Após o fim do Phosphor, Hélène voltou para sua cidade natal Paris e após ouvir a voz de Amandine fundou o duo Minuit Machine.
Coldwave densa e hipnótica, gélida e sedutora, assim é o ep Blue Moon lançado em outubro do ano passado e que agora dará espaço a o debute das garotas Live & Destroy que pelas audições esta simplesmente fascinante, os synths mais cinzentos do que nunca servem de textura para a voz obsessivamente emocional de Amandine.
Fácil fácil um dos grande álbuns de nova coldwave deste 2014, para se apaixonar de imediato.
***** Interview with Minuit Machine *****
Q. When did Minuit Machine starts tell us about the history...
H - I started thinking about it in june 2013, when I was touring with my former band Phosphor, a coldwave band from London. I moved back to Paris, my home town, a few months before and I was travelling each month to practice and play some gigs with them. It was working pretty well but I really wanted to start a side project in my city. During the summer, I composed a few songs and I put an ad online at the end of august to find another member for Minuit Machine. That’s how Amandine found me! When I heard her voice, I knew it was exactly the kind of lyrics and vocals that I was looking for! We released together our first EP « Blue Moon » in October 2013.
Q: Who are your influences?
A – I believe all the bands I’ve been listening to since I was old enough to truly care about music and understand it influence both my lyrics and the melodies. So I would say: The Cure, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pulp, Pink Floyd, Roxette, Nirvana, IamX, Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, The Kills, Radiohead and New Order.
H - I don’t fall in love often in music but when I do, I’m kinda obsessional, I can listen to one song or an album a hundred times without becoming sick of it. That’s the case for Xeno&Oaklander, The Human League, Depeche Mode, The Frozen Autumn, Gold Zebra, Linea Aspera, Tears for Fears, Turquoise Days… among others.
Q. Made a list of 5 albums of all time…
H - Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
Radiohead - Ok Computer
Turquoise Days - Alternative Strategies
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
Xeno & Oaklander - Sentinelle
A – Depeche Mode – Playing the Angels
Erasure – The Innocents
The Cure – Desintegration
IamX – Kingdom of Welcome addiction
Pulp – Different class
Q. How do you fell playing live?
H - I’m always really nervous just before going on stage. Like « Why am I doing this to myself?! » but as soon as I start playing the synth, the anxiety disappears and I feel so good, so proud to doing this. And when the gig is over, I think « what, already? » and I’m so looking forward for the next one.
A – Going on stage brings up lots of different emotions: fear, excitement, doubt, bliss, joy, sadness and pride. In the end, all of the negative feelings I was having before disappear and I feel relief and pure happiness.
Q. How do you describe Minuit Machine sounds?
H - I would describe it like something really emotional, dark, powerful. The melody is very important to me and I’m working on the sound until it makes me feel something. Sometimes sadness, melancholy, sometimes hope, letting go but always a strong emotion.
A- Minuit Machine’s sound is, I believe, very deep emotionally speaking. I think people can either adore us or hate us, there is no in-between. Both Hélène and I give a lot of ourselves to share our emotions while creating the melodies and sounds.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
H - I often start to compose the electronic drums and in general, it’s what gives all the atmosphere of the song. Then I compose the melodies with different synths, try different sounds and I record the whole song in a row. When we got the whole structure, I sent it to Amandine.
A – When Hélène sends me the demos, I listen to them over and over again. When I feel the global atmosphere of the track, I start composing a melody. And then, I write the lyrics, which suit this atmosphere.
H - Finally, I mix all the tracks and rework all the sounds, drums, add new melody, powerful basslines etc. until we’re both satisfied with the song.
Q. Which new bands do you recommended?
H /A - Ash Code, H o r d, SATO SATO, Ideomatic, Coctail Twins, Hante…
Q: Which bands you love to made a cover version?
H - I really don’t know! But maybe it would be interesting to make a cover of a band that is not from the synthwave scene at all, maybe an 90’s alternative rock band like The Breeders or Garbage or Radiohead for example.
A – Just like Hélène, I would love to make a cover of a band that has nothing to do with our music. I think it would be so fun to find an emblematic artist of the 90’s (I’m obsessed with this period…) like Nirvana and make a brand new version.
Q: What´s the plans for future....
A – I can’t wait to start touring in November and to work on our second album. I hope we’ll be able to keep on making the music we love for as long as possible.
H - We’ll begin the composition of the second album very soon. We already have lots of ideas for it so we’re looking forward to starting! In november, we’re going to tour in Europe to promote the album but we really hope to tour worldwide one day, maybe for the next album?
Q: Any parting words?
A – I feel so grateful for what we could achieve: an EP, a first album, a tour… Sometimes I can’t even realize! Many, many thanks to the people who have been supporting us since the very beginning and who helped us making it real. I hope I’ll get to meet some of them on tour in November J.
H - Thanks a lot to all the people who believe in us, love our music and show their support. It means so much to us…
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