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The Distrolution / Distrolution Merch team had the chance to participate in the Hellfest Festival from June 19 to 26, 2022. On the program, concerts, meetings... and several interviews, which you can find every week in FR version on Distrolution Merch and in EN version on Distrolution! Discover without further delay our interview with the French band Red Mourning!
Photo: @fannooshka
Hello Red Mourning, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. To start, can you introduce yourselves?
Aurélien: I'm Aurélien, drummer and singer.
Alexandre: Alexandre, guitarist, lap steel player, we don't know how to say it (laughs), and backing vocals!
Sébastien: Sébastien, bassist and backing vocals!
JC: JC, backing vocalist! No, I'm kidding. I'm the lead singer!
Aurélien: And harmonica player!
Alexandre: And harmonica player too, yeah!
How was Red Mourning formed?
Sébastien: Red Mourning is the result of an online meeting between musicians. We founded a band with various formations and we found the right one around 2006 - 2007, something like that!
Aurélien: 2005!
Sébastien: With you? 2005?
Aurélien: Yeah!
Sébastien: And we released our first album in 2008. That's it. With a strong blues influence that came from JC, the addition of the harmonica, and then several influences from each member of the band, which are quite present in the music. And then the compositions also evolved according to the lineup. Now, it's mostly Aurélien who composes, before it was more the other guitarist. But Alex also composes quite a bit. So, we all put our hands in the dough a little bit.
How do you balance professional life, personal life, and managing a band? Not too complicated?
JC: I think in France, there are very few bands that can devote themselves 100% to their music. So we're part of the 99% of bands that have something else to live on. So we make music when we can. And because we love it, of course! But it's true, jokes aside, it's our passion. So we devote a lot of time, energy, and money to it too. Then we try to balance all that and we reconcile... We have jobs that allow us to have some free time. And depending on the person, we mix it more or less with our professional life too. It's not always easy, especially with this style of music.
Sébastien: After that, it's not a chore. There are plenty of people who have lots of hobbies, lots of leisure activities. For us, it's part of our... There's still an almost vital function, I think, in making music regularly and fulfilling ourselves through it, so... If we work 7 hours a day, or 8 hours, or 12 hours, whatever, there's always a little time left, anyway.
Aurélien: What's cool is that we keep, since it's not our bread and butter, we keep a bit of artistic freedom. If we want to do something totally offbeat that no one will like, as is the case... That's what we've been doing from the beginning (laughs)
Alexandre: Yeah, it's been going on for 15 years! (laughter)
Aurélien: We can afford it because behind it, we're not going to say "Are we going to sell enough?" We have total freedom on this, we have no external pressure on what we should do... We really do what we want!
Alexandre: I came for the money... and I'm disappointed! (laughter)
Let's talk about your current news. Your next album "Flowers & Feathers" will be released in October 2022. How did your composition process go?
Aurélien: We developed quite a few songs. In fact, it accelerated quite a bit during the pandemic, because obviously, we had a bit more time to refine the songs etc., but we had already worked quite a bit on the songs in rehearsal with Alex. So different composition processes. There's one that we completely composed together in rehearsal, another where it's Alex's composition that we worked on in rehearsal, and then others where they're my compositions, which we worked on together with Alex, to bring and make it a bit more lively etc. What we wanted was something organic, not something composed on a computer. So there you go. And we also went through the... We made an acoustic EP, and that influenced the writing of the last album quite a bit, where there's a more important acoustic component, including three purely acoustic songs. We worked a lot remotely with Covid, where JC was advancing on the vocals etc. We worked on the arrangements, we sent each other ideas and everything... So there you go! I don't know if you want to add anything, gentlemen? (addressing the other members of the band)
Alexandre: I don't have much to add. I was there, so I remember. It's consistent with what I experienced! (laughs)
JC: This man speaks the truth! (laughter)
Alexandre: I'm not saying that out of laziness... No... not at all... (laughs)
This album follows "Under Punishment's Tree", released in 2018. Comparing these two albums, how much has your music evolved in 4 years?
Aurélien: Yeah. We made an acoustic EP between the two that came out in... 2019!
The previous album... We still had quite a few compositions from our previous guitarist, Romaric, who left the band in 2015. So his touch was still present. Now, it's really full new stuff. There are no more of his compositions. Now, it's either compositions by me, or me and Alex, with Seb and JC's touches, as always. So of course, it has an influence on the writing. We also tried new things, so as not to make the same songs. We explored new instruments, with banjo, organ, quite a few keyboards, etc. JC has a way of singing that has evolved a bit with the shift towards acoustic. It's a bit more on emotion, on interpretation, etc.
So, we always try to experiment with new things, so obviously, because of these elements, it evolves towards new things for us, things we've never done before and that we're proposing. People will like it or not, but at least we'll have proposed it!
Sébastien: No, but even the album before, we had composed the tracks with another guitarist, and indeed we were still a bit in this kind of very blues-influenced movement, still influenced by the former guitarist. So here, it's not just the lineup changes, it's really the fact of starting again on a somewhat sterile, somewhat virgin ground. It was cool!
While waiting for the release of the new album, you unveiled a first track, titled "The Coming Wind". What are the subjects addressed in this song and what inspired it?
JC: What inspired it was reading a book. I always say the same thing, I don't like to tell the story behind the tracks too much, because I like that everyone can interpret it a bit as they feel it, because that's what I like to do too when I listen to music. It's ultimately what I project onto it. But to talk about it a little bit... it's about the future, choices in life, and possible and impossible futures too. So you see what's coming. And that's it!
Why did you choose this title to tease the album? Is it a track that, in your opinion, represents well the overall spirit of your upcoming album?
JC: I think there are quite a few different atmospheres on this album, so it's not necessarily representative. However, we find it...
Aurélien: The song is atypical.
JC: Yeah, rather atypical. But we find it's a very successful track, one that we really like. It's also the first track of the album.
Aurélien: And there was something to do visually as well!
JC: Yeah, that's it. There's a real story. Go ahead, explain.
Aurélien: Actually, we released a video clip, which came out on Monday. Directed by Angel FONSECA, who also works on Hellfest. And there was an aesthetic and visual aspect that could come out of it, which was quite interesting. And we're not disappointed with the clip, by the way.
Sébastien: We're happy with the music video!
Aurélien: What did I say?
Sébastien and Alexandre: "We're not disappointed."
Sébastien: We can be not just negative (laughter)
Alexandre: It's a very visual clip, which is characteristic of video anyway.
Aurélien: It was also not too much of a "too metal" song. There was a side... Well, the song is 5 minutes long, there's a big very atmospheric, very melodic section in the middle.
JC: It's a song without screaming, by the way!
Aurélien: There's no screaming! It's our first track without metal screaming. So that's why for all these elements. We wanted to highlight it and it really marks a break with our previous albums.
Sébastien: I think it's representative in itself of this album, because if you listen to it, you think... For those who know Red Mourning a bit, they'll say... In fact, these are the reactions we've had. It's "they've gone to look for something else."
As a music fan, I place particular importance on a band's visual identity, especially on single and album covers... Which artist(s) is/are behind your covers?
Sébastien: Well, there were several actually. The first two were with the label.
JC: Yeah!
Sébastien: That's it. The fourth one was a tattoo artist and guitarist from Lyon. Then, well it's ugly because it's worn out, but the logo (pointing to his t-shirt) of Red Mourning, the head, it's actually an artist, a real artist, a graphic designer named Auriane, who is very talented and does a lot of things in black and white. She's passionate about black, especially the works of Charles Burns, things like that. She had worked on this logo, we used it, this head, to make the cover of our acoustic EP. We colorized it a bit differently.
Alexandre: And all our t-shirts too.
Sébastien: And all our t-shirts too, because we thought it was super beautiful. And we thought, well, let's try to see what she can do for the last album, because again, we wanted to change and she proposed this cover... which indeed mixed feathers and flowers. And it's really... It's really super beautiful, we're extremely happy with the result. Don't hesitate to check out what she does. She has an Insta page called @capitaine_corbeau, she does a lot of photos where she's the model, she does drawings... She's a really great artist. However, for the inside, we did photos with a friend of Alex's, named Fanny...
Alexandre: Storck, Fanny Storck, a long-time friend who is a sure bet in terms of photography. She has her own style, she works well, quickly and efficiently. Well, it's really... Her page is... @fannooshka I think. She takes absolutely beautiful photos. I had 200% confidence in her, because once again, I've worked with her for a very long time on photography and everything... She's... Perfect!
Sébastien: Also, Aurélien is starting to dabble in a lot of video graphics stuff...
Alexandre: He just started Paint last week! (laughs)
Aurélien: (laughs) But we also have an interest in... Well, we like collaborating with people who will offer us a universe, things, etc. Not just asking someone to make us a classic metal cover. We want a somewhat original universe, same for the video, Angel was very proactive. We proposed a concept to him, but he made it his own. He proposed his own video, with his own vision. So we also like to collaborate artistically with other people, be it in photography or video... Well, everything! That's also what's exciting, it goes beyond just recording music and that's it. There's all the visual aspect and everything that happens around it that's really interesting, enriching on a creative level!
JC: The very first covers, the first two albums, it's Fabrice Trovato, who's also the guy behind the puppets.
Alexandre: The Fernando Rock Show!
JC: The Fernando Rock Show. You know the puppets? He was also the one who did that! He's a really funny guy, he's the one who did the covers for the first two albums.
Sébastien: And he's been following us since the beginning. He's always been very cool with us!
JC: And you're right actually, often, one of the first contacts you have with a band is either at a festival like this, at a concert, or through an image. It's not even so much the music often, so yeah, it's important.
Sébastien: We love the last one so much that it was actually integrated into the video clip, at the end.
JC: The Coming Wind!
Aurélien: And precisely, it really underlines the fracture aspect, because all our covers, except the first one, until now, were in black tones, a bit dark etc. Here, the idea was to do something... An angel cover, already, with colors not necessarily metal. And the same, flowers and feathers... It's not the most metal thing, but there's an aspect, you see. It really underlines the fracture aspect of this album.
You must be eager to see what people thought of the album and the new universe.
Aurélien: Well, already, the first feedback on the first clip, we're pretty happy.
Alexandre: The 5 people who liked on Facebook (laughter)
Sébastien: We each put 5 comments (laughter)
Let's talk about Hellfest. What's it like to play on the Hellstage?
Sébastien: New experience. It's great to play here. We had already played in 2008 on a stage called the Discover Stage at the time. It was a different atmosphere. Playing at Hellfest is always great. Just being here, invited, is incredible. As for the Hellstage, yeah, it's a different experience. It's a bit different comfort, a bit random. And then, in 122°F it's something else entirely!
JC: Yeah!
Alexandre: It was tough, yeah, under the temperature...
Sébastien: We really had a great time and I think the audience was particularly motivated (laughs). Well, it was pretty cool!
Alexandre: There were some good moshpits! By the way, big shout out to my friends who were there and even acquaintances, people I hadn't seen in a long time.
JC: Full heatwave, it was crazy. 45°C, you're in the blazing sun!
Is there a band that you absolutely don't want to miss on this year's lineup?
Alexandre: Sepultura tonight at 9:35 PM and Devin Townsend "By request" tomorrow. I'm a big fanboy! These are the two concerts I don't want to miss!
Sébastien: I'd like to see Korn and Ghost. Ghost could be really cool!
Aurélien: We also saw Baroness yesterday. Baroness and Deftones, two bands we wanted to see. And Gojira too!
Sébastien: We did miss Leprous and Mastodon, which is a shame. Although, we've seen Leprous I don't know how many times. And no, I don't know. What else is there on Sunday?
Alexandre: There's Devin Townsend!
Sébastien: Devin Townsend, yeah!
JC: Infecticide! Every day, 3:45 PM! (laughter)
That was my last question, thank you for your time and enjoy the festival!
The band: Thank you!
