With Take a Seat, Belgian quartet Stavroz return with their most focused and free work yet. The 14-track album drifts through dusty deserts and humid cities, all while holding onto the warm, acoustic-meets-electronic sound that defines the band. Written partly on the road and finished together in a countryside studio, the record carries both the movement of travel and the calm of retreat. From the hypnotic pull of ‘Hunt’ to the tenderness of ‘Para Rio’ and the haunting collaboration with Australian singer/songwriter Ry X on ‘Lilac‘, Take a Seat is an invitation to slow down and listen closely. “These days, everything is prepped and generated for us. Songs, images, entertainment – all instantly available. We hope people can step away from that immediate satisfaction and take on the challenge of using their imagination again, before we forget how.” they tell us. An invitation we gladly accept — to rediscover the beauty of surrendering, of allowing ourselves to be immersed, and of taking just a little more time.”
We spoke with Stavroz about how the album took shape, the instruments and places that influenced it, and what it says about where the band stands today.
photography by Alexander Popelier
Tell us about Take a Seat, what can we expect from it?
It’s a continuation of our path as a band. We keep evolving, discovering new music, and letting ourselves be inspired by it. If you listen closely, you’ll hear those influences shining through. There’s definitely some dance floor material, but the album as a whole offers plenty of variation – more like a little Stavroz journey than just a collection of tracks.
What sparked the first ideas that eventually grew into this album?
The core idea was simple: take the listener on a journey. From slow to fast, from bitter to sweet, from up to down and back again – with a few side roads in between. We gave ourselves complete freedom, without worrying too much about whether a track would “fit.” That openness is what shaped the album. In a way, it became less about making an album and more about capturing moments. Each track feels like a snapshot of where we were creatively at that point in time.
“It became less about making an album and more about capturing moments.”
How do you see Take a Seat in relation to your previous releases? Is it a continuation, or a new chapter for Stavroz?
It’s definitely a continuation. We’re not the same Stavroz from eight years ago – we’ve grown, both as musicians and as people. Trying to make something similar to the past would feel wrong. With every release we carry a piece of our history, but we also make room for where we’re headed next. Take a Seat reflects that balance between honoring our roots and embracing change.
For this album, you changed your usual process and worked together in a studio in the Belgian countryside. What did that do for the way the album took shape?
It led to more genuine collaboration. In the past, we often built tracks piece by piece, recording instruments separately. This time, we leaned into jamming and reacting to each other’s ideas in the moment. That spontaneity gave the songs a different kind of life. It just … feels more alive.
You’ve mentioned that Take a Seat is a record that invites people to slow down. Was that a deliberate reaction to the pace of modern music culture, or just where you naturally ended up?
It wasn’t so much a reaction to modern music culture as it was to modern culture in general. These days, everything is prepped and generated for us. Songs, images, entertainment – all instantly available. We hope people can step away from that immediate satisfaction and take on the challenge of using their imagination again, before we forget how.
“We hope people can step away from that immediate satisfaction and take on the challenge of using their imagination again, before we forget how.”
You wrote parts of the album while on tour. Was there one song where the location really shaped how it turned out?
It’s hard to pinpoint which exact parts were influenced by where we were, but our travels in Morocco were definitely instrumental – literally. We discovered some beautiful instruments there that ended up finding a place in our sound.
You also started experimenting with instruments like the gembri and qarqeba. Did you find that those instruments challenged your writing, or did they immediately click with your sound?
Not every experiment works, but the gembri felt like it was made for us. It clicked right away, like it had always belonged in our sound. Over time, you start to sense what will fit and what won’t.
You just released a beautiful single with Ry X. How did that collaboration and the track come about? Did ‘Lilac’ grow out of an idea you were already working on, or was it built around something Ry X brought in?
We sent him about ten demos to see what resonated, and he chose Lilac. From there, he worked his magic. Ry is such a talented artist – he immediately understood where the track could go and elevated it beautifully.
How did the collaboration with Ry X come about?
Through a mutual friend and colleague in the industry. We were talking about the new album and our wish to include some collaborations. She knew Ry well, understood our music, and connected us. Not long after, Lilac was born.
“Ry’s nostalgic tone of remorse inspired us to tell the story of someone reflecting on the paths not taken in life.”
You worked with director Toon Persyn on the music video for Lilac. What was the concept behind it, and why tell the story from a child’s perspective?
Ry’s nostalgic tone of remorse inspired us to tell the story of someone reflecting on the paths not taken in life. At the same time, we see through his eyes: he views himself as a child whose needs and desires never really changed, someone who feels like he never grew up. It’s a feeling many of us can relate to.
If you could sum up what this record says about Stavroz right now, what would that be?
I’d rather leave that to the listener. We don’t want to set expectations. Decide for yourself what it says about us, where we might be going, or how we got here. That’s part of the charm – don’t let us shape your image.
Check out the full album at stavroz.komi.io
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www.instagram.com/stavroz_official
www.facebook.com/stavrozmusic
