Cupiditas is a longing, a wish, a dream, and a band from Vienna rooted in Britpop nostalgia and friendship. On a cool Sunday noon Marvin, the vocalist-guitarist, and Michi, the bassist, told us the story of how Cupiditas was born, they talked about their music, their dreams, and current projects.
The indie rock quartet have come a long way already but the road is still vast. Their initial start was a small school concert, a humble beginning, but this didn’t last long. From “Rock the Garden” in Forchtenstein to the Planet Festival Tour contest and now touring in German as support for the Leftovers, another Viennese band Cupiditas have worked their way up quickly and have no plans to stop anytime soon. Even though the band has quite a bit of experience under their belt already their discography is quite comprehensive, but that’s gonna change. After many long hours in the studio the band plans to release one new song about every month or two. This started with “Bedsheets” on the 29th of November and is going to continue well into 2025. We were allowed to listen to some unfinished songs, so Vanessa and I can say that all of us have something to look forward to. Some might even know one or two from their energetic life performances. This is due partly to the musical expertise of each member, with Marvin being a born frontman, an overwhelmingly genius bass by Michi, and equally impressive guitar and drum performances by Jakob and Julian. But let’s go back to the basics for a second. How did they even start off?
It was Marvin that started it all off as he had been wanting to play in a band for a long time and so he asked Jakob, Cupiditas’ guitarist, if he’d like to form one. The answer, obviously, was a yes and so they went on the search for a drummer and found Jakob. Initially they wanted a different bassist but one rehearsal and the three knew that they found who they were looking for. From there on they started playing gigs, from small school venues to the Planet Festival tour, which was a great experience for the band as they were able to play on large stages, gather lots of experience performing, and the big audience that was present at Gasometer brought about immensely positive emotions. While they made it to place three Michi got a once in a lifetime chance as he won a scholarship to study his instrument at university.
But it’s not only the instrumentals that are outstanding, but the lyrics play a part in this well running machine as well. With lines like “When my bedsheets still smell like my ex” and “You’re infecting me but it makes me feel alive” Marvin, the sole lyricist of the band, adds to Michi and Jakob’s bassline as well as Julian’s lead guitar. That’s how their songs are born and we are lucky enough to soon hear some of them. But it’s not only new music that the band is planning, a big gig in Vienna’s “The Loft” is going to happen in 2025, as well as some others over the coming summer. Everybody should dream big and that’s what they do as well when asked Marvin and Michi agreed that they would like to have a vinyl of their music as well as finally not having to answer the question “What are you really doing for work?”
We also asked them for some more stories from their life as a band and they delivered. Cupiditas was set to record at FH St. Pölten and stressed themselves immensely to make it work, all for nothing. The recording process was not the best one and the recordings were bad. But for every chaotic and slightly negative experience there is a sweet one as well. The band are friends, know each other well, and have great chemistry, as can be seen on stage, and this also shows in emotional moments like their win for the semifinals of the Planet Festival Tour because as soon as they have left the stage Michi and Marvin fell into each others arms in tears because they were so happy.
I think all of this is encompassed great by a quote of theirs.
“We’re really determined and live our dream, that’s why we’re called Cupiditas.”