1. How did you came up with the name of the band?
Christophe: The etymology of "cecilia" means “blind” in French. So, this is how you can feel the music when you close your eyes. For us, music is a matter of feelings and emotions. That's what we wanted to say through this character.
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?
Gauthier: Like you say usually one comes with an idea, an improvisation, and we start creating something from that, but on this record the process was a bit different. Some of the songs were created only from a sample idea (Default Descent, Reign) and then we did build something together on this. Some other songs (like Bellflowers, Loreta and Swallow the key) were started at home with Christophe and myself, then we came with this "first scratch" of a song to the others and we arranged/changed things together with all the instruments. Isolated Shower is in fact the older composition on the album, it was an old song (I think the first recording is from 2010) and we found it interesting to re-work it.
3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?
Gauthier: A lot of things but I always come back to shoegaze, noisy things. Actually I'm listening a lot of Slowdive's actual live performances. I also listen a lot of movie soundtracks (Thomas Newman, Jery Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer...)
Pascal: Yes, a lot of things too... From classic rock to drone music...via shoegaze, of course... the only restriction is the emotion I can feel with...
Chris: Mostly shoegaze: Slowdive is my favourite band of all time, I love “Tunnel Blanket” from This Will Destroy You, Strata Florida, Hammock, IIiketrains, Cranes, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau twins, Sailors With Wax Wings, The Besnard Lakes, Jakob, Gregor Samsa, Air Formation… Post-rock’s becoming boring: today, all the post-rock bands just clone themselves. After four albums, the public finally realizes that our musical influences lie elsewhere than in the post-rock, sometimes in Pink Floyd for some of us, sometimes in the new wave for others, and for myself exclusively in the shoegaze movement. It is strange that no one noticed that before. When we were teenagers in the 90s, we rather listened to The Cure, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Ride, only after that we arrived to the first pieces of Mogwai … and today, each of us has a wide range of musical influences that are not at all found in the post-rock.
4. What’s the first record you've ever bought ?
Gauthier: The first record I bought with my own money, I think it was "Beat it" - Michael Jackson in 45 vinyl :-)
Pascal: Hm, I remember my first CD : "Brothers in arms" from Dire Straits. But earlier, I bought some vinyls like "Hit Connection" ;-)
Christophe: When I was a teenager, I didn’t really bought records, but I listened recordings on audio cassettes. The first record I listen to, was “Disintegration” by The Cure and then I bought their album "Wish” in 1992. I was a Cure fan at that time ;-)
5. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with ?
Christophe: Slowdive & This Will Destroy You. We are lucky that we already had the chance to open for incredible bands like Thee Silver Mount Zion, Ilkiketrains, Cranes & Maybeshewill.
Gauthier: Slowdive, definitively. Ride if one day they're touring again !
Pascal: Pink Floyd, if they really release their new album ! Or Sigur Ros, Slowdive, Anathema, The Cure...!!
6. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were suprised to know your music has reached to?
Christophe: The social networks and all the tools that offer the possibility to enlarge the audience of an artist or a band can’t be ignored. As a matter of fact, we are very active on a weekly basis (Mailchimp, Bandcamp, Facebook, twitter, last.fm, Spotify). Without these networks, we probably would not have fans all over the world…and if you look at the different origins of our facebook fans, you could be surprised as I am everyday.
Gauthier: The blogs and Facebook of course. It was surprising to see so much interest from Romania :-)
Pascal: Yes of course, internet is very important. Blogs to spread the word about our music with reviews, interviews and "services" like Bandcamp, Paypal to be efficient all over the world. Thanks to these tools, our music has reach countries like China, Russia, Japan, Thailand,... It's crazy!
7. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like spotify?
Gauthier: I'm a Spotify addict, so I will say yes even if they don't pay the artists that much. Bandcamp is a blessing for band like us, easy to manage and well done, and I have no problem with the "pay what you want" thing.
Christophe: Bandcamp, is rather a showcase where you can both listen to the material of an artist and buy directly, immediate and on a simple way (Paypal) the albums, without going through an intermediary. It is for me an indispensable tool. This platform has allowed us, for example, to provide a preorder and limited versions of our last album.
8. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Gauthier: 5 years should be enough for the next album ! :-)
Pascal: I really hope it will be enough !
Christophe: I’m afraid not :) . Seriously now, always into music experimentations with cecilia::eyes team…and traveling all over the world.
9. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?
Gauthier: Yes, that's why we are trying to propose something interesting each time. With "Here Dead We Lie" we did a nice boxset and for this one we tried to propose a very beautiful vinyl edition.
Pascal: I totally agree ! Despite music is now more and more dematerialized, some people (like me ;-)) are looking for a beautiful object additionally to the music.
Christophe: I am personally very attached to to the aesthetic side of things and especially album covers. An interesting and attractive artwork offers the listener a complete work. For me, I think the two elements are inseparable.
10. What is you favorite album cover?
Christophe: In the nineties, I loved the work of Vaughan Oliver/v23 who made the artwork of the 4AD covers and especially those of Cocteau Twins. More recently, Farewell Poetry and Gregor Samsa. My favorites of all time are : Cocteau Twins "Victorialand" & Cranes "Wings Of Joy".
Gauthier: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd.
Pascal: I like all the album covers from Pink Floyd too. Another very interesting artwork is that of Tool, especially "10000 days" and I also like "Agaetis Byrjun" by Sigur Ros.
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?
Gauthier: Crisis time makes people buying less things, but, "better" ones. I'm still buying and listening to vinyls, it's the best way for me to listen & feel the music, but also next to that I'm a big fan of Spotify and I'm discovering lots of bands with it.
Christophe: The release of a vinyl was just a dream. From the beginning, it was clear to us that this option would be a part of the project. Vinyl is also linked to our musical background. Vinyl brings the listener through pictures, clues and signs. Vinyl just gives sense to emotions and feelings… and you can browse our music through a beautiful object…
12. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band?
Christophe: recordings, trips abroad, backstage with Cranes, meeting Slowdive, … feel the happiness that music brings you at every moment of your life.
Gauthier: Stage stage stage !
Cecilia::eyes recently released their latest album "Disappearance" on CD, vinyl & digital format.
More info:
Official Site
Facebook
Bandcamp
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