| I really, really love it, when a band is musically totally crazy, motley and unpredictable, so full of neckbreaking twist and turns. Where every song is a new discovery and every new listen reveals new thrilling details. A band that though manages to put everything together cleverly and homogenous without sounding too artificial and overloaded. French's own 6:33 is such band, and their new record Deadly Scenes is just mind blowing. Outside of France 6:33 seem to be still an insider's tip, so it's about time to shed some light on them and raise awareness (especially to the bookers in Germany) ;)
Dajana: Ah, salut & cheers. As you might have read, I’m totally blown away by your new record Deadly Scenes. I love its craziness, its variety, its creativity and its awesomeness. Can’t get enough of it and so want you see playing live ;)
Rorschach: Thanks a lot! On stage we take the thing to a whole new dimension, and I hope you like it when you’ll see it ;-)
Dajana: So how’s the response so far for the new album? I can imagine that the one or the other music journalist might have its problem with Deadly Scenes ;)
Howahkan: The response from the audience and the media has been incredibly good so far, and we're absolutely thrilled. The agitation you can feel before an album release is always surrounded with a certain form of anxiety... You suddenly ask yourself if you did everything fine, if the audience will follow, if you may have taken a wrong way... Hopefully all our doubts were quickly erased with all the reviews and comments we received from everybody. We also have the feeling that 6:33 has grown to the next level in terms of popularity, and this is very rewarding and promising!
Dajana: I think you made quite a big step forward with Deadly Scenes. Not because you have much evolved or changed stylistically, but what really amazed me was your talent to make Deadly Scenes so homogeneous this time. How (time-)killing was it to create the perfectly suiting transitions between all those styles, paces, twists and turns to keep the chaos flowing?
Nicko: I think Deadly Scenes sounds more homogeneous because its entire conception has been made at the same moment, from the beginning to the end. It looks like who we are today. The most important thing for me is that the result has to be consistent. I’ve been listening to metal for many years but I listen to a lot of other kinds music so it seems “natural” to me to mix all these elements together, so when you decide that every combination are possible, the most difficult part of the job is done *laughs*!
Dajana: Where do all the inspiration and ideas come from? Are the musical influences as obvious as they are to hear out? (you know, Mike Patton with his bands, Devin, Tim Burton, Diablo Swing Orchester, Unexpect… etc.).
Nicko: We’re always trying to make a visual music, like a kind of movie’s soundtrack. Of course we’re inspired by many artists like Danny Elfman, Devin Townsend or Mike Patton but beside their music we’re in line with the way they break the rules. We use many styles that we love such as Rock, Electro, Swing, Prog, and of course Metal. But it has never been calculated in order to make this or that effect, neither to break things just to break them. Today more than ever, in 6:33 we all agree on one very important fact: it is and it has to stay something natural.
Dajana: What was the craziest comparison you came across so far in reviews, interviews or from fans?
Howahkan: Well, starting with the (hopefully very few) bad comments, we read sometimes that 6:33 is a complete 100% copycat of everything Mike Patton ever did. I remember one particular guy who quoted maybe ten times in his review the name of Mr Bingle (yes, Bingle!). So we thought we were dealing with a real specialist and just bowed to his superior knowledge *laughs*. The craziest good comparison we came across was this guy after a gig in France telling us our song I'm A Nerd was the 3rd best song in the world, after Stairway To Heaven and Sweet Home Alabama. Well, thanks!
Dajana: How does songwriting work generally? I mean, there is hardly a style/genre you don’t use in your music. Does every member put his ideas in a pot or is it just one member being brimming over creatively? How to master such musical chaos and to shape it?
Rorschach: Nicko does the music and I do the lyrics. Generally Nicko sends me the music and it inspires me to write the lyrics. Our twisted minds work just very well together *laughs*!
Dajana: There is also a vast array of sounds and instruments. Your key master must be a genius ;) And I guess in the studio 6:33 is like pain in the ass for the producer? How complex and difficult were the recordings? (Btw… sound and production are amazing!).
Howahkan: Indeed, there is a huge amount of synths in our music. We have two keyboard players on stage, plus some sample layers. In the studio, we had to be very organized and meticulous, 'cause some songs feature more than 200 tracks! I was in charge of the recording and the mixing, as I own a small recording studio in the Paris suburbs, so I think I can safely say it WAS a pain in the ass *laughs*.
Dajana: A propos 6:33… Would you like to explain your band name?
Nicko: Some whisper that it refers to the verse of the gospel of Matthew ("Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you."). Some other think this may be some obscure numerology mindfuck. Other simply tells the band was created at 6:33 AM after a very long night. Who knows?
Dajana: Deadly Scenes is the magical third record that outstripped the previous ones and you have already used everything possible. So what could be your next challenge musically? Any artist you would love to collaborate with?
Howahkan: Believe it or not, but we don't think we already used everything possible at all! We don't know what our next album is gonna sound like yet, but you can expect something really different. We're not interested in making the same album twice, and that is already a challenge in its own. Talking about collaborations, we're still waiting for Mr. Townsend's email!
Dajana: Deadly Scenes has a lot of a crazy musical, something in the vein of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Is that a future option to bring Deadly Scenes on stage that way? Or with a swing orchestra for example, with all the trumpets, piano and strings live and real and some girls dancing?
Rorschach: We would love to, but we don’t have the money to build that up. But one step at a time, I can already tell you that very soon we will have new elements on stage.
Dajana: Another thing I was wondering about are your live shows. On the pics I have seen so far you appear on stage like an anarcho-punk band, totally different from what one might expect listening to your music ;) Makes me think that 6:33 is kind of an overall concept of music, lyrics and performance?
Rorschach: An anarcho-punk band? Hahahaha! I love this idea! Actually we are more like a bunch of weird comedians who plays their role on a musical theatre performance. We put our masks before to go on stage and we take them off at the end of the show.
Dajana: Any chance to see you playing live in Germany anytime soon? What about your touring and festival plans this year? How do you bring all this craziness on stage? Do all the sounds, voices and choirs come from the keys when playing live?
Howahkan: We're currently looking for a booking agent, 'cause I have to admit it's quite hard to play outside France for now. But we will focus on touring as much as possible for a couple of time. On stage, unfortunately and as you can image we can't afford to bring a choir, an orchestra and a brass section with us, so we use backtrack samples, but we try to play as much as possible with two keyboard players. That being said, our shows are very energetic and theatrical, and I like to think this is something which has to be seen!
Dajana: As I didn’t get the lyrics for Deadly Scenes, what are they about? What I heard they seem to include at least acid-tongued topics and black humor.
Rorschach: Deadly Scenes is a concept album written like a (freaky) theatre piece. It deals with the Seven Deadly Sins, one song (that we call act) per sin, plus a prologue and an epilogue. There is indeed a lot of 2nd degree sense of humor, with a lot of references and many funny blinks.
Dajana: Rorschach, I guess you get pretty often compared with Mike Patton. Your voice is pretty close to him. What about a duet with him? ;) You’re looking forward to the Faith No More comeback album?
Rorschach: It’s true that our voice has some similar colors, but I think it’s more the way of using and exploring it that is a bit similar, coz we both try to push our instrument forward in different ways, styles and intensities. But thanks for the compliment coz for me this guy rules, and a duet with him is a fantasy for me of course. I’m waiting for FNM new album, and even more the fact that I’ll see the band on stage in June.
Dajana: There is an issue I don’t know what to think about. After January 7 the world said: Nous sommes Charlie. 6 weeks later there is nothing to see, to read and to hear in the media anymore. Are we, as society, so superficial that we only took part in that tragedy for a twinkling of an eye? Is it a problem of fast-moving media and the disability to focus on the important topics in our lives? Or is it even a blessing for the families involved that the media focus on something else and give them necessary room and time to mourn and work up their losses? How much has life changed in Paris since then?
Rorschach: I think it’s a bit of all these reasons. The media plays a big role in the impact of such an event. This kind of act affected us personally in different ways. We showed in the streets of Paris on January the 11th how united the people could be in front of this kind of attack, but life brings us back to our own daily stuff after a while, and I think it’s normal…But nobody forgets, and emotion is still touchable sometimes in the streets around Charlie Hebdo.
Dajana: Do you think bands could become targets too, if they have lyrics/performances that caricature the Islam?
Rorschach: How many people in the world already died for such reasons? Sadly, everyone who claims his opinion can become a target. I think the atmosphere is tense with some subjects like religion, but we have to defend freedom of speech, because if not, mental terrorism will win. An artist can choose to play with it, or not. The human kind makes everything possible, the best like the worst, because it is its nature.
Dajana: Thank you very much for spending time answering all these questions :) Have a great and successful year and please, play in Germany ;)
Nicko: Thank you very much, It would be a pleasure! |
