NORDNET INTERVIEW
Contact Artsonic : Lolita music / 3 rue Bellanger/ 92300 Levallois-Perret - FRANCE
Mail: prods@lolita.fr
Interview :
For a first album, Artsonic has got exceptional conditions. Can you explain it? Do you think that Artsonic is a privileged band facing young and underground bands?
It's true that our conditions was exceptional for our first album "Sonic Area". At first, we wanted to make a self produced CD and after we planned to look after a record company. So we made lots of subsidies files to pay for studio recordings. And finally, we had lot of money 'cos all of our files was accepted. Meanwhile, a record company have contact with us and we signed. This allows us to have more money. With this consequent budget for recordings, we have been able to choose our studio. It was 'tour de force' studio in Brussels (Belgium) with Bruno Donini as engineer. But I don't think that Artsonic is privileged 'cos we've been existing for 5 years and we've also known its of problems during this time, we've also progressed and then we have now a good product selling in France.
What's your main objective with this album? What do you expect?
Objectives are simple. To be known in french metal area and fans by locals radios shows, zines and interviews made in mags. Then, we want to have lots of gigs in France. So we'll use this album and all the airspace we have in mags like Hard rock, Hard 'n' heavy, Hard force, Rage, ... to make a second CD with still a better production and promotion than we actually have now.
Sonic Area is for you an outcome, the end of a step or the beginning of a long history?
It's definitely not an outcome. It's in the same time the end of a step, 'cos we made what a young band dreams: a first album distributed in the entire country. This is a result of 5 years of works, problems, where music was priority. It's a reward for us. In the same time, it makes us more motivated and we are now working on the second album. I don't know if it's the beginning of a long story, but we don't want to stop it now.
Artsonic is often described as Pantera? Is it a problem for you? Will you try to escape from this influences for your next effort?
Artsonic is often described as bands like Pantera, Sepultura, sometimes Machine Head. It's clear that we're nearer from these bands than we are from Guns & Roses. Problem is that as soon as you make guitar parts with big sound and saturation, someone will say it sounds like Pantera, for example. As soon as you grow in the scene, you're always compared to someone else. If Machine Head makes the same album as we've done with the same titles, nobody will say that it sounds like Pantera. But it's not really a problem. It's just a step and you'll always find someone to tell that you look like some one.
What's your opinion about the french scene? What's your relation with other underground bands?
There's lot of great bands. Problem comes that France doesn't give lots of possibilities to french bands' promotion. It's hard to make music in France. It costs a lot (instruments, rehearsals, ...). In USA, there's tons of good bands that live by their music. It's because of our society. USA is more professional than us. But in France, you'll also find bands that are not musically in place, making gigs and asking money for that. After this, it's normal that people don't want to see another little gig and so they prefer spending money in buying some CD's. Relationships with other bands are non exceptional in Paris. We do not have real friend. Parisian bands seem to be jealous of us and often try to make it wrong for us. In the other places, bands are more cool. We've got friends in Oversoul for example.
Why did you choose Belgium to record the album? French conditions were not acceptable? do you plan a more professional future?
At first, we wanted to record in Dreux (in France). We've gone to the studio and finally decided to go in Belgium. There's 3 reasons: to be alone during the recording, to be somewhere else than Paris and to concentrate on our album and just on it. Dreux is too near to Paris. We also wanted a studio with good rate between quality and price. "Tour de Force" was good . Then, Bruno Donini, the sound engineer, has a great experience of the recording of bands like us. He recorded Loudblast, Sup, ...
What's the main advantage of your album and its worst fault?
The main quality of our album is its sound. The production is quite good that gives us a "big sound" for a first CD. The main fault is that this album contains old songs and new ones. It could also be an advantage because all songs are different from each other.
Review:This band is the french revelation for the beginning of 1997. Artsonic, which was created in 1992, signed with Lolita music a new french records company. The result is "Sonic Area" which is also a CDrom Sonic Area, a real impressive debut CD. As the band has got professional conditions to work, there's no flaw in it. Sounds and production are really powerful. Artsonic uses lots of arrangements to enrich songs. The riffing parts are really different from each others, so you are able to differentiate each songs from each others. The drummer has got a real technical potential. He brings lots of subtleties in his game. The singer approaches different registers. All these facets of Artsonic made music attractive and non boring.