Francesco and Fabrizio from Basileus will answer some questions about the band, their journey and their first album Inner Epopea.
1. Tell us about your latest release
Inner Epopea is our first album and for us it really feels like the beginning of a journey. It is not a strict concept album, but it moves from a starting point towards a final moment that feels more like a new threshold than a real ending. Every track is a different step along that path. The first song, Egnathia, sets the whole mood. It is played with a cifteli, an Albanian instrument I bought years ago, and that sound immediately gives you the idea of travelling both outside and inside yourself. There is folklore, there is philosophy, and there is the idea that music can be a place where different cultures meet, just like in the Byzantine Empire, where the basileus united different peoples and identities under one purpose. That is close to how we work as a band too. We are all different, but Basileus is the place where those differences meet, coexist and create something shared.
2. How would you describe your sound
Atmospheric, emotional and open. Tool is the band that originally brought us together, so that influence is definitely there in the way we build tension and structure our songs. Even the bass riff in Bartholomaios carries a bit of that Jambi energy. But our sound also has this idea of travel in it. We mix post rock, folk colours, stoner energy and more cinematic textures. If a sound feels right, we take it. We do not think in terms of borders or genres, only mood, honesty and movement.
3. What do you write about
Mostly introspective things. Moments where you face yourself without filters. But the album also has a cultural and emotional journey running through it. We draw inspiration from places outside music, like the letters of Emma Hauck, the images of Goya, the idea of flight in Saint-Exupéry, or philosophical concepts like Buridan’s donkey. All these worlds meet inside the songs. The chrysalis on the cover, drawn by our drummer Fabrizio, represents that feeling of changing and moving from one form to another.
4. What do you listen to at home
Anything with atmosphere. As mentioned before, Tool is common ground for us, but also bands like Deftones, Alice in Chains, and many others. We listen to a lot of post-rock, ambient, stoner and folk music. Sometimes the things that inspire us the most are far from metal. Fleetwood Mac, for example — a certain emotional approach comes from there. Or Sigur Rós: the mood of Olsen Olsen helped shape part of the feeling behind From Tree To Tree. If a sound creates an emotion, we follow it. Recently, we discovered a shared passion for John Frusciante’s To Record Only Water for Ten Days. It’s a very particular album, far from metal but emotionally powerful. Finding new affinities like that always gives us new ideas.
5. Your favourite live performance so far
Probably the first shows after releasing Inner Epopea. Playing Rose or Bartholomaios and feeling people enter that atmosphere with us was something special. It felt like the journey of the album continued on stage.
6. A funny story from the studio or stage
Recording Egnathia was definitely a fun moment. It started from some old experimental lo fi tracks I had made with the cifteli I bought in Albania. We added cajón, small cymbals and other parts in the rehearsal room, then sent the whole raw mix to our friend Bugo. Somehow he turned it into something that worked without losing that travelling Mediterranean feeling. It was chaotic in a good way, and we decided to keep that roughness.
7. Your favourite albums
We all come from different backgrounds, but Tool is the band that connected us, especially Lateralus and 10,000 Days. After that, each of us brings different influences, from post rock to stoner, folk and experimental music. We like the idea of different identities meeting in one place. It fits the way we see the band.
8. A musician you would like to have a beer with
It’s very hard to answer a question like this, because Basileus has had so many and such varied influences. If we even had the chance to bring some of them back to life, it would be amazing to invite several of them — just to ask what they think of the result we’ve achieved… Because what we do is really the sum of different ideas, the definition of Basileus that we gave ourselves at the beginning of our journey.
9. What would you ask for backstage if you were the biggest band on earth
Our singer got into boxing about a year and a half ago and he gets nervous before shows, so having a punching bag backstage would be perfect for him. For the rest of us just something to drink. Except our drummer, because he should not drink before playing since his parts are demanding.
10. Plans for the near future
We are writing new music and trying different sounds. We want to keep exploring without losing the spirit of Basileus. The idea of travel and of different worlds meeting in one place is still at the center, both musically and personally. There is more to say, and this is just the beginning.