Doomed Confessionary: Mateusz Pietrzela (Juke Cove)
Juke Cove is a heavy alternative rock band from Leipzig, Germany. Their music combines elements of stoner rock, doom, psych, and grunge. The band was founded in 2018 by three outlanders sharing a passion for groovy riffs and trippy jams.
The trio self-released their first album in 2019. The second album »Remedy« followed in 2021 in cooperation with Interstellar Smoke Records – a record label specializing in heavy psych/doom/stoner releases from around the world. »Remedy« got listed on the Doom Charts among the best heavy underground albums released in May 2021. Since then, Juke Cove has played many concerts in Germany, supporting King Buffalo, Weedpecker, Rotor, Valley Of The Sun, Mars Red Sky and Dopelord among others, as well as two short tours in Poland.
In early 2023, Juke Cove recorded their 3rd album »Tempest«, which will be released on May 3rd, 2024 via Interstellar Smoke Records.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Hey! Mateusz, the guitarist and vocalist here. We’re Juke Cove from Leipzig in Germany. We play a dynamic mix of stoner rock, doom, psych and punk. Someone described our music as doom’n’roll and we think it fits pretty well. All of us played a bit different music before – Dima (bass/vox) mostly psych, Maxim (drums) jazz and surf rock and I mostly hc/punk and rapcore. We also like very different genres so you can definitely hear a lot of influences in our songs.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
I got my second kid in the summer last year, so we had to slow down with shows a bit. Fortunately, we had managed to record the album and play quite some gigs before. But as the kids grow, so will our stage presence.
What can you be most proud of so far?
We’re really proud of our new album »Tempest«. It shows that we have really developed as a band and we’re able to express much more musically. Of course we wouldn’t be able to achieve it just by ourselves – Arvid helped us with recording, Haldor made a great mix & master, Doomed Creations delivered stunning artwork and Jacek from Interstellar Smoke Records took care of making CDs and vinyl.
What was your biggest regret?
People that help us are exactly what we missed at the start. We decided to make our first album completely by ourselves – recording, mixing, mastering, CDs. The effect was a bit disappointing. We still regularly include some of the songs from the first album – »The Sign«, »Ancient King« and »Guillotine« – into our sets and live they kick ass. This power is missing on the album though.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Last March we had a cool tour with Weird Tales. We had a lot of fun, especially at the gigs in Warsaw, Leipzig, Chemnitz and Berlin. In June we opened for King Buffalo in the most epic location in our hometown. It was an awesome experience.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
That’s a difficult question. Perhaps the comeback of vinyl or the emergence of numerous festivals fully or partly dedicated to stoner/doom/psych is pretty mindblowing and really important for the music scene.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Maxim has been listening to Red Mess and A Lot Like Birds. Dima’s into Deep Space Desctructors, El Perro and Yes. For me it’s been the new albums by Mindz Eye, Daevar and Slow Green Thing. Also, Scorched Oak and Tonda released two awesome albums recently. We are going to play with those two bands on our release tour in May – looking forward to seeing them live!
Can you say something more about the music scene in Leipzig area?
Leipzig is a pretty vibrant city with a lot of cool bands and venues. It’s known especially for its punk scene, but there is also an abundance of really great stoner/doom bands – Kyning, War, Moby Dig, Mylr, Valley Of The Sluts, Godzilla In The Kitchen, Goat Generator, Goat Explosion, Voodoo Puppets Of Hell And Doom, Church Of Mental Enlightment to name a few. Then, in Saxony which is the state in which Leipzig is located, there’s for example Hammada, Slow Green Thing or Mother Engine.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
So far we have a short release tour planned in May (9 – Berlin, 10 – Eisenach, 11 – Leipzig) and at the beginning of June we’re supporting 1000mods in Dresden. Right now we’re working on booking some dates in the autumn as well.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’d love to play more gigs and some festivals next year.
How can people best support your band?
By coming to our shows, listening to our music and spreading the word about us.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks for listening to our stuff! If you have a chance to see us live, please do so, it’s always the best! If not, then please share our music with your friends, so that one day we might come to play a gig in your town.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well