The Fog Ensemble

Anthems usually have words, but Fog Ensemble’s tunes manage to be inspiring without a voice to chant lyrics over them. Since there are no vocals, no carefully-developed melodies, and no virtuosic solos, the band from Thessaloniki, Greece, gets its instrumental points across by mood, varying the volume, rhythm and pace within repetitive patterns. The band released its first, eponymous, album in 2015, offering a blend of Sound-esque guitar and rhythm driven post-punk, a Manchester groove, sharp electronic hints and even Thievery Corporation-like downtempo trip hop moments.

On their sophomore album, Throbs, released in October 2018 via Inner Ear, Fog Ensemble continue to create epic-like tracks suggestive of 80s alternative rock, again without the vocals. Antonis Karakostas provides atmospheric sounds through his programming and keening melodic lines on his guitar as the bassist Nicholas Kondylis and drummer George Nanopoulos lock in with medium-tempo post-rock rhythms on tune after tune. The significance of dynamics to their music is crucial, as the tracks tend to slowly rise in intensity, a crescendo building to the midpoint, with the music de-escalating before building back up to the finish (e.g. “Lighthouse”). The Fog Ensemble are indie purists with a cinematic approach, determined to stir their audience with the overall sound of their music alone.