What was the beginning pint for your music career? How did it all start?
More of a coffee cup than a pint. I (Michel – vocals and programming) don’t do beer. That’s not a very rock’n’roll thing to say, now is it – but then again, I’m going against the cliché, so it IS rock’n’roll in a way. Punk, even. Anyway – long story short, it was a gradual process, getting together. The short version of it is we were all passionate music fans with extensive record collection and long semi pro experiences, but we’d never met anyone with whom things clicked to the point where we wanted to create songs together. So when we did, even though we were older than people usually are when they form a band they want to put everything into – we didn’t think twice.
The longer and more anecdotal version is, I met Julien (our original lead guitarist) in 2015, and loved his sound and his ideas and they inspired me to explore and define my own vocal style, after 10 years of honing my chops in a cover band that taught me everything. We started writing together and the songs had energy, but also melody, texture, and a level of sonic ambition which meant we had to find talented AND technical partners in crime to play with. So we roped in Johann, an old friend of mine and outstanding drummer, whose playing has just the right blend of power, drive, and intricate originality that we were looking for; and then David fell out of the sky after trying three or four bass players. Something clicked when he joined – on a human and musical level, and that’s what got us started on the first album.
Was there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
Well – a massively important line-up change between the first and second album.
Although we were all very happy and proud of the first album, “The Ropes”, making it took its toll : Julien chose to leave the band early in the process of recording the second one, because there was too much going on in his personal life to keep up with the work needed for us to sound the way we want to. David, our bass player, was in fact always a guitarist at heart, and had gradually taken over much of the prep and performance work for the songs that ended up on the second album, so he naturally slipped into the role; which means we had to find another bass player, Arnaud, who was recommended by a mutual friend because he has very similar work ethics to ours and can play the roof off.
Also, the new songs were clearly written and arranged to be performed on stage with two guitars, and so we recruited another guitarist, Nico, an old friend of mine as well, whom I knew from playing with him in that infamous cover band had that unique, funk-metal inflected sound and style – David and him take lead or rhythm depending on the song and who feels comfortable with what, which is a pretty unique setup but it’s typical of how we work : all in the service of the song and the sound we aim to create.
Last but not least, we’ve finally hired a competent manager – Emma, who also turns out to be a very skilled keyboard player and backing singer, so she’s with us on stage performing most of the synth parts – there’s very little left for the sequencer to do. All ends well that ends well – we’re still very good friends with Julien, and we sound bigger and better than ever.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
On stage, it was bringing the house down when we opened for Deep Purple in front of 16,000 fans in Riga. They lapped it up like crazy even though we were the last thing standing between them and Rock Royalty. Off stage, it was the release of our second album, “The Maze”, last November – it’s getting rave reviews everywhere, and it’s going to come out on vinyl in a couple of months. That’s an important format to me – I just played the test pressing this week and it sounds incredible, almost better than the real thing ☺.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
With great pain.
We’re generally label Alternative hard rock, which is fair – the spine of most song is hard rock riffing, but the vocal melodies and arrangements have more of a stadium-sized alt rock quality, and there’s an element of electronic post punk tension in the atmosphere we create. Sort of a cross between the faster end of stoner with Depeche Mode and Muse. What’s interesting is that Arnaud and Nico are bringing an element of groove into it which is a little different from what’s on the albums (they weren’t with us yet when we finished “The Maze”, and the songs are evolving in a way that sounds really cool and interesting. But it isn’t going to make the description any easier. Kyuss + Depeche + Muse + Living Color anyone ?
What is your creative process like?
A mess. You don’t wanna know. We’re all incredibly demanding and nitpicky; Yvan (Barone), our rec engineer, and Brian (Robbins), our mix engineer, both deserve a medal.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Go back in time and make Spotify not happen.
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
Don’t take advice from us. We spend so much time getting the music to sound exactly like we want it, we can’t promote ourselves for shit.
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
I would have to go with the Deep Purple thing above, but a tie would be the first time we played on stage with Arnaud and Nico at a festival in the North of France. Great crowd, great sound, and that’s when we realize the power of this new version of the band and what fun it was to own the stage together. And that’s even before Emma joined. It’ll be even cooler with her.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
Are we musicians ? I think I’d be a hifi dealer. I’d have 5 clients but I’d be fun.
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
The new album, “The Maze”, and its latest single, “Queen of the Broken.” Both are off to a really nice start for us as an indie band, and I can’t wait for people to hear the vinyl version.
