Spotlight on our band of the month: Schrodinger

We're back with a new interview, this time presenting the French band Schrodinger!

Hello, Schrodinger! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Can you introduce your band to our readers?

Julien: Thanks to Distrolution for the invitation! For those who don't know Schrodinger yet, it's a band that seeks to shake up musical conventions. We navigate between rock, extreme and modern metal, incorporating a lot of other styles like salsa, electro, hip hop. The list is long...

Adnane: It's a project where musically we go where we want, everything is possible. We try to push the boundaries of what is conventional and acceptable sometimes. It can be surprising at first listen or the first time people see us live, because we mix genres that seem opposed. We see it in the looks when we're on stage, it bugs some brains. But people end up understanding the vibe pretty quickly, and start headbanging and partying with us.

You unveiled your cover of Ricky Martin's hit, "Livin' La Vida Loca" a few months ago. Why did you choose this song in particular?

Julien: We like to play with clichés and in this case, Livin' la Vida Loca is a cliché in itself. And for me, it's an example of musical perfection in terms of composition and arrangement. The proof: everyone knows it and especially everyone loves it. All those who pretend to hate it, even black metal fans, deep down they want to shout the chorus as soon as they hear it... So we thought why not play this song our way. And it's in continuity with the universe of Santa Sierra, with brass and a scent of Latin America. By the way, like on our EP, it's Marc Papeghin who recorded the brass parts on this track.

Adnane: Actually, Rémi (Sérafino, the drummer) came up with a first arrangement idea, which remained as a demo (an old MIDI) for a long time, and then one day we came across it with Ju and we said we absolutely had to produce it! And in a few weeks, it was recorded, mixed and mastered (by David Thiers). It went super fast and we had a lot of fun doing it too.

How did the video shoot go?

Adnane: So we first need to talk about the story, because everything starts from there: we really wanted to twist the idea that we have of the expression "la vida loca"... In the lyrics, it's about New York, Champagne... So we took the opposite approach and imagined a story with vagabonds. If you take a step back, it's another form of vida loca when you think about it, with its share of adventures and surprises.

Julien: Yes, and if you read the lyrics of this song, you might even think it's about alcohol and not a woman. So, all of this set the framework. We were going to talk about these two poor fellows who, for a few moments, have the means to live the high life, but are also in a mindset linked to their condition. So with decisions that don't necessarily seem logical to us. On the production side, I directed it. Everything was filmed over two days, one day for the group scenes (framing by Chris Merle) and one day for the scenes filmed with great actors (Julien Combes and Ismael Rafaï) who were super involved, they really got into the characters' skin and we really had a lot of fun there too!

This cover follows your first EP, "Santa Sierra", released in 2019. How long did you work on this EP?

Adnane: Indeed, we started working on Santa Sierra in February 2018 and in April 2019 we were recording. So it took us about a year to conceive it, knowing that some ideas had already been written before the project was born.

How does your composition process (writing lyrics, melodies...) usually unfold?

Julien: There are generally two approaches: very often I come with an instrumental that I present to Adnane, he works on the melodies and lyrics on his side. And then he sends it back to me, we discuss it, he tells me what should be changed - and vice versa, Adnane comes up with ideas for lyrics and melody and I graft arrangements onto it.

Adnane: We do this ping pong until we get a presentable version for Rémi (the drummer) and Guillaume (the bassist), who then add their own touch. :) And everything happens remotely most of the time, even if we live only a few kilometers apart. We prefer to keep rehearsals for working on the live performance.

Let's talk about merch. Is there an item (merch, pressing, stage equipment) that you give particular importance to? If so, which one?

Julien: I would say the t-shirt. Because you have space on a t-shirt, you can visually develop certain concepts from your songs. Sometimes it's even a visual extension of a track. As a band, it's also important that the textile is of the best possible quality in order to sell a durable product.

Adnane: Also, you become a bit of an ambassador for a band when you wear their t-shirt, and it's a way of telling everyone you meet, "This band is cool, I support them." And most importantly: everyone wears t-shirts!

To wrap up this interview, tell us about your future projects!

Julien: At the moment it's pretty cool for Schrodinger, we now have someone managing the management and booking (hey Keuf). So, we're going to have quite a few announcements to make in the coming weeks about dates for 2023, especially for festivals... 

Adnane: And we're working on the next album which should also be released in 2023 if all goes well!

Thank you for your answers!

Thank you Valentine!