Words by Art Jefferson
Photography by Oltin Dogaru

Over the past couple of years Bucharest, Romania has been a hotbed of cutting edge electronic acts. Temple Invisible are a part of the new wave of maverick artists who are blurring the lines of genre, mixing a stew of musical influences to create a particular sound of dark electronica. Consisting of Irina Bucescu, Costas Ivanov and Daniel Olteanu, their track “Disappearance” was an introduction of the trio to the world with the song hauntingly springing elements of trip-hop, industrial and goth. Their recently unveiled tracks “Collide” and “Sudden Acts” incorporated post-punk, as well as synth-wave, adding guitars amidst the dreamy vocals of Irina Bucescu to spawn a nocturnal, yet sensual feel.

With their debut EP Enter_ out December 15th, ColoRising caught up with lead singer Irina Bucescu to talk about the origins and influences of the group, as well as the electronic scene in Bucharest.

Art Jefferson – Talk about the origins of Temple Invisible. When did you all decide to form the band and was there already a clear direction of the sound?

Irina Bucescu – We are Irina, Costas and Daniel. Me and Costas met somewhere in 2012 and started experimenting until we made our first song “Everything From Above” in December 2012. We named ourselves Temple Invisible and started working on songs. Since we had pretty similar influences, we were in total agreement with every idea that came along, and even though we did have certain directions in mind, we sort of went with the flow. In March 2014 we met Daniel and invited him to join the band.

Art Jefferson – Musically the band has been called trip-hop, but I hear elements of post-punk, industrial and even bits of classical in there as well. Can you talk about some of the influences that goes into your sound?

Irina Bucescu – Well, we listen to all sorts of music and our absolute love and appreciation goes towards Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, NIN, Moderat, How to Destroy Angels, Massive Attack and UNKLE. We are also big fans of film music and cinematic sounds.

Art Jefferson – There has been an exciting wave of electronic acts emerging from Bucharest. How would you describe the current music scene there?

Irina Bucescu – We are excited by the increased interest in people making and listening to electronic music. As in our case, the availability of technology has exponentially weighted on the Romanian electronic scene. It is a fervent time and we feel very motivated and happy to participate.

Art Jefferson – How does living in Bucharest influence the way you personally create music?

Irina Bucescu – Bucharest has an amazing diversity. It is a crystal clear arabesque and a lot of good vibes are creeping in. We are truly grateful for all the support we’ve had from everybody. Bucharest is a fun place to be, and also a silent friend when needed.

Art Jefferson – The topics of your songs range from fear and escapism, down to understanding dimensions in our mind. What inspires some of the content of your songwriting?

Irina Bucescu – Soul-searching mainly. This implies rediscovering truth in any way we can. We love researching all sorts of stuff, from zen to poetry, quantum physics, cosmology, apocrypha etc. We feel certain unmanifested layers needing to come to light.

Art Jefferson – You are preparing for the release of your debut EP Enter_. Based on the title, it sounds like an invitation to a world beyond what we think we know. How would you describe the new record and what would you want the listener to experience when delving into it?

Irina Bucescu – It is exactly what you felt. Very well put: an invitation. Now, you are taking us into the visible realm 🙂 When diving into the music, we hope you can feel elated, aware of the silent dimension enclosed by sound, at times excited and powerful, at times reflective and detached and above all: connected.

Art Jefferson – Now that the EP is done, have you already started working on songs for your debut album?

Irina Bucescu – Indeed we have. We haven’t stopped for a second. We are constantly working on new ideas, playing with the approach and experimenting in all sorts of directions. We hope to able to release our first album until the end of 2015.

Art Jefferson – Finally, what does Temple Invisible have in store for 2015?

Irina Bucescu – We will work on the LP, travel, gigs, meet new people and keep up the good vibe. Thank you for your interest in our music. We are truly grateful!

ColoRising Premiere: How To Destroy Angels “How Long (Temple Invisible Remix)”

http://templeinvisible.com/
https://soundcloud.com/templeinvisible
https://www.facebook.com/TempleInvisible
https://twitter.com/TempleInvisible
http://templeinvisible.bandcamp.com/
http://instagram.com/templeinvisible