The Inquisition: 012.Oiseaux-Tempête

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?

It’s our totem / indian name. The “Oiseaux-Tempête” do actually exist, they are some sea birds called in English “storm petrels”, a reference to their habit of preceding storms, hiding in the lee of ships.

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?

Most of our songs are actually coming from improvised sessions, on stage or in the studio, as a trio or with extra people. We’re learning after the recording how to replay it, with a big range of freedom. We don’t want to feel ourselves prisoners from our own tunes or some specific creative process. The only rule we get is the pleasure to play and experiment together. And most of all, it has to be easy for us. We don’t want to think while we’re playing, just let it all go!

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?

Stéphane: My father was a vinyl fanatic, we used to have I don’t know how many records at home. But most of all were psychedelic, kraut or rock pop stuff from the 70’s such as The Doors, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Kraftwerk. This is my roots I guess. For my part, I come back many times, like twice a year, to those who gave me the desire to play instruments like The Cure, Bowie or Bastärd.

Frédéric: I’m a kind of sound addict and vinyl collector, with the same pathological obsessions than any other music lovers: I’m driven by some frenetic periods when I want to hear just one or two things, one or two genres, and I will go further and further in this to listen to old and new records in that specific area. Then I will stop and move forward / backward to something else. It could be free jazz from the 60’s, dark ambient, kosmiche elektronik, modern-classical, noise. I’m also trusting the advices from my friends running some great record stores in Paris (Balades Sonores, Le Souffle Continu). For now, my turntable player is surrounded by the soundtrack “Only Lovers Left Alive”, the Philip Glass solo piano sessions, Marissa Nadler “July” and Eric Thielemans “Sprang”.

4. What’s the first record you've ever bought ?

Stéphane: “The Head on The Door” from The Cure when I was 10. I met this strange guy, older than me, with his make up and fairy hair when I used to play some arcade games in holidays and he told me it was amazing !He was fucking right!!

Frédéric: “The Wall” by Pink Floyd & “Regatta De Blanc” by The Police.

5. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with ?

Stéphane: Swans!

Frédéric: Master Musicians Of Bukkake / Bonnie Prince Billy

6. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?

Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Russia, Brazil, Israel, Iraq, Thailand, if our soundcloud stats say right. Internet is a great tool for almost anyone to get a free access on music and art today.

7. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like spotify?

Frédéric: We actually don’t have any bandcamp for the band and I’m not a spotify’s user. Personally, I hate that kind of fake legal shit. I’m happy if people can find our albums there, no worries. But the money you get from a service like spotify is so ridiculously nothing that I prefer people downloading our music for free. At least there will be no one you don’t know to make money on your back. If you like what you hear and want to listen to it regularly then you should buy the album. And buy a physical exemplary, if possible. That’s the only way to help and to promote the music nowadays, supporting labels and artists who try to do their best to make interesting albums and nice objects.

Stéphane: Just come to concerts, shows, it’s a nice way to meet bands, get albums and cherish your memory.

8. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Frédéric: Composing a peaceful symphony, surrounded by nature. Or maybe a really noisy one. Or both.

Stéphane: Singing a duet with Robert Smith !

9. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

Of course, artwork is always important.

10. What is you favorite album cover?

Stéphane: “Ummagumma” Pink Floyd / “Volume 1&2” Bauhaus / “Tutu” Miles Davis (even if the LP sucks)

Frédéric: “Haus der Lüge” Einstürzende Neubauten

11. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?

Stéphane: Fred is the best to answer to that question! He’s record collector!

Frédéric: Vinyl is sexy, what else?

12. What's the funniest story or moment as a band?

Frédéric: Stéphane and I are playing in three bands together at the moment: FareWell Poetry, Le Réveil des Tropiques and, of course, Oiseaux-Tempête. Each band gets his own mood and funny moments. Few weeks ago we did a recording session for the second album of Oiseaux-Tempête at Mikrokosm studio in Lyon. We watched the movie Scarface by Coppola a big part of the second night, imitating the characters and laughing with Ben and our friends Agathe Max and Gareth Davis. We said: “ok let’s do a cover of the main theme tomorrow at the studio”. We took one hour off the day after, looking for the chords and trying some sounds. And we did this cover in a really nasty heavy way: cheesy mellotron, bass clarinet, big drums and fuzzy loud bass VI. So much fun that we stand on the brick of keeping it in the future tracklist…

post-engineering