Doomed Confessionary: Flo, Andi & Daniel (Samsara Joyride)
Samsara Joyride is a stoner/blues rock quartet from Vienna, Austria.
In early 2020, Michael and Flo started jamming about blues and rock ideas in a living room in Vienna’s 17th district. Only a few months later the home-produced EP »Stranger« was released and as a result the formation was expanded to include Daniel on bass and Andi on drums and Samsara Joyride was born.
The band released their second album »The Subtle & The Dense« on February 23rd, 2024 via Tonzonen Records.
Samsara Joyride are Florian Miehe (vocals, guitar), Michael Haumner (guitar), Daniel Batliner (bass) and Andreas Mittermühler (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
We are Samsara Joyride from Vienna, Austria. We’ve been playing together as a four piece band for about three years now, having recently released our 2nd full-length studio album. We like to think that we galavant through various sub-genres, but are generally described as a stoner/blues rock band, dedicated to the sound of the 70s and 90s.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
Especially last year it was often difficult to find the time to rehearse together. We all work, plus there are family or other commitments, and Andi also plays in two other bands. In some cases we even had to turn down gig offers because it simply wasn’t possible due to scheduling. Often we only managed to rehearse when there was a gig coming up and then we had to prepare for the show. It’s been a long time since we just took the time to hang out, be creative together and work out something new, although there are already some ideas floating around. Unfortunately, adult life throws a spanner in the works. That’s a real shame…
What can you be most proud of so far?
Daniel: Finding each other. It just worked right from the start, on and off our instruments. That’s basically where everything we achieved afterwards came from.
Flo: You can tell by how smooth and easy the song-writing process works for us. Someone brings a rough idea (a riff, a chord progression, maybe some lyrics) to the rehearsal session and the others immediately pick it up and add their part. There are never many discussions or even arguments like you sometimes hear from other bands. If something works, we tweak it until everyone is happy with the result and this often happens without many words. We just try around until everything seems to fall into place on its own. So it happens that a very rough idea suddenly turns into a finished song within only one or two hours or so. For example, with »Who Tells The Story« it went like this. I think that’s something to be proud of.
Andi: Music on vinyl has always been a real pleasure for me, so finally releasing our music on vinyl is a thing that actually makes me really proud!
What was your biggest regret?
We can honestly say that there isn’t anything we’d regret. Sure, a few things could have gone smoother. We made our share of mistakes and missteps, but learned from them and just moved on. Nothing exciting.
What was the best concert/tour last year and why?
The release party at the Chelsea Club in Vienna last February was everything we could’ve hoped for! We had a full house and the people really enjoyed it. Seeing your audience having a great time – what more could you ask for as a musician?
Andi: 2023 – Linz Train Sessions Take One – celebrating my 30th birthday in my own backyard and playing the full set must have been the best concert!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Realizing that stoner rock isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. No seriously – realizing how many really great bands there are in the underground that most people have never even heard of and probably never will because there is just such an abundance of releases. Our new album, for example, is one of 238 records released in February 2024 that fall into the stoner/doom/heavy psych category. We’re really happy that the lovely people contributing to the Doom Charts voted us #8 out of these 238 albums in February, otherwise we certainly wouldn’t have gotten so much attention. But in March there will probably be another 200+ cool new albums and then in April and so on. No wonder everything is moving so fast these days. Who has the time to really listen to all of this?
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Flo: All Them Witches, Tool, Sons Of Arrakis, Schubmodul, Great Rift.
Andi: Tool, In Flames, King Crimson, Meshuggah.
Daniel: Coming spring I tend to listen to a lot of funk. Don’t ask me why.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Vienna?
Daniel: Everywhere around the world, Vienna is known for its music history. While this is due to other genres than we might enjoy these days, performing music still has a rather status in society. Compared to other European cities, there’s several opportunities to play in front of an audience. Even for new and unknown bands.
Andi: In Vienna the music scene is very diverse, you find different labels for different genres, which is a good thing, but on the other hand there’s just so much of everything around… everyone is making music and the city might surprise you with its concerts. But you have to stay honest about the scene in Austria / Vienna… I don’t know much of it, but I know people who suffer from the situation – living off music in Austria is actually not that easy, or even getting gigs sometimes… So every show is appreciated!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re still in the process of planning a little tour around Europe during the summer. Best to look out for dates on our website (samsarajoyride.com) or the usual channels.
Andi: Hopefully in your town! Book us via Bandcamp!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
From our mindset, we’ll just keep going on the way we did. We really enjoy hanging out and playing together, and up till now, there’s little to no need to mess with that. Hopefully we’ll find more time for that in the near future! But our main goal: play live! As much as possible.
How can people best support your band?
Book us for your private house party! But seriously, if you enjoy our songs – spread the word and share them with your friends. That’s all the support we crave! In case you want to intensify the experience, we have two records and some merch, orderable on our website or Bandcamp page.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
They’re all in the lyrics 😉
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well