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Blog Categories Review Gemma - Self Titled - Reviewed By Metal Digest!

Gemma - Self Titled - Reviewed By Metal Digest! Sunday November 14 2021, 2:09 PM

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Gemma - Self Titled - Reviewed By Metal Digest ! Check it out here at this link: https://metal-digest.com/2021/11/10/gemma-gemma/

Gemma are a five-piece from the Greek island of Crete, and they have been working together and honing their sound and style since 2017. Earlier this year they finally gave us their eponymous debut album, and what a delightfully atmospheric work it is.

From lush sonic palettes reminiscent of The Cocteau Twins, to loop and bleep a’la Radiohead, to simple, beautiful Post-pop songs, Gemma have taken their time about it to produce a work of quite sublime melancholy.

This is pretty much as far removed from standard Metal Digest fare as we’ve ever been; there’s not a single shred of anything distorted, discordant, or harsh. What Gemma do is transport the listener on a soft pillow of sound from one ethereal vista to another, with loops and samples as integral to the sound as the hypnotic live drumming and deep and fluid bass guitar. Using arpeggiated keyboards to flesh out the mix at every suitable opportunity like Erpland for the modern era, the overall effect is deeply relaxing, meditative even. Danili Evangelia’s dream-like vocals, sung entirely in the Cretan dialect, wash and shimmer over the music; sometimes carrying the only melodic line over a soundscape, at others wordlessly creating harmonic tension purely so it can be resolved at the end of the song.

I’ll make no disguise of the fact that my personal take on “Post” anything is a bit more Cult of Luna or If These Trees Could Talk than this, but I thoroughly enjoyed dipping a toe into the warmer sonic waters of Gemma’s world. The production values and recording quality are frankly astonishing, and I suppose it does no harm to dial things back every once in a while. - Metal Digest

Release Date: Jun 1, 2021

FFO: Dead Can Dance, The Fog Ensemble, Sleeping Pillow, Archive, Mogwai, Pavlos Pavlidis

When one thinks of the island of Crete in Greece, raki and Cretan dances come first in mind. However, GEMMA band, which comes from Crete, shows us a new perspective of it. Modern sounds of electronic music, interlaced with rock and tradition.

GEMMA is also the title of their first album, released a couple of months ago. It includes 8 tracks, of which 3 are instrumental. GEMMA album is an exploration that includes elements from the tradition of their homeland assimilated into modern sounds. They create original compositions; and covers as well (such as the traditional Rizitiko "Bellos"). Electronic post-rock aesthetics, synths, loops, guitars, bass and drums. Prog & psychedelia, brainwave and traveling melodic lines, ethereal vocals that preserve the Cretan language idiom.
GEMMA is for the band a journey of emotions, images and musical landscapes, through which they express, admire and scold everything that concerns them. GEMMA, is a philosophical approach, is our way out of the Labyrinth, brought to human measure.

GEMMA consists of Danili Evangelia (voice, loops), Kaparos Giorgos (production, composition, loops, synths, guitars), Mavrogiannakis Nikos (drums), Paschidis Anastasis (bass) & Spinthourakis Apostolis (percussion, lyrics). Composition, production and mixing by George Kaparos (Tricell / @Tricell.Official), mastering Alexandros Chrysidis (Sierra Studios), lyrics by Apostolis Spinthourakis, photography and editing of the videos for the tracks Dentro & Petalouda by Alexandros Iliakis, for videos of the tracks Chronos & Stigmi, editing by George Kaparos & photography by Giannis Andritsios, photography by Eleni Psoma & Nena Nikoloudaki.
GEMMA is available on all digital platforms, as well as in physical form. The band has wonderful music videos for almost every track, so a visit to the band's You Tube channel, will pay you off.

Turn the lights off, turn the volume up and get into the whirlpool!

Check out the video!

Gemma is a five-member band created in 2017, in Rethymno Crete, Greece.
They combine synth electronic sounds, with post rock elements from guitars, bass and drums, combining traditional and modern elements, effects and voice loops. As a result, they create original compositions, and also traditional song covers from their region, Crete, and from all around the country in general. They keep the Cretan dialect idiom in their lyrics and the character of the traditional melodies as well, but at the same time they create very modern melodic and rhythmic lines.
Gemma consists of Danili Evangelia (voice, loops), Kaparos Giorgos (production, composition, loops, synths, guitars), Mavrogiannakis Nikos (drums), Paschidis Anastasis (bass) & Spinthourakis Apostolis (percussion, lyrics)
Their first LP is called Gemma and was released a few months ago including 8 tracks.

Check them out on Spotify and add them to your playlists!