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On the occasion of the release of their 6th album, the rock band 7 Weeks took the time to answer a few questions for us!
Photo: © Jérémie Noël
Hello 7 Weeks, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! To start this interview, please introduce yourselves in a few words.
7 WEEKS released its first album in 2009, and today releases the 6th. The band has toured extensively in France, Europe, and the United Kingdom. We are self-produced, self-financed, and booked by our label F2m Planet.
You mentioned it earlier. Your 6th album, "Fade Into Blurred Lines," has just been released after, I quote, "20 months of self-reflection and letting go." Tell us about the composition process of this album.
We wanted to push the composition and performance further than usual, so we invested a lot in the writing and the raw, live aspect of the trio (we used to be 4) to extract what felt most personal to us, even if it meant deviating from the well-trodden paths of the band. There are as many heavy tracks as we know how to make as there are more intimate ones.
Artwork: Gilles Estines
This album features "9 songs that are among the most personal of the band." How have your personal experiences influenced your new songs?
Primarily through the lyrics; we worked a lot on that, more than on the other albums, and it gives an undeniable strength of interpretation. When a text is well-written and in harmony with the music, and vice versa, everything falls into place. We talked about things or people we know; that too conditions the personal, introspective aspect.
After 15 years of existence, how have you managed to maintain your artistic identity while progressing in a constantly evolving musical landscape?
By not setting artistic limits, we won't revolutionize a genre; we knew that from the start, so we sought to explore all the possibilities available to us: the cine-concert format in 2011, which fundamentally opened up the group to other sounds, acoustic, etc. The studio also changed our perception of sound and how things are done. Where we were more Gibson/Marshall at the beginning of the group, we listened to external production advice that showed us other possibilities without losing power ;)
You are currently on tour to promote this new album on stage. How has your audience welcomed "Fade Into Blurred Lines" live?
Very well, people are touched by the new songs; it resonates with them, I believe, and I hope we manage to convey something. We just did our release in Limoges, and the evening was beautiful, even though we know everyone, we touched them. We can't wait to continue, especially at La Maroquinerie in March in Paris!
Do you have any advice for an independent band looking to get into booking?
Courage!! More seriously, tenacity and organization, it's quite challenging; you have to find your place, and it is very changeable from one environment to another. The media is different, social media communication is different, the streaming dictate is different, the programmers too, etc. In short, you have to analyze where you are and where you want to go. However, one thing is sure and common: you always have to have the most sincere music possible. You can stick to a movement and detach very quickly, but you will also fall just as quickly ;)
Overall, as musicians but also as music fans, what are your favorite merch items and why?
If I like what I just heard, I will go buy the record to listen again at home; it remains a yardstick in merch. If you do a good concert, people buy your record. But I belong to a generation that grew up with physical copies; I also see many bands that don't have a record on the stand (often for contractual reasons with the label, we don't have that concern ;) Otherwise, the T-shirt comes directly in 2nd, especially if the design is cool.
