A Sunday Conversation with The March

If you've been reading The Ripple Effect for any amount of time, then you probably know that we have a love affair with the French underground. Over the years, we've talked with Hollow Corp., Hypno5e, Abysse, Mindslaved, and today, we have the gentlemen from the quasi-hardcore, post-punk-y, low end driven metallic masters, the March. Sit back and read up on how these guys came into being, their views on the French music scene, and how they create the oppressive sounds that only they can.

Every musician is influenced by those who came before them, but what were your major musical epiphanies that inspired you to create music? What major musical moments helped define you as musicians?

 JB: Well, how to start? It's quite particular for my case because my influences, the music I listen to most of the time and with the most pleasure, is not at all "metal" kind of music. I listen a lot to 60's-70's music (rock, folk, experimental ...) Then, I don't know if these influences are strongly present in the music I write ... I don't think I'm the best person to tell whether or not ! Otherwise, about my musical course ... I started playing when I had my first pimples and when I listened to early 90's rock bands (people said grunge at that time) but I already enjoyed a lot more extreme music like black metal or death metal. But, it's the practice of guitar that really put me into something else than musical "brutality" ... I listen, as well, to hippie music, electro, folk, soul, rock (all kinds), some jazz, hip-hop ... the "Metal" cliché is OK for 2 sec but there has to be something else into it.

Sébastien: For me in general: grind, grunge and sludge. For Dead Ends and Blind Spots, Jean-Bastien is the main compositor (writer ?) of the guitar riffs. After he writes it, each one sees what he can do to put his touch on the ideas.

Olivier: Intense and emotional music has always had a strong influence on me. Bands such like At The Drive-In, Vision Of Disorder or Will Haven for instance (among many other stuff) gave me the will to start playing music. Then, musical moments are not necessarily the only things that put me into music. Life moments, introspection, writing can be factors as important as musical moments that made me cross the line.

Dead Ends and Blind Spots is a half hour of brutal music. But you guys added subtle elements of jazz and more “delicate” sounds to the overall aggressive nature of the music. Was this a conscious decision or something that just occurred?

JB: I would say that in a certain way it was done with consciousness for my case. Like I explained before I listen to a lot of music. Since I only play in this only band for now, I wanted to marry "all" my different influences. And well, it turned out that the result was called "post-hardcore". Then, more generally, there is no calculation on how we're going to put the different riffs together ... It's quite basic actually! We play, if it sounds good, we work on it. And after a while if it still pleases us we keep it! For the future we don't know how it's going to evolve, since the band has been under its actual format for about one year only. For instance, the new songwriting that we've made is different. We know better each other as musicians and we know where we want to go. Yet, the limit of this process is to repeat the same music that we've made; we wish to avoid that. There will always have a particular factor in the substance but not necessarily in the form. At least I hope so!

Sébastien: Yes, you know for Dead Ends and Blind Spots, I think everyone has put his touch but maybe it's too dislocated. Really I hope in the future we can make simple, beautiful and ballsy music. When I say that, I think about ANCIENT SEED which is the best song for me: simplicity and good riffs; a little bit of melodies, not too aggressive and really efficient. A LAST BREATH is a good example of our melodic parts; aggressiveness in a "progressive" way. I don't really like MONSTERS WE'VE CREATED because I think it's a good studio song but a bad live song. For the two other songs I feel between enthusiasm and neutrality. In fact I enjoy our first EP. The next one (!?) will be really different and more with a live sound.

Olivier: I really enjoy the result of DEAD ENDS and BLIND SPOTS, what we've done and everything, but as Sébastien, I hope our future music is going to be more direct and raw.

From where we’re sitting, the French music scene appears to be a burgeoning entity of massive creativity. Being that you’re there, does it feel the same way?

JB: For once we are not chauvinist! If you read most of the French musical press, French scene is hopeless and is 10 years late. There are some bands that I like in France: Magma, Revok, Celeste for rock music. There are way more in electro : Le Peuple de l'Herbe, High Tone, Zenzile

Sébastien: It's a subjective position. France still has frustrations, like the "US sound" for instance. So maybe we have a massive creativity but there is not a real identity. I really think other places have a massive creativity. Belgium is a good example. Their scene (AmenRa, K Branding, Arkangel) is really various and true. In France we copy the US and the UK scenes, but its normal, all the bands we've listened to are from out there. Now France has a really good potential in being part of the international music scene. I remember when I was a young boy there was no French band that could approach the power and the quality of the sound like in the US or the UK, but now times are changing.

Olivier: Well, I think we do have our own identity in many styles... We have bands such as I Pilot Daemon, Tanen, Celeste, Plebeian Grandstand, Time To Burn, and so on ... that don't have to blush compared to other international artists.

Is there a lot of camaraderie within the various bands of the French underground?

JB: Ahah that's a good joke! We cannot really say how it goes within the country according to our level. The bands from around where we are talk and support the scene a lot, most of the time on internet forums. I think there is a lot of hypocrisy on that point. Everyone runs for himself and they talk a lot. When it's time to contact you back to play, there's no one anymore. If the bands we've invited would have given us the chance, it would not be difficult to play. Still, even the bands that liked what we were doing one year ago (although it wasn't that amazing) haven't given their opinion on this EP. We prefer the Belgian state of mind, for the audience and the mentality of the organizers as well. People are less uptight and calculating than in here I guess. Then, maybe that someday we'll get the chance to share a gig with a "sane" band.

Sébastien: Not really! Frenchies are too frenchies ... When an association or a band contact another band to play with them, it's just to play on their equipment. I'm simplifying but that's not very far from the truth.

Olivier: Well, I just cannot agree with these statements, I don't think this is so dark ... we invited some bands to play and some of them gave us the chance (I got names ...) as well as some of them invited us without any calculation of anything ... Still, I don't believe anyone contacted us to play only in order to play on our equipment or anything ... This is not a plot, we are not martyrs ... It even happened to us to meet great and involved people ... I don't know why my folks are so pessimistic ... Maybe things could be better but I don't think this is so bad ... Maybe we should look at ourselves in the mirror before talking ...

What do you see as being the biggest obstacle in getting your music heard in some of the more major markets, such as the U.S.?

JB: Just by the fact there are tons of bands whose music is superior to ours. Moreover, I guess that not many countries get interested in France.

Sébastien: The obstacle: we are French. Now it's different (thanks GOJIRA). We don't have the same structures as typical US bands do; it's different because we don't have the same culture and historical influences. We are an old country with an old demagogy. We are too much self-sufficient, this is the problem.

Olivier: Moreover, the music we play is not very "trendy" and we don't have a big communication approach that would make people know us more. But it's nice to see medias like yours getting interested in what we do. Spread the word!

What piece of your music are you particularly proud of?

JB: Hard question! Sometimes ANCIENT SEED, sometimes A LAST BREATH ... On stage it's definitely ANCIENT SEED.

Sébastien: The sound quality (http://www.myspace.com/electrikbox), the Artwork (from myself) and just for me my bass riff on ANCIENT SEED with the P.O.G. stompbox (polyphonic octave generator). 

Olivier: I would put ANCIENT SEED as #1 by far. Then I also like MONSTERS WE'VE CREATED.

When you write a piece of music, do you consciously write from the mind set of being different than what's out there now?

JB: I'm not a good musician enough to transcribe what I really have in my head ... it never happens besides. I seldom have a guitar in my hands when I got an idea. Usually, I smoke a couple of joints, I play ... Sometimes it comes right away, sometimes it stays as it is for months and I come back to it later, there are no set rules.

Sébastien: Not absolutely.

Olivier: Trying to create something musically different and new has always been a goal to me. I don't know if we've managed to reach this goal with the EP but I think it's important to have in mind the will to make music evolve, as little your contribution can be. Then, you succeed or not but this is an approach I will always have.

What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?

JB: Like most of musicians, the music we play has a cathartic dimension. It's is made to exorcize my past demons, my bitter thoughts, my anxieties ... Well, nothing that extraordinary! Then I believe that life and music can and have to be linked in order to be honest, and that regardless the kind of music played. And since our/my lives/life, our music, evolve between oppressive and ethereal climates ... Darkness and light ... My profession also helps me to catch states of minds. I work with mentally ill kids who are subject to massive anxiety fits and who can't express themselves. In some ways, I need to be a "catcher" to understand them and to allow them to feel better, to improve in life. So maybe I catch all these dark thoughts and they are brought out in my riffs. Then, what the audience feels ... I don't know and it doesn't really matter to me in exaggerating. We've never really had people telling us what they think at the end of the shows. But I guess that people who enjoy our music do it for the same reasons that we write it.

Sébastien: Fine sound, great sound on stage and to produce an authentic music for an authentic "recognition"

Olivier: I first started to play music to express the lyrics I've written before, to express concretely what I wanted to scream or vomit; I just wanted to have an outlet. So it might be selfish but I first play for myself and I don't really try to get the audience feel anything special. On stage I am as I am, and people feel what they want to feel; I think it's important for a band to be sincere. Shows are not a circus, this is not a theater play or anything, this is all about music, about what we truly are. Actually, I think it can be interesting when people tell us how they felt and lived our music rather than guiding them so they feel what we wanted them to feel.

The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?

JB: I don't think that any of the members of the band has ever imagined to make a living of our music, if I understood your question. I think the band's plans are quite basic. Become better, refine our musical identity, experiment (for instance I would like to introduce some samples in the band). Make shows and improve our performances. I think we will always be motivated to play as long as it will be a pleasure to meet in our locale, to play together and to talk shit when we take a break!

Sébastien: Yes, you know I think that when one really enjoys something in particular, one is always ready to make efforts to go at the concerts, buy your stuff. Now it's harder to find good shows. Lots of bands, lots of gigs, very little quality. Good bands and good shows are difficult to find. Motivation ? Less and less, but that's because I'm a capricious person. Then I will say Yes, I'm always ready!

Olivier: To make a living of our music has never been a goal, so we find the motivation elsewhere. In ourselves, in everyday's life, in friendship. Like in a relationship, you never know what's going to happen; it could end tomorrow as it could never end ...

Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

JB: My choice would be vinyl. But CD for the distribution. Digital when I don't have money, when I enjoy the music but not so much and when it's too expensive. Well this is economic crisis!

Sébastien: I like the vinyl for the Artwork capacity and to play Frisbee on summer beach. I like CD for the pocket capacity and to put it in my toast. I like digital for the transmission capacity and to listen to shitty quality sound No, seriously now I think digital is the good one. The music business evolves and music too.

Olivier: I don't know where that vinyl trendy kind of stuff comes from. It's not convenient at all but I must say that this trend makes beautiful items. I guess digital would be my choice; the only disadvantage would be the sound quality but most of the time you can convert the sound in high quality, when it's possible for the ear to hear any quality difference. But there are so many advantages: storage, availability, costs, and so on ...

A Sunday Conversation with Abysse

French ambient metallers, Abysse, floored us with their two song EP entitled Le vide est forme.Filled with huge swells of sound and complex musical arrangements, this disc made the Ripple office stop and take note. A few months back, we were able to spend a few moments with the band to find out more about how they create their wondrous sounds and to find out more about the music scene in France. 

Every musician is influenced by those who came before them, but what were your major musical epiphanies that inspired you to create music? What major musical moments helped define you as musicians?

Abysse is a "friend band". We grew up together since we were 6 years old. Now, we are 20, time spent together has permitted us to discover huge bands as Opeth, Lamb of God, The Haunted but also to create our own music database, sometimes enjoying bands that the others totally dislike!

Defined as a beginner musician was an easy step "Hey Guys, it's time to learn instruments and create a rock band" (Summer 2004). Easy as fuck, uh?

We needed barely 3 years to create what Abysse is now. Mastering instruments, developing, creating.. We recorded "Le vide est forme" in summer 2008, exactly 4 years after the killing question: "Hum, who wants to play guitar? You Vincent? So I'll learn bass. What is a bass guys?" 

Entering in this professional recording studio was time to feel like a musician and say 'Hey, I'm part of a rock band. Not the best, not the perfect one, but a cool rock band. That's what we wanted guys, we’ve done it!' A year after, we can say that it was a little step, and we are now in front of the wall.

Le vide est forme is only a two song, twenty minute long EP. What made you decide to issue this release as an EP and not go for a full length product?

 Our writing process is very long. When we recorded it, we didn't have any add songs to record. It was the moment to end the garage band period. The concept "2 tracks - 20 minutes" was strong, original. We had a good feeling with our studio engineer (David Potvin from the band Lyzanxia (Listenable records) and One Way Mirror (Metal Blade). He understood what we wanted and made a very good job, giving soul to our universe. It was another step, give the audience our identity ' We are an ambient band, will never create radio hit'

From where we’re sitting, the French music scene appears to be a burgeoning entity of massive creativity. Being that you’re there, does it feel the same way?

 France is a particular country. Metal music is not considered as music for masses. Our top 5 is Rn'B, Electro, Pop, Rap and French variety. So there is no institute, no structure for metal bands. We have to find by ourselves the great bands who really kick ass in different styles. It's not so easy for them (and us!) to be heard. Many talents stay anonymous while our French proud (Gojira, Hacride..) is getting bigger and bigger. We've got a few bands who cross borders, who are recognize in foreign country. Even if we've got great bands (take a listen to Watertank, Overmars, A Subtle Understatement), we find that the French scene is poor as well. Maybe because we've got many bands who are a 'copy of a copy'. Dejà-vu as we say in France.

Is there a lot of camaraderie within the various bands of the French underground?

 Metalhead’s are very nice, sure it's the case in the whole world. We’ve toured since late 2008, so we do not meet a lot of people, but it's been a great pleasure to share with musicians, promoters (sometimes you find great assholes, but we forget them as fast as possible). We met superstar (Guillaume Bideau haha(singer from Mnemic, One Way Mirror, Scarve..!) and great unknown bands. When people are motivated, they are interesting!

What do you see as being the biggest obstacle in getting your music heard in some of the more major markets, such as the U.S.?

 US market is not untouchable. We don't have any distributor for the moment . . . maybe because we didn't search them. But it will be the next step for our first LP (recording session in a year maybe). For the moment, we will have to share with people like you, getting reviews and interviews, find radios... It's a very hard work. We are actually working on many foreign magazines, but sometimes, they are not translated in English... Hard time!

Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

We probably have the most weird way to write... We get together in our rehearse place and play, until finding the best riff/arrangement. We only work together, 4 musicians, 1 music... We are not able to write alone as many bands. If one of the members is not here (even the bass player!), we can't write!

It starts with a guitar riff. Our drummer is the orchestra chief, he gives them sense, a soul, and the way he plays, our guitarist will accommodate for the next. Leads come naturally on and bass gives basement, leads by the drums. We need about 4 month to write a ten minute song... For our upcoming first long play, we decided to think about a concept, how we want to feel the songs, get a view of the art work. We've got a direction to create a coherent album.

What piece of your music are you particularly proud of?

 We love what we play, we give pleasure to ourselves. That's how we feel music. We are happy to see people supporting us, loving personal music like ours. We are proud about one thing. Show to people that music sometimes doesn't need vocals.

The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?

 We can't pretend to live with music. But we've got inside of us the energy to push the band as far away, away as we can. We spend a lot of time with promotion, management, and booking. When you want to go further, you have to think business. Play instrumental underground pieces and think money both is possible . . . haha. We consider us a self managed band. We do everything. We produce our own show in our region, so we played with great bands (Hacride, Kruger.) We create our own promotion/management/booking structure, working as me want. We are actually evoluate as booker, working on a west euro tour with good bands, including Abysse as opening act. We want to become a label soon to sign Abysse and re edit 'Le vide est forme'. Work hard is the best way to get notoriety. When our next album will be recorded, we will need to find a bigger label, tour agency.

Describe to us the ideal (realistic) record label and how you'd work with them, and they with you.

 Ideal professional structure are the ones who give us musical liberty, let us work as we want, but giving us what you can't get alone (International distribution, euro tour, maybe US Tour :)) We stay unskilled in some domains, we need elders to get what we want, a label that works for you if you work for them. These two last questions give you a taste of how our business works.

Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

If you want Vinyl or CD, you need money. When we've got some to spend on good stuff, we get a better appreciation when items are real, artwork bigger. We will never buy mp3.

Extended Play Tuesday: The French Collective

For several months, hell . . . let’s just call it a year or so, we’ve been moving a lot of dirt around to uncover an entire ecosystem of musicians plying their trade and creating a sound that’s unlike any we’ve heard from around the world. I guess, technically, the world focus hit France with the discovery of Gojira, but the world media seems to only be paying attention to that which is creeping its way to the surface. For The Ripple Effect, our attention was grasped by two deformed, dirt encrusted, rotting hands in the form of Hollow Corp. It was with that discovery of Cloister of Radiance that we grabbed every digging device that we could wrap our own deformed and dirt encrusted hands upon, and began turning over the French countryside soil to discover even more incredibly dense and uniquely brilliant musical gems. Some were hand delivered by like minded soil movers, others made their way out of the darkened catacombs with their wee little mole eyes squinting in the harsh light of the sun, while others we found by unexpectedly poking them in the stomachs with the tips of our spades. In all, this French Collective of musically minded patrons of the sonic arts has stamped their own individual imprint onto the face of the French music scene. Though, some may not be as popular as others, they all have contributed a massive amount of emotion and creativity to this sect of the French culture.

Today, we have three bands, all hailing from France, and all providing their own unique touch to the music that they create. Put them all together and you get a glimpse of what this burgeoning music scene is like. Ripe with creative sounds, ambient textures, grinding low end, buzz saw aggression, and tormented vocals, the music covers a wide spectrum of emotion and artful expression.

Abysse – Le vide est forme EP

Deuces are wild on this EP from French underground ambient metallers, Abysse, as Le vide est forme clocks in at near twenty-two minutes and is only two songs long. Somewhat Opeth-ian in sound due to the fantastic transitions that they incorporate into the songs, shifting from melodically ambient passages to heavy detuned riffs then hopping over to another dimension of riff happy heaven, there is no question that these guys have the ability to transport the listener to completely foreign lands, and some that are not of this world. And here’s the wrinkle in the fabric of this tapestry of sound. There are no vocals. Much like I felt way back when I reviewed East of the Wall’s Farmer’s Almanac album, with so much going on in the music, sometimes taking out a seemingly important quality such as vocals is the best thing for the music as a whole. Quite honestly, Abysse say so much with the music that the human voice is unimportant in expressing any further ideas or emotions.

“Deviance” is a sprawling, epic, majestic piece of sound that is simply an amazing experience to listen to. High quality musicianship powers the song along the more melodic portions, such as the opening Middle Eastern influenced portion and then the heavy tom slamming break near the eight minute mark. I particularly love this latter portion as the guitars execute some beautiful hammer-on’s while the drummer is getting all tribal on our collective asses. This portion is a great mixture of primal aggression and delicate musicianship, and shows the layers of this bands understanding of dynamics. As the song progresses even further, the dual guitars sharing harmonies and weaving the melodies through the heavy rhythms are simply ear candy. The conclusion of the track is orgasmic. All the tension that’s been building up over the course of the last ten minutes finally erupts, the toes curl, and Abysse leaves the listener in a mild state of confusion, breathless, and coated in goo. The least they could have done was bought me dinner first, but I’ll forgive this slight transgression coz’ it was good for me. I hope it’s equally as good for you.

www.myspace.com/abyssegroupe

The March – Dead Ends and Blind Spots

Five songs long, yet still clocking in at just about thirty minutes, this one is damn near LP length, but since it’s only five songs, I’ll go ahead and lump it in with the EP’s. The March are more of that kind of band that we found while digging in the rich and loamy soil of the French countryside opposed to the more refined and elegant bands. Dead Ends and Blind Spots is brutally heavy, detuned, distorted, and aggressive from here to eternity. Though there are some great moments of ambient flair and atmospheric beauty, this band is ghastly and oppressive. Listening to these guys while the sky is coated gray (or blood red) is the optimum way to hear them. Foreboding might be the best single word to describe the emotions behind their sound, because while you sit back and listen to this disc, you have to be overcome with the sense that something bad is about to happen. There’s a little edge of punk in their sound, namely in the aggressive manner of the emotional conveyance, but the overall sound is taking up residence in the metal spectrum.

Dead Ends and Blind Spots weaves back forth between metal and punk with effortless grace. “Find Some Rest” flitters in the arena of death metal ambience, clean toned guitars leading the song down a dark tunnel of despair, the drums echo off the walls in time with our rapidly rising heart beat, and then, nestled deep in the dismal and damp confines of this catacomb, the beast awaits. Vocals that vomit fear assail the senses and a din of heavily distorted and detuned guitars pummel the body into submission. And, just as terrifying a journey as this song has become, the ending is as delicately beautiful as it gets as the clean toned guitars return and carry our beaten and battered forms to a holier place. “Ancient Seed” is laced with a violent punk vibe. The chord progressions at the chorus, in particular, give this song a punk-y edge, but there’s so much attention to musicality that this becomes more of a progressive piece, some might even say post-punk. I think it has a nice level of complexity, mixing in great artistic elements of metal with a disenchanted punk rock attitude. In fact, the whole EP has great elements like this breaking out throughout its length. The nine minute disc closer, “A Last Breath” is a chaotic gem filled with high levels of musical proficiency and raw emotion, a burly piece of music that reminds me of the dark sonic qualities of countrymen, Eryn Non Dae., but with a bit more diversity and air for the music to breathe.

www.myspace.com/themarchband

Mindslaved – T(h)ree

Also clocking in at a half hour, T(h)ree from the experimentalist ambient metal outfit, Mindslaved, is a sprawling masterpiece of raw emotion set to sound. And, it’s the kind of work that gets better and better with every subsequent listen. Layered miles deep, the sounds that encompass this work are majestic and the way these guys use textures to enhance the brutality of the metal is on par with the masters of the genre. T(h)ree is not a disc that benefits from passive listening. This is a work that needs your full, undivided attention because there is so much happening that to half listen to it, the full breadth of the music will inevitably get lost. As I sit back and listen to this EP, I can’t help but think of Hypno5e, maybe a little bit of Hacride, but more importantly, I hear a group of musicians who hear and create music in their own individualistic way. Odd time changes, incorporating clean tones with distorted ones, shrieking vocals that emote huge waves of passion and agony, in all . . . a turbulent expression of pain. It’s beautiful!

“Ischiopagus” is an amazing lesson is musicianship. Starting off as heavy as anything else out there, Mindslaved guide the song in a direction that I never saw coming. By working in a fantastic melody through the body of the distorted frenzy, these guys are showing this great contrast of heavy and light, and it all sounds so natural and effortless. Then, to make the ears perk up and the heartbeat increase, the rhythms kick in with an off time pattern that can sound jarring, but in its own way is as natural as being aboard a ship during a roiling sea. The riff kicking in near the 2:30 mark is simply brilliant. Tight hammer-on’s propel the riff while the rhythm section practically performs a piece that has no place in reality. And then, the chaos just vanishes and we’re left to listen to a gorgeous acoustic guitar that acts as a ray of sunshine in the middle of the storm. Truly a stunning piece! Following “Ischiopagus,” Mindslaved treat us to a beastly number in “Seek For Yourself.” Raging in off time rhythms, the band find a way of working compelling melodies to lighten the piece, but at the same time, creates a sense of tension and anticipation that something nasty is going to appear in our midst. These guys also do a great job of mixing in subtle nuances into their sound such as the second bellowing vocal on this track. Listen out for how these guys shift sounds from the right speaker to the left, and then back again. It’s a subtle effect, but the type of production trickery that keeps the ears listening for something new around each and every corner. The entire EP is littering with technically mind blowing approaches that will have you hitting rewind so that you can ensure that you heard what you thought you just heard.

www.myspace.com/mindslaved

 - Pope JTE