Interview With Mosquito & Lupe…By Tzina Dovve (DJ Lady Davinia)…
Mosquito & Lupe… Cries bound to silence… With distance to constrain… All endings to be final… And passion left to drain… One of the finest bands to emerge on the Greek contemporary underground scene over a decade ago followed by the side project Lupe… The charismatic craftsmanship of both acts has made an impact on the goth scene of today and both are destined to go far… Main man Michalis Latousakis and the lads open their heart about their early beginnings, upcoming album and shows and future plans… An in-depth and gripping interview on what both these acts are all about… Enchanting… Interchanging… Under a moon of divinity… Mosquito & Lupe… By Tzina Dovve (DJ Lady Davinia)…
Tzina: Welcome to Absolution.. Mosquito is a band that emerged on the Greek Athenian underground scene over a decade ago.. Exactly when and where did this band come to life and who are its current members? What prompted you to form such a band to begin with?
Aro Raven: Thank you for welcoming us into the pages of Absolution. Mosquito was breathed into life over a decade ago in the heart of Athens, emerging from a shared need to give shape to the shadows around and inside us. We started as a band of four: Lupe, James, Jare, and myself. Our line-up evolved naturally through the years. Jare contributed his guitars to our first two albums before eventually parting ways with the band. Since then, Mosquito has solidified into a tight, focused three-piece core: Aro Raven (myself) on drums, bass and poetry, Lupe on vocals and keyboards and James on guitars. What prompted the creation of Mosquito was a deep need for expression, shared by all of us. Initially, the band wasn’t acquainted with the Gothic Rock/Darkwave sounds of the scene. When I joined I brought that specific aesthetic, the poetic weight and the post-punk drive into our core. I introduced this sound to the rest of the members, and together we consciously decided to make it happen.
Tzina: As I understand you also have a side project on the go with the name Lupe.. How did that come about and who is involved in this project? Can you elaborate…
Lupe: It actually began as a very personal need to create without boundaries. While Mosquito has a very distinct identity and a collective language that we have developed together over the years, I also had music in me that belonged somewhere else. Songs that were more theatrical, more eclectic and perhaps more directly connected to my own personality as a songwriter. That gradually became LUPE. I wouldn’t really describe it as a side project anymore because it has developed into a completely independent part of my musical life, with its own sound, releases and direction. Musically, it lives somewhere within Art Rock and Theatrical Art Rock, but I deliberately leave the door open to other influences rather than trying to make every song belong to one particular genre. At its core, LUPE is essentially my solo project. I write and compose the material, perform the vocals and play keyboards and shape the overall artistic direction myself. However, for recordings and live performances I work with other musicians who help bring that world to life in ways that can sometimes take the songs somewhere I hadn’t originally imagined.
Lupe band line up:
Lupe (Michalis Latousakis): Music, Lyrics, Vocals, Keyboards,
Yiannis Panigirakis: Lead Guitar
Jare (my twin brother, Giannis Latousakis): Rhythm Guitar
Rindra Rado: Bass
Kostas Amargianitakis: Drums
Giannis Kontaratos: Violin/Viola
Andreas Polyzogopoulos: Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Giannis Damianos: Sound Engineer
That freedom is probably the main reason LUPE exists. It gives me a space where I can follow an idea wherever it wants to go musically, lyrically and theatrically without first asking myself what kind of song it is supposed to become.
Tzina: What is the story behind your main band name ‘Mosquito’ and your project name ‘Lupe’ ( root latin word for wolf)? Do they have some sort of symbolic meaning to you? Why these titles in particular?
Aro Raven: In fact, the name holds a very personal and conceptual significance to me. Ever since I was very young I thought the word ‘Mosquito’ sounded incredibly nice. Later on, this was reinforced by my deep admiration for Clan of Xymox and their classic track ‘Muscoviet Mosquito’ but more importantly, there is a deeper truth hidden behind it. No matter how unconventional it might sound for a Gothic Rock band, if you really think about it, the ‘mosquito’ is the oldest, most ancient vampire in the world. When I proposed the name to the rest of the guys they liked the idea a lot and so it was decided.
Lupe: I think Aro has explained the Mosquito name perfectly. As for LUPE, the story is actually connected to Mosquito as well. When Aro first met me, he said that something about my appearance, my green eyes among other things, reminded him of a young wolf, so ‘Lupe’ became the nickname he gave me within the band. Eventually, when I started my own project, it felt completely natural to carry that name with me. The connection to the latin root word for wolf also gave it a meaning that grew along with the project. I’ve always been drawn to what the wolf represents, independence, instinct, but also the ability to exist both alone and as part of a pack. That combination fits LUPE quite naturally. It is a very personal and independent form of expression, but one that still comes alive through collaboration with other musicians.
Tzina: Both musical styles of your main band and side project are quintessentially dark yet very different at the same time… Who is the main songwriter in Mosquito and Lupe? How do your music creations come to life and what are your main musical influences? Where do you get your inspiration from to write such dark melodies?
Aro Raven: To understand the blueprint of our music we must first separate the two entities. Lupe’s side project, Lupe, is Lupe’s strictly personal dark universe where he acts as the sole creator shaping his own intimate musical pursuits. Mosquito, however, operates under a completely different and collective dynamic. When it comes to the music we write and compose everything together as a unit bleeding our individual sounds into a shared sonic experience. However, the conceptual heart of Mosquito belongs to a different architecture. I am exclusively responsible for the poetry and the lyrics. The words are my sole domain giving the tracks their specific dark weight and direction. From that point, Lupe weaves his atmospheric keyboards and distinct vocal identity over the canvas, while James infuses the songs with his sharp, post-punk guitar melodies. Our creations come to life through a need for artistic expression. Influenced by the monumental legacy of classic Gothic Rock and Post-Punk, our inspiration comes from the shadows of reality itself, the weight of time, the complexity of human connections and the higher existential questions that are often raised in absolute isolation. We find immense light and liberation within these dark melodies. For us it is the ultimate form of spiritual freedom.
Lupe: Aro described Mosquito’s creative process perfectly. It is genuinely collective with each of us bringing a different musical personality into something that ultimately becomes Mosquito. LUPE works almost in the opposite way. I write and compose everything myself and a song can begin with a melody, a piano phrase, a rhythm, a lyric or simply an atmosphere I want to translate into sound. My influences are quite broad as I’ve always been drawn to artists who evolve, experiment and refuse to be confined to one musical identity. As for the darkness, I never consciously decide to write dark music. It is simply a language that comes naturally to me. Most of my inspiration comes from personal experience, relationships, inner conflict and transformation. I don’t necessarily see darkness as negative as sometimes exploring it is precisely how you discover the light within it.
Tzina: Both Mosquito and Lupe have a number of releases under their belt so far.. Your most recent album with the former and your main band (Mosquito) ‘Deep Slumber’ was released in November 2024 under the label ‘Swiss Dark Nights Records’.. How did that collaboration come about for the band? How has this album been received by the music press and your fans? How happy are you with the outcome of this album?
Aro Raven: To be honest the album had been ready for quite a long time, several years before its actual release. However, we faced numerous delays due to various hardships and difficulties that arose in our individual lives, as well as collectively for the band. It was a challenging period, but in the end, it only added to the emotional weight of the record. The collaboration with Swiss Dark Nights Records came about through true friendship. Our good friend Nino Sable, from the band Aeon Sable put us in touch with Valerio, the head of SDN. That’s how the bridge was built and we began working together. As for Deep Slumber, the reception since November 2024 has been deeply rewarding. It has received immense love from our fans and the scene and we are incredibly satisfied with the mixing, the overall production and the final outcome of the album. Personally, I am extremely happy and proud. Despite all the delays, Deep Slumber represents a very specific, mature chapter for Mosquito. The songs carry our collective endurance and emotions. The release of this album came to represent the band’s new beginning in a way.
Lupe: I completely agree with Aro. Because ‘Deep Slumber’ had been with us for so long before it was finally released, seeing it actually come out felt almost like closing one chapter of our lives and immediately opening another. I’m very proud of the record and of how it ultimately sounds, but I’m equally happy that people connected with it despite the long road it took to reach them. In that sense, its release gave Mosquito a renewed energy. Rather than feeling like the end of a long process it felt much more like a new beginning for the band.
Tzina: As I understand your most recent release with Lupe ‘Seeker Of Sound’ (November 2023) was re-released just last month (July 2026) as a soundtrack.. What is this new version of that album all about? How are your albums with Lupe received by the music press and your fans and how happy are you with the outcome of this soundtrack version so far? Can you elaborate?
Lupe: There is actually a small distinction to make here.‘Seeker of Sound’ wasn’t actually re-released as a soundtrack but more of a soundtrack version with a new adaptation of the title track, which is also the closing song of the original 2023 album. Over the last two years I’ve also become increasingly involved in composing music for theatre and film and this has opened another creative world for me. Writing for a visual or theatrical context requires a different way of thinking about music. You are no longer only telling your own story, but helping another story find its voice. The soundtrack version of ‘Seeker of Sound’ came naturally from that side of my work and allowed me to revisit the composition from a completely different perspective. I’m very happy with the outcome, especially because it gave an existing piece of music another life without simply reproducing the original. For me, that is much more interesting than a conventional re-release. That the same musical idea can evolve and reveal something entirely different with its purpose and context change is so rewarding.
Tzina: You also have released a few music videos on YouTube with your project Lupe over time.. Are there any in the pipeline for Mosquito? How important are music videos to you as musicians? Do you think the visual side is as fundamental as the music side for bands today?
Aro Raven: Yes, we actually have something planned and it will be presented in the near future. We are currently preparing a music video for the track ‘Lost Victories’ from our latest album ‘Deep Slumber’. On top of that we are already in the studio recording our third album and we are constantly developing new visual concepts for everything that lies ahead. For us the visual side is definitely important but it’s not the only thing that matters because the music and the poetry always remain our core foundation, but it is still highly significant. I believe that within the Gothic Rock/Darkwave aesthetic the visual aspect acts as an extension of the sound and adds to the whole experience. It helps translate the emotion and the stories behind the tracks into a complete experience.
Lupe: I completely agree with Aro that the visual side should be an extension of the music rather than something that competes with it. With LUPE, this becomes particularly important because there has always been a theatrical element in the way I imagine the songs. Very often, while writing music, I already have images, characters, colours or even entire scenes forming in my mind. I think music videos can give you the opportunity to reveal another layer of a song without having to explain it. Especially today, when music is experienced through so many different platforms, having a strong visual identity certainly matters. But for me the order will always remain the same. The music has to exist and mean something on its own first and the visual world comes afterwards and gives us another way of entering it.
Tzina: What are your views on AI videos that a lot of bands on the contemporary music scene seem to be generating over the last couple of years? Do you think this sort of ‘easier’ way of making videos will dominate over real videos?
Lupe: I don’t think AI itself is either good or bad for music videos as it depends entirely on how it is used. As a tool, it can be fascinating because it allows artists to visualise ideas that might otherwise be technically or financially impossible, especially for independent musicians. What I would be careful about is confusing accessibility with creativity. The fact that something has become easier to produce doesn’t automatically make it artistically meaningful. I personally wouldn’t want AI to replace the human element. Real performance, direction, photography and the unexpected things that happen when creative people work together is what art is all about. Will AI-generated videos become more common? Absolutely, but I don’t think they will eliminate traditional music videos. Ideally they will simply become another tool in our vocabulary. In the end, audiences don’t connect with the technology used to create something. They connect with whether there was an idea and an emotion behind it.
Tzina: Both Mosquito and Lupe are active live with a number of shows so far in your home country.. Are there any plans for upcoming shows for the rest of 2026 and 2027? Are there any particular cities you would like to visit? What do you enjoy most about performing live?
Aro Raven: If you ask me where we would want to perform my answer is simple. Everywhere, but most importantly, we want to play extensively in the UK as it is the historical birthplace of the sound we represent. There is something truly magical about being up on stage, sharing our music with the crowd and interacting with that raw, dark energy and vibe. It’s an irreplaceable feeling of connection. Fortunately, this vision is already turning into reality for us. This coming February, we are set to perform live in Thessaloniki, Greece and in June we are crossing over to the UK to perform at the Darker Days Festival in Leicester. We are incredibly excited to bring all that Mosquito has to offeronto that stage and experience that shared emotion with the British audience.
Lupe: On the LUPE side, live performance is going to become an even bigger part of the band with the next album ‘Season of Lost Grace’. I’m currently planning to take this record on tour and I definitely want that journey to extend beyond Greece. I think this particular album needs to be experienced live as there is a narrative and an emotional progression running through it that can become something very different when shared with an audience. What I enjoy most about performing is exactly that transformation. In the studio you build a world, but on stage you suddenly invite other people into it. No two performances feel exactly the same and that exchange of energy can completely change the meaning of a song at that particular moment. As for where I would like to go, much like Aro said everywhere sounds pretty good to me! The opportunity to bring Mosquito & Lupe to new audiences, new cities and different cultures is something I’m very much looking forward to with these next chapters.
Tzina: What are your ambitions for Mosquito and Lupe? Where would you like to see both in the next few years? Can you elaborate…
Aro Raven: Right now Mosquito’s main focus is entirely dedicated to the recording and preparation of our third album. We are incredibly excited and looking forward to the completion and release of this new material. Beyond that, our ambition is to get out on the road and perform live as much as possible. We would love to play in every single corner of the world. Ultimately, our plan is to never stop sharing our artistic expression with the world, keeping that warm, mutual interaction of emotion alive forever.
Lupe: For LUPE, the immediate ambition is to bring our 4th album to life, both as a record and on stage, and hopefully take it on the road to audiences beyond Greece. From there, I want the project to keep evolving without becoming trapped by whatever worked before. That freedom has always been fundamental to LUPE. At the same time, I would love to continue developing my work as a composer for theatre and film, because it has opened an entirely different creative path for me. Ultimately, I don’t have a particular destination in mind where I could say, “If I reach this point I’ve made it.” I’d rather keep creating, travelling, collaborating and discovering where the music can take me. If both Mosquito and LUPE can continue reaching new people while remaining artistically honest, I think that would be the best possible future for both.
Tzina: What are your views on the underground scene of today? Do you believe there is some sort of ‘goth revival’ happening over the last few years? How strong is the scene in your home town? Do you think it differs from the rest of the globe?
Aro Raven: I believe that the underground scene of today is incredibly remarkable. From what I experience and feel there is definitely a global revival happening over the last few years and I am genuinely happy about it. I don’t think our local scene in Athens differs drastically from the rest of the world. It is part of a collective, worldwide movement where modern darkwave and gothic rock bands share the same pulse, passion and artistic quality.
Lupe: I agree with Aro. What I find particularly interesting is that this renewed interest in darker music doesn’t seem limited to one strictly defined scene anymore. Elements of Goth, Post-Punk and Darkwave are finding their way into many different forms of alternative music and younger audiences are discovering these sounds through completely different paths than previous generations did. Athens has always had a passionate underground audience, and although the scene may not be enormous there is a real sense of community around it. At the same time because music travels so instantly today the boundaries between a ‘local’ scene and an international one are becoming increasingly blurred. In that sense, Athens feels very much connected to what is happening elsewhere.
Tzina: Thank you for your time.. Anything else you would like to share with your fans? What can they expect from Mosquito and Lupe in the near future?
Aro Raven: First of all, we would like to thank you for the invitation and for this interview. To close I would like to conclude this great conversation with a line from ‘Lost Victories’, “The greatest awe is to continue existing”. It serves as a reminder that to keep moving forward and to continue existing through all the hardships and darkness that surrounds us is the greatest miracle that can happen. We can’t wait to see you all up close at our live shows, on the road, anywhere. See you all soon!
Lupe: I think Aro found the perfect words to close this. From my side, I would simply like to thank Absolution for giving us the space to talk about both of these musical worlds and everyone who has listened, supported or shared our music over the years. For LUPE the next chapter is ‘Season of Lost Grace’. We are preparing to enter the studio and from there the plan is to bring the album to the stage and eventually on the road. It is probably the most personal work I have created so far and I’m very much looking forward to finally sharing it. So, in a nutshell there is a lot ahead for both Mosquito and LUPE. New music, new places, new stages and hopefully many opportunities to meet the people who have been listening along the way. See you out there!
