Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Bang, bang, bang.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: Bang.
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Bang, bang, bang, bang.
[00:00:09] Speaker C: Banger.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Hello, guys.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: How are you? Good, thanks. Yourself?
[00:00:20] Speaker B: Good.
[00:00:21] Speaker C: I've been worse.
No, right now actually very, very much up.
[00:00:29] Speaker D: That's good.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: So because of the health, because of the festival, because of the weather, because of. What.
Do you think? We talk a lot about the festival, of course. And we are going to talk about the album, of course too. But what do you think about Alfes? Is that the huge festival, metal festival? Is that the one? We are French, so we are just like, you know who we are.
[00:00:55] Speaker D: We are proud of it.
[00:00:58] Speaker C: The short answer is yes. I mean, look, when I.
As late as earlier today, I was explaining this festival to a person that doesn't know anything about anything when it comes to heavy music.
So, like, it's me. It is.
If you ask me, are there like, what band is playing there? I'm going to say everybody.
And also it's a mix between a festival and Distant land for adults.
But so for us it means a lot. And also this festival means a lot. I think we've done a lot of great shows here and these shows have always been amazing and France is always good to us.
However, my teenage daughter is here and she doesn't care shit about this festival.
She's in the bus drinking Coke and eating candy and watching TikTok.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: She's having a ball. She's having a great time.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: Yeah, that was like walking. And I told her, isabel, you don't even know how many famous people you're close to. Like, does it look like I care?
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:02:12] Speaker D: Do you think it's a festival problem or generation?
[00:02:17] Speaker C: That's her problem.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: So you're happy to be here and to you. Do you remember the first time you went in a festival? Like, not like a band, you know, as.
[00:02:30] Speaker D: Not as a band, but as a customer, yourself, viewer.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: Do you remember? Maybe not.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: I think I actually went to a festival playing before I went as a spectator.
[00:02:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:45] Speaker A: Because I didn't really go to festivals much when I was a kid, but I started touring when I was pretty young. So I think.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Oh yeah?
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:53] Speaker C: I'm trying to think. I mean, we were lucky enough to be able to be old enough to see like when, like in Sweden for like mostly in Sweden, when festivals was a huge thing. Like we had this iconic festival called Hulstfeld Festivalen, which basically like every band has played.
And that was like, it's in south of Sweden, like 12 hour drive. So that was like iconic place that you wanted to visit. And I was trying to think, like, did I Have I ever. I don't think I ever went there without playing.
Like the worst. I'm not a festival person.
I like clean toilets, I like taking a shower.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: I understand.
[00:03:37] Speaker C: And I think that we lived in the artists camping, so I haven't been to like a big festival, not playing.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: We're not festival too.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: We're the same.
So when we talk about Cult of Suna, we talk about an experience, you know what I mean? Because you're so famous for your sound, your spirit, all the things you create.
[00:04:02] Speaker D: The immersive aspect of the music too.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: And is that for you too a special human experience or it is more like a cultural experience? You know what I mean?
Maybe it's a difficult question or maybe bullshit question. I don't know
[00:04:24] Speaker A: really see the difference. I mean, culture is also human, but
[00:04:31] Speaker B: because maybe when it's human it's more emotional, you know, it's more to put emotions like this.
[00:04:37] Speaker A: According to me, there's no culture without emotions anyway. So to me it's a symbiotic thing.
But yeah, so that's my take on it.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: I mean, I think a question like that is very hard to. I mean, a lot of. When it comes to interviews in general, you get a lot of question about intentions, about how it is for you and your. Well, I feel like you are expected to give all these elaborate answers about big ideas turning into some concrete stuff on stage, when in reality we just do stuff.
And I don't want to downplay what we do at all. It's very, very important. And for me going on stage, it means a lot. And it's like taking my emotional Persona and take all the emotions and put them on max in different directions.
And we always, even when we didn't have that big of a budget, was trying to do things a bit differently. We brought. Very early on we brought our own lights, for example.
But when it comes down to it, it just.
The sum of our band is like each individual member and we create something together. And not only the people you see on stage, it's people that we work with, that we create ideas with.
Everyone behind the stage and on the stage are a part of it. And I don't know. And then we just do stuff.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah, we do stuff. And I mean, we've never really. We haven't worked with a producer ever because in some ways, since we are so like, to be quite honest for him, this is a huge thing. I mean, it's a huge thing for me too to play here. But musically I couldn't tell you
[00:06:43] Speaker B: I'm
[00:06:44] Speaker A: more like Isabel, I think, in the way that. I don't know, I'm like, oh, that. Of course, I know some of the bands and artists, but it's not where I come from musically.
What I've been listening to is. But when we meet up and we come with. From these different musical, you know.
[00:07:04] Speaker D: Sorry, backgrounds.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly.
So we kind of act like each other's producers in a way, because we bring different ideas. And, I mean, it can create some tension because we just have different preferences. But in the very end, we reach something that everyone is proud of and everyone gets to feel like it's actually my feelings are there, my preferences. And everyone can sort of. Which is a huge part I would like to think of. I mean, the reason why we sound the way we do. Because if we would all listen to the same kind of. Which is the case with a lot of bands, and they might need a producer to sort of. Okay, but can we sort of make this. Can we mirror this in a different way?
But we do that ourselves, just by our preferences and our backgrounds, I think. And I don't want to.
Maybe I sounded disrespectful. That was not my intention with the festival, obviously, but it's more just what I tend to listen to. And also, I often refer to. When it comes to describing your process or your intentions and what you want to say.
Tony Williams, one of the greatest jazz drummers ever in the 80s, he was asked because he was really pushing the boundaries when it comes to playing.
And, you know, people tried to even understand what he was doing.
So they asked him, like, what. What are you thinking? What are you thinking about when you're playing?
And he said, if I could tell you, I wouldn't play.
So. So that's kind of what. It's a language on its own. And it's really. So it's.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: It.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: I mean, if we could, we would tell you, but that's not perfect. You see what I mean?
[00:09:06] Speaker B: Perfect answer.
[00:09:09] Speaker A: Perfect answer.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: So you got a new album, too? New song right now, and a new album coming, like the 6th of November. If I don't say a thing.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: No, it's.
[00:09:20] Speaker C: When is it?
[00:09:23] Speaker B: At the end of the year.
In the shadow of your shadow. And the subject is really specific.
You said it's. I'm gonna try to say it in English.
It's like you're a liar.
[00:09:40] Speaker D: You know, A liar inside of us? Yeah, in everybody.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: We've got everybody.
[00:09:46] Speaker D: No,
[00:09:50] Speaker C: no, you're referring to the quote that I wrote very, very, very early in the morning after I was the same day that released the song. But it's not less true because of that. But yeah, maybe the wording was a bit half dreamy, half a week.
But it's also like, I think it's very hard when you answer questions about things like that because you're balancing on a tightrope between being personal, being private. I have no problem of being personal.
I have a problem of being private. But generally I can say that that song.
Well, that lyric for that song is written.
And that's one thing that I have tried to do more when it comes to writing lyrics is that it's very often it's easy to write from me perspective, first person. But getting into other characters and other. From different perspectives is something that I really haven't done before.
And for this particular song, it's like making a side of you or a personality trait to a character and maybe a character that you thought like you don't want to be a part of you, but it is.
And things that just pop up after you think you kind of cut the ties 20 years ago and then all of a sudden, what the fuck are you doing here?
Things like that.
So, yeah, that's. I think I'm going to put a period after that sentence. Yes.
[00:11:42] Speaker D: This song is really dark. I think when I listened to it, I thought it was one of the darkest song I've heard from you.
Is that. Is it.
Is it a general thing on this new album or is it.
[00:12:01] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that that that was the first song that we finished on the writing session on this and. And I kind of. I like doing one song that can.
That can kind of give the mood for the. Yeah, exactly.
[00:12:16] Speaker D: Set the track.
[00:12:17] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:12:18] Speaker D: And I also found maybe I'm wrong, but you were experiencing new things with your voice, trying new way of singing, new, making more variation. Am I right or.
[00:12:32] Speaker C: You are right in the sense that I would say up until four years ago, doing vocals was a very stressful experience because I was dependent on other people helping me out. So I had like two hours in the studio. Now we have to do this. And I felt like my voice didn't work, but still I had to push through.
But from like four years ago when we got our, like our studio ready and I learned how to do record vocals for good and for ill, I've been able to do it myself.
So I. I've been able to go to the studio, do vocals for 20 minutes, 40 minutes, until I felt okay. Now it's starting to die off. I'm gonna go back again. The problem with that is I have never, not even close, worked on the vocals. So much that I've done on this album, like, it's not even the time I spent recording vocals on all the other albums combined would probably not even be 20% of what I'd be doing. This. I think there's like at least 12 vocal tracks on every song, at least.
I'm not saying. And the problem we have talked about this is that being able to be this kind of a perfectionist might actually be kind of a double edged sword. Because you become too perfectionist.
[00:14:10] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:14:10] Speaker C: And we were sitting in studio and like, no, fuck, I got to redo this, erase everything. I'll be back in three days and I'll have.
And these guys like, well, it sounds exactly the same,
[00:14:25] Speaker D: but that's. Being such a perfectionist can be like. It's a big discussion right now in the live music because a lot of bands are relying on computers, tracks, pre recorded effect change and stuff like this to make every show easier to be perfect.
Seeing you live, you're not. I mean, perfect.
Oh, no, thanks, man.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: Continue this sentence.
[00:14:56] Speaker D: It's really intense every time, but it's. Everybody is putting 100% of themselves in. In the track, in the show, in everything that's.
I had the chance to go on some shows with you and I remember you like being really sick at the end of the show, like coughing but going for it again and again. It was amazing to see someone so dedicated in the music.
What is your point of view about this? Because being a perfectionist on the, on the record, you maybe also want to be a perfectionist on, on the live aspect of it, on the stage and, and keeping the. Keeping the true interpretation live is. Is hard when you want to do both. What, what's your point on, on this.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: I think we differ in, in this.
To me, the studio work is something. It's a universe of its own.
Now.
We put as much effort as we can into each element and we can allow ourselves to be.
I mean, perfectionist is not only trying to be meticulous about small details. Being perfectionist can also be what is the overall feel? What is the. Is this grooving or. You know, people tend to think that being a perfectionist is like being very, very specific. To me, it can be broad things too, but.
And then you do the live part and you make the changes you need in order to still keep the core of the song. I'm not saying that you don't agree with this, but, but I think for you it might be more like, will I be able to do this playing and singing at the same time, stuff like that. Which is totally understandable. But to me it's like once you start playing the songs, like, okay, so how can we keep this as much as possible, but we don't need all the elements because when we play, people will be watching us, people will get the energy, the air moving, all of these things. So it's going to be a different experience anyway compared to sitting with your head phones. And so, yeah, so that, that's my. My take on it, the. The comparison.
[00:17:25] Speaker C: But yeah, yeah, I, I see where you're coming from, but like live, it's a different thing.
And I, I was surprised, actually. I talked to Chris front of house yesterday because he recorded a show we did a few months ago, and I listened to the recording and I was surprised that I was.
I wasn't sucking because honestly, I think that it's more important to be present in the performance more than to be perfectly tight. Yeah, for some bands it's very important. I mean, okay, like the obvious Michigan or like Tool balance, like that, or Rush. You know, things that are so on the clock are more needed to be that kind of. We do another thing we do. And I'm not judging better or worse. I'm just saying that we are doing different things that requires different things. And I don't put that much effort of playing. If I would try to play perfectly, I would be standing like. This wouldn't translate well with the audience.
It wouldn't translate well because I wouldn't feel comfortable and I could not do a good performance because that's what we're there to do. Do a performance and also whatever we need to do in order to be where we are at that moment.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure. And we were talking about it the other day. When it comes to playing to a. This is a bit nerdy, but like playing to a click track, which I've been doing for so many years with different bands, it's almost like the longer you play to a click live, the less tight you are to the click. Because at first you start out trying to hit it like very precisely, which is not grooving.
But then as the years go by, goes by, you sort of. You just use it as a. As a reference for the temple. But for sure, you're not on the clock.
[00:19:35] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Which hopefully makes it a bit more musical to listen to. I mean, and for our music, I think it's important to let it flow a Little bit. Because the other day something went wrong, so everyone had my click. So, like we said, again, nerdy. But we have sort of a drum click and a band click. So for parts where I'm not playing, the click comes on for the other guys, but now they have the click all the time.
So for them to have the click and me playing and not being, you know, trying to be spawned on it.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: Became pretty confusing, obviously.
But if you would have taken off out the click, then everything would have been more, you know. I think it sounded okay anyway.
[00:20:24] Speaker C: But good thing my earpiece went out.
[00:20:26] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. I was playing to you acoustically, which was great.
[00:20:31] Speaker C: It was perfect because we had some malfunctions and we have this monitor in. Ear monitors, and my.
Went out. So I was playing to his acoustic drums, which was a good thing because there was some technical malfunction that did that.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: You've done that for 30 years now.
[00:20:50] Speaker D: It's better to play with a drum than the click. I mean, for the rest of the band.
[00:20:55] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, that is the.
That's the captain that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:21:01] Speaker D: He's the only one bothered by the.
[00:21:04] Speaker A: And I've done it for so long, so I don't really think about it, but. But it's.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: You know, you just talk about all those things. I'm not a musician, so I think everything you said is magical. But at the same time, I'm full of anxiety of thinking about it. You know, I'm just like, I'll take my pills, please. I can't believe it's possible to have this click, click, click and everything like this. I can't, you know, I. I don't know how.
[00:21:29] Speaker C: It's cool. I did this project with James from Perturbator once.
[00:21:32] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:33] Speaker C: And we had, like, this hour of music and. And since there's so many keyboards and, like.
And that's the only time I've been a bit nervous. Like when he pressed play and that click start going for one hour. The train is leaving. You cannot miss one click. No, you're done. It's not like you can, like, oh, can we start over? No.
[00:21:54] Speaker D: Where are we?
[00:21:55] Speaker C: Like, the train is moving. You better get on.
[00:21:57] Speaker D: Jump, jump.
[00:21:58] Speaker C: And it's not like that when we do. And actually, I think it happened that we had some malfunction. We just go after, like, Thomas, He's.
And very often it's when things mismatch, we have eye contact and we like.
And that's a very big advantage when you play together for such a long time that you can kind of communicate
[00:22:20] Speaker D: by, you know each other so well.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: It's more human.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: It's more. Yeah. And we have fun playing. Sorry.
[00:22:27] Speaker D: It suits your music because as. As it looks really smart and it is.
I'm not saying it's.
[00:22:37] Speaker C: No, no, we're not.
At least not.
[00:22:40] Speaker D: I know you guys.
No, but I mean, people at first will think it's really smart and calculated and stuff like this.
A lot of people are telling me this about Cult of Luna where I just feel it's like raw emotion.
But the fact that you're all together, going so well together, it makes it
[00:23:01] Speaker B: so
[00:23:05] Speaker D: genuine and strong that it looks more elaborated. I mean.
[00:23:14] Speaker C: I mean, you don't have to explain.
I think I see where you're going and.
Yeah. I don't know.
[00:23:25] Speaker D: Well, just say yes. It was a nice thing.
[00:23:28] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:23:29] Speaker D: Take it.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Take it. Yeah.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: Thank you so much for everything, for your music, for who you are, and thank you for all those emotions. Thank you.
[00:23:40] Speaker A: Thank you for having us.
[00:23:41] Speaker D: And go see this band live. It's amazing every time.
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Thank you. Mercy Buku Mercy.
[00:23:48] Speaker C: Mercy.
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