Before their highly anticipated debut performance in Greece at the Death Disco Indoors Festival 2026, we caught up with Escape With Romeo. With a career spanning nearly four decades, the band remains true to its deeply emotional sound. Ahead of their Athens show on April 4, they shared their thoughts on the evolution of the dark wave scene, modern influences, and their upcoming projects.
Hello and welcome to DEPART! Getting ready for the Death Disco Indoors gig?
Escape With Romeo: What it makes incredibly special for us is the fact that we’ve never played in Greece before. And what I noticed beforehand, that there’s seems to be a big interest in Escape With Romeo already, which is great!
After all these years you still remain a band that stays true to itself, without chasing mainstream success. What difficulties did these choices entail?
We have sharpened our artistic vision into something that reverberates to the now. We have never been a nostalgic band, although we have done this nearly 40 years now. I worked for a very long time as a music journalist for the national radio. I had first access to all the new independent bands and artists that were around. It helped me to discover that there’s great music in every genre.
That also helped to find new elements and ways to shape the sound of Escape With Romeo, although there are always similar elements that never go away. Our musical journey was always about progression. If this encapsules mainstream success that’s very appreciated. But it didn’t and mainstream music, especially in the postpunk and dark wave scene, is simply horrible. So, we stay on our path and that feels better in the long run.
Even though you trace back to the ‘80s, you seem to be in touch with current music and modern sounds. Do you enjoy modern releases? And do you "allow" yourselves to be influenced by them?
When I started making music, which was in the ‘70s, there was a completely different situation as today. I’ve had one guitar, a tape machine with multitrack and the rest depended on what you make musically out of it in your imagination. So, the recording world has dramatically evolved in the last 40 years.
On the other hand, when I was in my early 20s, I was there right in-between the punk and wave scene. We are talking 1980 where bands like Bauhaus, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Wire, Joy Division and the Cure were not retro, but hot shit! That was a really great time to be in concerts and on festivals.
At that time this thing was called “New Wave” and revolutionized the whole music scene. And what was important: it was modern! Being modern, being different was the ultimate trend!
96% of the post-punk scene today always tries to recreate that period in sound and behaviour. It’s also very much about how you look these days. And for me that feels like a lack of originality and more like a giant wave of cover bands. So, my influences come more from other genres like indie, post metal, electronic music and very talented singer/songwriters out there. And happy to say this to a Greek magazine: one of my 10 favorite albums ever is “666” by Aphrodite’s Child.
Your album "Samsara" begins with "Everyone Against Everyone". Its lyrics say, "In this world under the sun/All we hear is the sound of a gun". Looking at the global situation right now, would you say it's truer than ever?
It’s funny how reality chases fiction. This song is truer than ever. Also, I thought that we never return to the dark ages again in society where homophobia, sexism, racism is the new normal. It’s a tough time to be in now and it doesn’t seem to get better.
From the 2010s onwards, post-punk and new wave sounding bands seem to have gained a new interest from the world. Why would you think there's this "resurrection" in those genres? Does it have to do with the melancholy of their sound?
I don’t know, being goth (as John Robb explains in his book with the same name) has a mainstream appeal now. It wasn’t in the early days, but series like “Wednesday” and diverse Tik Tok channels helped to put it on the big map. And a lot of young bands discovered the variety of the 80s New Wave Sound.
This is what I preach for years: There weren’t only bands like Bauhaus, Cure and Joy Division, but also Clock DVA, Gang Of Four, Crispy Ambulance and a million other groups to get inspiration from. And thanks to Spotify and diverse books and publications are still available now.
Escape With Romeo is a quintessentially romantic band. Is it difficult to remain a romantic in today's world?
I would not call this “romantic”. I have my problems with this term. I would rather say deeply emotional. And being emotional in 2026 is a statement.
Are there any plans for the band or any of the side projects it relates to?
There is indeed: for one year now, we are working on our new album “Night After Night” which is due to release in late summer 2026. The new single “Sound And The Fury” is out on Friday. So, this and playing live as much as we can keeps us pretty busy.
Thank you for your time. The closing words are yours.
Great to play Athens for the first time on April 4!
