...and football!
Yeah, since the band's quite new I do not own some live pics or live footages so this interview with Bordeaux, France doom act ENDLESS FLOODS will be punctuated with some of my all-time favorite football actions...
It's pretty difficult to deal with some really good friend's band; I once had a hardcore punk band with two of ENDLESS FLOODS members and they all are some of the best people on this planet (I love them as much as I hate them, that's the real meaning of being pals in my opinion). We have different tastes and behaviours, different life experiences and expectations but - the most important detail - we remain true to our real faith which is being true dickheads no matter how shitty the bands they play in are (trust me). For example, ENDLESS FLOODS, which is some kind of crying pachyderm heavy band, is the quintessence of the type of bands I definitely DO NOT listen to in my spare time. Does it mean I have goddam fine tastes? Absolutely, sir. Anyway, maybe you have shitty tastes too? Maybe you should try to listen to this fucking band?
("St" for Stéphane (vocals bass), "Si" for Simon (guitar), "B" for Boubi (drums))
Everything's going pretty fast: getting a decent line-up, recording songs to post on bandcamp, getting in touch with Breathe Plastic Records and producing two (soon to be) 2016 physical releases. Since I know you, I can these four songs on bandcamp are quite representative of your musical tastes and capacities.
First things first: how would you introduce ENDLESS FLOODS with regard to your longtime friendship and the fact you used to be flatmates during a couple of years?
B: We actually thought it'd be pretty easy for us to form this band while we were all living together so we could rehearse together there.
St: We started the band after being flatmates because we were up to make a three-piece band. We do not live together anymore but the band still exists. I've never been a musician in such a band and that was something I was quite interested in.
B: We did not want to be four, we still do not want to.
Then, can you introduce ENDLESS FLOODS with regard to your different participation in other bands (THE ENTERPRISE (chaotic/post-hardcore), MONARCH! (doom/drone) BOMBARDEMENT (d-beat), and ALIZON (folk), just to name a few)?
B: I think I'll speak for Stéphane and I because we both play in MONARCH! and BOMBARDEMENT and ENDLESS FLOODS is actually the first band we formed without the "elderly" scenesters. We did not want any constraint.
St: Let's say it was a different "contract" because we didn't start the band with any specific borders. We were free, even if the kind of music we play is codified but it was more the result of efficient rehearsal sessions. Although every band we played with together (BOMBARDEMENT, MONARCH!) or for example THE ENTERPRISE which was my own band even if I dropped the case since, had strong identities and it's fun to work with that but starting ENDLESS FLOODS seemed more released. For example, playing with Simon is really cool cause he's a really talented musician and we all need to live his musical feelings. Plus, I really want everyone in the band to be involved in its decisions the same way.
Si: In my case, I feel more involved in ENDLESS FLOODS cause with Alizon I do not write the songs even if I do some arrangements. I'm more an interpreter. With ENDLESS FLOODS I feel more free to work on the harmonies, it allows me to complete what I actually do with ALIZON.
B: And that's cool because even if we do meet some constraints, it is because we decided to act like this.
St: Plus, even if I do believe in some form of "seniority" in a band's life I did not want to apply this way of seeing things concerning ENDLESS FLOODS, it was a fresh start for everyone and we felt more free with that idea. But I insist on the importance of playing with older musicians in other bands and listening, understanding their vision.
B: I think we are able to highlight the more important aspects of being musicians playing in bands featuring different age groups, that's really cool.
I feel like this 2010 trend of playing loud and slowly is becoming obsolote to the benefit of some 90s kinds of music, and it's pretty much the case here in Bordeaux: you guys decided to form ENDLESS FLOODS at a time when practically no one is fond of that style! Is that a challenge or something...?
St: At the begining we were just like: "Ok: this band needs to rip...for us!" But the idea came with that frustration of not being able to listen to what I wanted the bands I was used to listen to must sound like. There are so much bands with an incredible sound but no riffs...! Or the contrary. There is no band I love from A to Z, so I was like: "Ok: maybe I should try to form my own band and see how it goes..."...
B: And, before we started the band but were already living together, I remember some times spent together listening for example YOB's "Catharsis" and be like: "Wow...!" and some HARVEY MILK's stuffs too, and we realised it was maybe the only thing we had in common: to like this type of music.
St: Plus, there's some weird shit going on with this specific kind of music... I spend my time texting new bands names I just discovered on the Internet to the boys - although I could figure that name "ENDLESS FLOODS" could sound pathetic - like "WEED DRUID", "WIZZARD MAMMUTH BASTARD..." I'm like: "C'mon guys...!" They totally mimic bands I just love since I'm 18, 19... bands we've seen live together like SLEEP... So I make amend to that kind of music I like and I'll do it my way.
Si: It's funny how you remember this SLEEP's show because I've never been really fond of any specific band and I've never played in that much bands but speaking of a band we saw together a few years ago, it was really that one which made me wanting to play that kind of music.
There was NEUROSIS this year too... Maybe ENDLESS FLOODS can reminds me some of their latest stuffs on their latest LP.
St: Yeah I think we are definitly closed to NEUROSIS than this "stoner/groove" thing.
B: I think it is really hard for us to deal with this kind of music because we do not identify the band with what they are doing.
But it can be a tough situation if you're invited to share a stage with shitty bands like those we are dealing with right now...
St: We won't say "shitty bands" cause we already did it! For example during our first show; the band in question wasn't interesting in my opinion but it was cool though. They were/are pretty big, it does not affect my sensibility but if people in the audience enjoyed the band, that's cool for them! But to be honest with you, if anyone invites us to play, I guess I'd be up to anytime because I just want to play.
B: But no shitty festival, please...
St: It depends, look: we could play on the "Weedstage", I'm sure they won't let us play on the "Smartcore" tent...
Si: Lets call the band "ENDLESS BONGS"...
B: Wow!
St: Sometimes I'm like: what do a regular Joe would think of us the first time he listens to us or sees us live? He'd be like "It rocks!" [for real, Stéphane said that with a typical South Western France jock accent: how would you translate that? Maybe like "Dammmmn Daniel!"]. "It rocks but it's like you're taking pills you know..." Takes all sort, I suppose. If we have to play with a lot of "weed metal" bands, at least there would be a different band!
Si: Maybe no one will see the difference!
St: Jocks'd be like...
B: "It does not sound like DOWN hay..."
How do you live your different roles in the band; since I know you, I figure this: Stéphane would bring the essence, Benjamin would be like "We should play like this and do that..." and Simon would have a lot of ideas but wouldn't dare to share them (laughs)!
B: Stéphane brings most of the riffs, and we work on this all together, the structure... We do think a lot about the structure of the tracks. I personally think I can be a a real pain in the ass concerning my struggle against a simple addition of riffs... I care about details I wanna deal with right now, however it'd bore me...
Si: Honestly, Stéphane and Benjamin play in bands for a long time, they share the same experience with MONARCH! so I must admit each of us does not bring 33% of the final work, I'm the one who brings the less ideas because I'm not used to play with other musicians.
St: I think I got some good riffs but I guess it's hard for me to compose entire songs. Some people can be definitly good with it or, on the contrary can't be able to bring riffs whereas they can compose great songs. But I disagree with Simon: your touch and the way you make things sound I think it's 50% of our job and what the band is in its sonique aspects. Nobody plays like Simon: he brings a lot in terms of interpretation. I think we just try to complete each one's role. Benjamin does not want to deal with influences and shit, I'm more into this. Benjamin deals with moods. As to me, it's just a way to feel secure.
B: It's a good thing to be three: we can't say there is someone encroaching our different roles.
St: But it's also really hard: we can't hold on to somebody if we make a mistake...
Si: In terms of loudness it can be really tough: from mute to an intense sound volume...
St: But I think it is really cool to potentially face these risks.
When you compose long tracks, are you afraid of being cheesy? How do you know you need to cut the songs here and there...
B: It takes time...
St: And maybe we're wrong!
Si: But I think we know how to proceed.
B: It's natural, when the riff is done: ok, that's good, next!
St: We record a lot of our rehearses, we listen to them a lot...
Si: We do study a lot our structures, we try not to sound like a succession of riffs. It's pretty boring.
St: And I think the fact Benjamin and I are playing with MONARCH! is very important. For example: playing a 7 minutes song will seem very short!
Nevertheless it is still cathartic. I mean, I do not really listen to that kind of music but I guess when you are done with a track you must be relieved?
St: Totally! I think it's like giving birth to something. That's funny because when you're done with a short set of fast songs you're like: I've done fifteen songs in fifteen minutes and then it's more "I've done one song in twenty minutes... I did not break a string, I'm not out of tune, I held out!"
Does playing long, loud songs helps you to compose quite efficient shorter tracks, speaking of the other bands you play with like BOMBARDEMENT (d-beat) and (ALIZON)?
B: Not really. As to me it is just a question of experience and feelings. The interference between different styles of music does not count.
St: But we all have specific ways to play, for example when I see Benjamin playing powerviolence with GHETTÖ I see the same guy playing in MONARCH! I got also my own riffing style. It's just a story of experience; for example, the way I adjust my stuffs playing with ENDLESS FLOODS is derived from what I actually do with BOMBARDEMENT.
Si: The only thing I notice concerning ALIZON is just that everything is so quiet I must be really careful with everything I do, the broken chord and all...
St: But we really hear that when we play with Simon cause we do not know how to play and sound like that.
B: It is definitly a question of feeling with the different music you wanna play, no matter the kind of music it is.
Si: Yeah, everything needs to be natural, no matter how much your songs last and the type of music you play.
I've red this column from Serge on this website called Merchant So Fair you shared on Facebook. This guy almost scientifically studied each one of your four songs. What did you think of it?
St: I kinda like it. That's cool cause it's been the first review of our record...
Si: ...and pretty good!
St: We start rehearsing in September 2014, we took four months to make a start, it's been a year and a half since the begining of the band and the first review is pretty cool! I was quite satisfied! He labelled our music with stuffs I do not know but that's cool!
Yeah, I wanted to deal with this "dark-jazz" label. I absolutely have no clue what that means! What do you think of his vision - which is in my humble opinion too much intellectualized - and your audience's feedback?
St: Concerning his opinion I don't know, I respect...
B: Actually I do not give a shit! If he/she likes it that's cool! I don't care if any specific kind of music is said to more intellectualized than another one, if the people feel specific things (as long as it is not cheesy) listening to us that's cool.
Si: It seems the guy is honest and do not pretend to be pretentious, that's cool for me. He seemed almost naive you know like really excited to listen to new stuff. I was flattered.
St: Sometimes I wonder if playing loud and slowly has to be automatically misinterpreted as being "intellectualized"? Why can't we feel it in a more primary way?
B: That's exactly what we were dealing with earlier: we just don't care what people think of our music. It is just about feeling things while I play and thinking it might be different the next time... I like when people think what they wanna think as long as they do not break my balls with that. I just don't give a fuck about the goddam things repeted dozens of times.
St: Maybe that's because it's not an easy music to understand. There's a common vocabulary towards this kind of musical experience whereas it is something really personal, maybe the people can't really describe it so the only thing they're able to tell: "Oh I'm so fucking trippin'!"
B: I think I'd prefer hear that!
St: Yes... Anyway we don't want to intellectualize this music. There's a four minutes track on the record and that's also the spirit of this band like, "Calm down boys..." It is not because a song lasts seventeen minutes you'll find smarter than another.
It kind reminds me what people were fed up with concerning late 60s/early 70s prog rock...
St: Definitely. "Who do you think you are...?"
But here, in Bordeaux, who likes this kind of long tracks? A part from you there's no one!
St: Yeah, for sure.
B: Yeah we thought about that.
So if you're invited to play in Paris you might find in the audience this typical so-called "trendy hipsters/Roadburn" advocates and I don't want my words to be inappropriate towards this gentleman and his website but that's too much for me. Like this magazine I bought recently because of just a single article about RIDE; it cost me 6,90€ and it was something about, these specific kinds of music which are said to "appeal an effort of introspection to understand the music"...
B: ...oh fuck...
Yeah! And I was like "Guys, this is so irrelevant..." You don't need to "study" this kinds of music, using shitty name dropping, we just need to feel what the musicians feel and, potentially what they want their audience to feel...
B: It's not even the case: this process is biased from the moment you try to add words to it. You can't force the people to feel something. It kind reminds me this kind of interviews where someone asks you what you try to make your audience feel listening to your music... C'mon, shut the fuck up.
St: It's true that you don't really like reviews. I kinda like this things, speaking of me, because it makes me laugh. It's all about the social aspects of the music. That's like this quote about French people: "French people all have two jobs: their daily job and film critic"! That's the same thing with music! Everyone got his/her own fucking way of seeing things and I find it really funny. You make music for the people and the people speak of it, that's part of the deal! You got paid back for what you did! It's like a study on the people's adoration or disgust. I really like this!
B: I hate that... Speaking of everything coming to arts seems fake and wrong.
St: Yeah but it can be funny to read for example, speaking of an IRON MAIDEN set: "Yeah, he did this riff just to put his foot on the amplified feedback! (laugh) But I'm glad this guy liked it. It reminded me that MONARCH! set in Switzerland, do you remember? We were the last band of the event to play around 2:00 in the morning after that guy who was "spatializing sounds from the Amazon Forest", in the dark, with everyone sat on the floor... When I red this review I was like "Ok: this guy's totally that kind of folks!" (laugh) Like "at the dawn of Hell..." (laugh) But everyone enjoyed!
B: It was cool!
St: The second show: a guy, with an electric cello making some really strange noise... I was like: "Once in our life we are the occasional bullies! The two lads before just fined us!"
B: I just like when the reviewer's approach is more technic. I just want the people to keep for themselves what they think of it, even myself I want to think what I want... And that's not what Simon or Stéphane can feel, and that's interesting.
In my opinion, the biggest insult made on bandcamp...
St: There are no lyrics...
Exactly! I just hate that! Why??
St: There are two reasons - you guys deserve to know why...
(laugh)
Si: I didn't even know there were lyrics!
St: First: I'm not a singer and I kinda "improvised" things when we recorded it and I don't know if you guys remember that but I did everything in one take, so I can hardly remember all the lyrics. That's the "technical" part of the issue. To be honest, I know what I'm dealing with but there are some lyrics I just forgot. I'm pretty embarrassed about that cause I agree with you: lyrics are important, so if I had the opportunity to remember some sentences I would have put them on the bandcamp. But I totally agree: next step, assume what I write and give it. The split EP with DRESDEN LENINGRAD will have the lyrics. Second: since I'm no singer, I wasn't comfortable with that, so I red a lot of shitty bands lyrics to know what I did not want to write about. In general terms I know what I'm dealing with: miserable lyrics, inspired by HARVEY MILK, there's a bit of self-derision, I tried not to deal with "the Mountaaaiiiiiiin... and stuffs".
I just saw you live once, with LITIGE (punk) and SHEER MAG (power pop) and I thought it was a super bad choice of line-up for a concert. Plus, Stéphane told me you only played one long song: wasn't it so frustrating to only play a single song?
St: We did it uncompromisingly: just like we wanted!
Si: Like we did before this show!
St: Plus, when we composed this song, we thought we couldn't play or record another song to add it on stage, or on a record. So we figured we would play it on stage for the next show and it was this one. Concerning this planing of bands during this specific show, as to me it's part of this spectrum of "extreme music" to share a stage with different bands and I think the diversity of bands during this kind of party can be interesting.
Si: SHEER MAG's guitar player came to me at the end to tell him that was cool...
B: ...telling you you sound like CORRUPTED.
St: But this specific set was stressful even if guys who aren't used to listen to these kind of music thought it was cool. But I guess we can thank MANKIND for booking this show otherwise we would have played a single time in 2015!
B: Maybe we were uncomfortable with the fact that our older friends from YEAR OF NO LIGHT, GASMASK TERRÖR or AGUIRRE might judge us...
St: But I think the people enjoy when they see new bands.
What's next for the band?
St: We are about to record the song you've seen live and release the split with DRESDEN LENINGRAD, and then a LP!
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