Wenn Antonín Mika zu singen beginnt, könnte man im ersten Moment glauben, Arctic-Monkeys-Frontman Alex Turner hätte seine düstere Seite entdeckt. Mit perfektem britischem Englisch und einer Klangfarbe, die an die Indie-Ikone aus Sheffield erinnert, artikuliert der Sänger und Gitarrist der dreiköpfigen tschechischen Noiserock-Band Sinks gesellschaftskritische Texte und spinnt verwobene Netze aus dystopischer Unruhe und betrübten Emotionen. An Bass und Backing Vocals wird er unterstützt von Vendula Pukyšová, am Schlagzeug sitzt Peter Štímel. Die Formation besteht seit 2019, ihre erste EP mit dem Titel »0« erschien im selben Jahr, das selbstbetitelte Debütalbum folgte zwei Jahre darauf. Mit der Zeit wurde ihr Sound komplexer, wurden sowohl Klang als auch Message klarer, entwickelten sich minimalistische Arrangements oder zügellose Experimente mit elektronischen Elementen zu einem souveränen Klangdickicht. Ihre aktuelle EP »Ageing« ist seit 20. November 2025 raus und wurde gleich am Release-Date auf der Bühne des Flucc dargeboten, im Rahmen der siebten Siluh Soirée, veranstaltet von Labelbetreiber Bernhard Kern, supported von der Wiener Post-Hardcore-Band Plow. Nach einer eindrucksvollen Performance wollte skug mehr über die Band aus Brünn wissen und trat mit ihr in Kontakt.
skug: Thank you so much for your time! So, we met at your concert at Flucc a couple of weeks ago. How often have you played in Vienna before? Did you enjoy the evening?
Sinks: Thank you for being interested in us! That might have been our fourth or fifth show in Vienna. And while we don’t play there super often, it’s always lovely to come back there. Same goes for that Flucc show, we had a great time. Bernhard, who put the show together, is super lovely, and Plow played an amazing show. Super happy with how it all went!
You’re originally from Brno, Czechia, but are playing all over Europe – especially Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Eastern Europe. How would you describe Czechia’s noise rock scene? Which are the main differences you recognize between other countries or even cities?
With Czechia being kind of on the border of Eastern and Western Europe, its noise rock scene draws from both sides of the former Iron Curtain. Generally, it feels a bit more gloomy and strict compared to what our colleagues from further West do but maybe a bit less straight forward than what our colleagues from further East tend to do. As far as the differences between countries go, there aren’t that many. Of course, every country is facing different political issues which reflect in what locals are passionate about, but the love for music and aim to create a safe friendly environment are universal.
Which city haven’t you played in yet and would love to play in?
We’re super grateful to play in any city. Whoever invites us wherever, that’s where we are happy to go.
It seems like all sorts of rock music have been experiencing a form of revival for a couple of years now. I recently was at a hardcore show in Vienna for example, and the singer talked about how they were used to playing in front of twenty people, but now events like this are often sold out. Do you feel like the music you’re making is now appealing to a wider crowd than when you started in 2019? How do you explain the difference?
It somehow makes sense that more extreme music is more appealing in this extreme age. As far as we’re concerned, the crowd that tends to go to our shows hasn’t changed much over the years. There are new people who got into our music more recently, which we’re very happy about, but there doesn’t seem to be that much wider of an appeal to what we do than when we started.
You have a very original sound which has evolved into a sophisticated discography over the past years. How did it all start though? How did you meet, have you played or are you still playing in different bands as well?
Each of us played in a handful of bands before Sinks. Antonín and Vendula already played together in a different band and Peter’s other band rehearsed in the same space. So that’s how it came together. The idea for the band came from Antonín and Vendula discussing what music they enjoy and would like to make. Peter then joined because he was also fond of it.
Which bands did you listen to growing up and which ones have inspired you? And does your singer get compared to Alex Turner a lot?
When we started Sinks, we were into the British new wave of the time, like Shame, old school post-punk such as The Birthday Party and 90s post-hardcore like Fugazi or Unwound. Arctic Monkeys were never mentioned even once, though the comparison is fairly common.
Being a musician has always been quite a hustle and doesn’t get easier with streaming platforms replacing income through CD sales etc. Are you guys fulltime musicians or do you have to work jobs on the side? If the latter: How are you handling the workload?
We all have a job alongside this music thing. And while sometimes it can be tiring to both work and play, everyone is kind of at peace with it. Since we love doing this and there is no other way, we always manage.
During your concert at Flucc you promoted your latest EP »Ageing« and said it would be out on every streaming platform except for Spotify. Why did you decide not to put it on Spotify?
The CEO of Spotify recently started investing in insane things such as AI operated war machinery and such. Which was the last straw for our relationship with Spotify. It felt wrong to part-take in this.
Boycotting Spotify may be an important act to change something, but it would be easier if bands with a huge fanbase followed your example. Do you get frustrated when swimming against the tide is often shuffled off on smaller bands which haven’t lost their attitude yet? And what difference does it make in the end, when the alternatives aren’t that much better?
It’s frustrating yet kind of understandable that people whose livelihood depends on income from streaming services are still on Spotify. It’s still the biggest streaming platform out there and the rent isn’t going to pay itself, so in that sense, it’s somewhat understandable. What is more frustrating is that people have to collaborate with evil billionaires to eat. That being said, the trend of leaving Spotify seems to be gaining momentum. So maybe the smaller bands with attitude might end up being just the beginning of a bigger change! And maybe it’s always like that, right? That change has to start in the underground.
»Ageing«, as the title of your latest EP already tells, follows a motive of growing older and arranging yourself with your surroundings on the way. You articulate feelings of angst and being confronted with corruption and uncertainties. What more can you tell us about it?
It was just a more and more prevalent topic in everyone’s day-to-day life. It just came to be like that through what went on with everyone during the time of putting the EP together, so we wrote about it.
Why is it important to you to address politics and attitude in your music?
Probably to at least feel like there’s a purpose to making music. That it’s not just for fun. Although it’s totally valid to make music just for fun. And even if we don’t manage to change anyone’s political beliefs, the idea that like-minded folks feel less alone listening to us is enough for us.
Is changing the status quo with music something you wish for, or does making music rather help yourself cope with its disadvantages?
Honestly, it is currently super difficult to change the status quo through music. Maybe on a very small scale, like within the specific bubble that we are in. But on a general level, while it would be sick, it doesn’t seem possible. I think none of us ever even came close to having that ambition, so it’s for sure the latter.
What will Sinks be up to in the coming months?
We just came back from a somewhat big tour in October and there aren’t currently any plans for a new one soon. Maybe we’ll just kind of go with the flow for a while, tone it down a notch.
