Doomed Confessionary: Jamie Kobić (Gavran)
Photos by Arjen Kunnen
Gavran is a sludge/doom metal trio from Rotterdam, Netherlands. The band released their latest full-length album »Indistinct Beacon« on December 2nd, 2022 via dunk!records.
Gavran are Jamie Kobić (drums/vocals), Freek van Rooyen (guitar) and Ritsaart Vetter (bass).
“The purpose of Gavran is to give meaning to our past, present and future. It gives us a way to release our doubts, despair and anger and search for the light at the end of the countless tunnels in our minds. It is a journey we still endeavour and probably will until our end of days. With Gavran we found a way to cope and unravel. It gave us a means to pursue true understanding.”
Can you say a few words about your band?
So we’ve been a three piece since November 2018. Freek and I started jamming roughly at the beginning of that year and felt we could make this work very quickly. We were very much inspired by the likes of Amenra and YOB, so we have a lot of emphasis on dynamics and atmosphere. After trying out a few other guitarists and bass players Rits joined us in the autumn of 2018 and eventually I took on the role of vocalist besides drumming.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
Our guitarist Freek went through a tough time health wise at the end of last year and eventually had surgery for his condition. Because of that the band was on hold for a while, but obviously health goes before anything else. Fortunately all went well and we’ve been rehearsing again for a few weeks now.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Definitely the release of our second album »Indistinct Beacon« with dunk!records. Still very happy about how it all turned out. Looks absolutely amazing and very pleased to be a part of the history of such an awesome label.
What was your biggest regret?
Personally I don’t live with regrets. Concerning the band, I’m just incredibly happy and thankful to are where we are already and we’ll keep on keeping on for sure.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
The show at dunk!festival last year was very special. The stars were aligned that day. What an amazing crowd that was.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
How close the underground metal scene is here in the Netherlands. Every band is so supportive to one another. It’s very nice to be part of a scene where it’s all about the love for music.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I’m liking the debut album of Goat Major a lot. Also been revisiting Fórn lately. Always felt their way of doing things is a bit similar to us in terms of atmosphere.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Rotterdam?
We’re from Rotterdam and the underground scene in general has really been gaining momentum around here in the last few years. It’s nice to be a small part of that resurgence. Another great metal band from here is Lijkschouwer (Dutch for “Coroner”) who play a kind of blackened death/sludge metal.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
For now we don’t have anything planned because Freek is still rehabilitating. We’re hoping to be back on stage again somewhere this summer.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’ve started working on a third album and really like where are going with it so far. Hopefully we’ll be able record it somewhere at the end of this year and release it next year.
How can people best support your band?
We’ve been around for a few years now and learned it’s quite an expensive hobby to maintain, which is perfectly fine, I’m not complaining at all. We’ll keep on doing this until we can’t anymore. Buying merch obviously helps a lot on the financial aspect (people can visit gavran.bandcamp.com). However, we’ve found that playing in front of a crowd and feeling their love and support is the most important thing of all. That is something that cannot be expressed in money or in words.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
I just want to thank everyone who’s been supporting us over the years. We’ve had people reaching out to us from all corners of the globe which is still crazy to consider. We’ve played quite a few shows in the Netherlands and one in Belgium and I’m hoping maybe one day we’ll have the opportunity to come and play for our supporters in other parts of the world.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well