POCA’s poppy atmospheres

POCA is formed of Poca (vocals), George Karpasitis (guitars), David Horler (bass) and Jack Painting (drums). They have collaborated with Sophie Frankford (violin), Midori Jaeger (cello) and Elin Klingfors and Txako Jones (backing vocals).

Anastasia: How did you get the initial motivation to form POCA? Poca: I was probably three years old, when I decided to become a singer. After that, it did not take very long to realise, I needed songs to sing and a band to play with. I started to write songs when I was thirteen. I came to London in September 2010, to become a professional musician. I came to London to find my band. And now we have POCA.

A: What kind of music do you usually play in your performances? P: We play original songs. Sometimes we top it off with a nice cover. I don’t like to label the music we create. I just know what my beliefs are. They lay in magic and wonders, in colours and dark skies, in moons and stars, in beauty and love. That is what I bear in mind everytime I write; everytime we jam.

A: Do you compose music as well? P: Yes. That is all I do. Every day gives me another melody to work on. When a new melody is starting to make sense, I add lyrics to it or vice-versa and take it to the rehearsal. All the magic happens then. We arrange the songs together.

A: From where do you get your inspirations? P: I like to walk a lot, seek for inspiration. It manages to find me everytime. The streets, the people, the cafes, the lights, the colors, the moon taking a swim in the Thames - all that makes this vibrant city. These are the reasons for me to write another line. Last week I found inspiration in a traffic sign.

A: I am sure that you lead very busy lives as students and recent graduates. How many hours a week/a day do you spend on rehearsing and performing? P: Yes, that is true. We all have to work non-music related jobs to support ourselves and that makes everything a bit more complicated. However, I really do believe in the saying, that If it is important you will find a way, If not, you will find an excuse. POCA is important. We rehearse when we can. Regulary on Sundays, sometimes for a couple of hours, other times seven hours.

A: Tell me all the details of your next performance. I believe that many Imperial students would love to spend a music night with you. P: And we would love to share our music with many Imperial students. Our next performance is on the 4th of April, at The Comedy bar , in Leicester Square. Watch our space in Facebook for more information closer to the date (facebook.com/POCAandthecaptains). Meanwhile, we are participating in the Live and Unsigned 2012 competition. Our second round took place on the 11th of March.

A: What are your future plans for POCA? P: We have only just completed recording our first EP, which will be released very soon. In the meantime we will be performing in venues in and around London and possibly some festivals this summer. We will keep on being inspired and writing more music, until there is nothing left for us to write.

Since this interview took place, POCA have made it through to the London semi-finals of Live and Unsigned 2012 (congratulations!): check their Facebook page for details.