blues and jazz or electronic. Combing all that, for me it’s musical growth, for some others could represent a musical salad too, haha…I see it as a good thing though and not as a food. Could be tricky to digest though (but we said it’s not food), but I believe some people will love it”

What’s next for Hilltops Are For Dreamers? “Promote ‘In Disbelief’ as much as possible, write new music, seek for a steady line up, schedule the next album and explore live opportunities in the future”

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