The Power of Music, Exploring Feelings, and International Love - The Grand Bain Interview

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The sunshine blazed across a clear sky when I arrived at the Mama Shelter, one of Paris’s trendiest locales. In the mid-afternoon heat everything moves slower, even the servers who polish knives and the few patrons who sip Perrier through black straws. I’m here to meet Erica and Jules, who make up Grand Bain. As we start talking their message hits home for me. Erica, an American, and Jules, a Frenchman, creating art together. And not just music, it’s a story of intercontinental love. 

Erica was always passionate about culture and music, focusing on history and French when she studied at UCLA. Her passion for France brought her here to Paris, where she worked as a cook in a top restaurant. 

Jules was brought up in a musical family, his father being a musician, and he had been involved in many projects throughout his lifetime. It was during the time that he was working on a new wave project that they sought a singer. 

Erica was also looking to get involved with a musical project. She had been writing songs but was hoping to find something more. Calling her roots more “soul” than their current music, her background is more musical theater, soul, and R&B. Despite the potential mismatch, she auditioned for Jules’s old group, and they immediately got along. 

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That old new wave group did not share the same fate however. Soon after the group dissolved, and Jules and Erica struck out together under the new name, Grand Bain, in early 2014. 

Jules’s father has a studio, and Jules works as a sound engineer, two great advantages for an emerging group to get music out to the grand public. Both Erica and Jules consider themselves perfectionists, so it understandably took a while before they had something they were confident enough to share. There was one thing they were sure enough about though, each other. They recently got married here in Paris. 

The result of their partnership are three tracks currently available on Soundcloud (my personal favorite being the catchy and powerful “No Country”). They have put the finishing touches on their first EP, to be released sometime in the fall, preceded by their first single and music video which will come out in September. 

Jules describes their musical creation as “starting with lyrics, melody/chords, whereas before it was rhythms.” What’s important is to identify cool potential, recognize the beginning of inspiration when it strikes. If it’s not there, you wait. They often go to Burgundy to work on their music together, to take a break from city life. 

Not limiting themselves to constantly creating new sounds, they also take bits of older music and re-purpose those songs. Erica said that their upcoming single is actually the first song they co-wrote together. It sat on the sidelines for a while before they came back to it. 

Their music could be classified as sad, but Erica’s sunny philosophy changes what that might mean to some people. “I don’t believe that people are sad. Sad things happen to people. The important thing is to not hide it or let it fester. Release it.” 

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If they could open for any group touring right now, they don’t hesitate when they both said Arcade Fire. They also mentioned Interpol as an inspiration. One listen to “Leonie’s Dream” will confirm that. If there is one driving theme for Grand Bain as musicians, it’s to be powerful. Explore feelings, don’t run from them. 

Now that they have a nearly-finished EP and have started working on songs for a full-length album, they are looking to make the move across the world to Los Angeles. Since they sing in English, it makes sense to reach a wider audience who can appreciate the music more quickly. They will be looking for a manager and a way to get set up there. 

In the meantime, you can still catch Grand Bain here in Paris, they play tomorrow night at Le Motel and the big release party is October 9th at the Bus Palladium. 

New App + Paper: The GreenRoom Family Grows!

When the temperatures soar above 40ºC (+100ºF) like we’ve been having this week here in Paris, there are few things better than an ice cold Heineken, the emblematic beer in a green bottle with a red star that’s available in even more places than Coca Cola (well, maybe, don’t quote us on that). But Heineken is not just cool temperature-wise, they have also been a leading source of inspiration and they are very deep into music culture. They did, after all, create GreenRoom, which is an awesome source for the latest trending news, especially for music. 

We read GreenRoom’s posts all the times, from their music services comparisons, to insider Game of Thrones updates. The unique style and voice works perfectly (if you speak French!). And they have shared nothing but good music on their Whyd page since almost the very conception of Whyd. Mad respect. 

Now their offering grows, as they have just released a very slick app - My Greenroom - which lets you download their articles for offline viewing. You can also see top lists of the most read articles, and see the articles that your friends have liked, to make sure that you can know what Marie Robin has been reading! 

They are also releasing a mix between a magazine and book called “Festival Mon Amour” in collaboration with Snatch magazine. The publication is a limited edition featuring the world of music festivals. You can pick up a copy at places like Collette, Palais de Tokyo, la Gaité Lyrique, and Mama Shelter. 

KRONO Knows How To Seize Inspiration [INTERVIEW]

Hello KRONO! Where did you find the inspiration to start making music together? You cite a Daft Punk concert as the day when your voyage began, but were you making music before? 

Hello Whyd! Since we were very small, we’ve been music lovers, but we were not at all in the DJing world, more into chess and arts in general. And on that day in 2007, when we had the chance to see Daft Punk live, came the idea of creating something with my brother. 

Inspiration is not something that can be found, it’s something that you don’t look for; it’s more of a short, intense moment that you have to know how to seize, and so, we think, to be a true artist, you must be conscious of the things around you, because music is above all a story, an emotion, not noise. 

Keep reading

Pentatracks: Stories Inspired From Music: eBook out now!

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Back in the wintertime we came across a very interesting concept: sometimes music can be inspiring, so much so that entire fictional stories can be imagined and realized thanks to even just one chord. 

Keep reading

Interview with Electronic Producer Oh Morice

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1. Hey Patrick! Can you tell us your story? Where do you come from?

Hello! I have a mostly classical background at the base. As a child I wanted to play piano, so I learned how to play piano. But above all I am passionate about electronic instruments: the 80’s, the new wave, the beginning of digital, samplers of electronic music. I like Kraftwerk, Laurie Anderson, Depeche Mode, that cold sound, rhythmic, repetitive. 

Going back a bit: I went to music school, then I really wanted to play music. I’ve played in French groups, as a pianist, released a few albums, gave numerous concerts, but I’ve always just loved playing my music. It was in 2005 that I made my first appearance under the pseudonym Aliplays. 

The German record label Eleganz took me under their wing, my first album was supposed to come out with them, but the music crisis forced them to close shop. Fortunately, radio Nova liked what I had done, and they played my songs. A French label heard me, and they released my album (Todotesoroslsand). Then in 2010 I released my second album (Happy-ours) on a different label. At the same time, I worked with numerous artists, as a performing musician, arranger, and composer.

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2. What style of music do you produce?

I ask myself the same thing! It is certainly music inspired by electronic as much as pop. I have a pronounced taste for the piano. It is always there, some tracks are very classical in their form and harmony. 

I compose according to what I hear. I am very influenceable. I love to compose music in the style of… Not to copy, but to treat a musical style in my own way. I have more of a producer process than an interpretive artist does. What interests me is the finished product. I give a lot of attention to the production, the sound, the sound qualities. On my albums, I’ve always called on multiple singers. I don’t see an album as a whole, but as a compilation of universes that are not connected to each other, independent, something that can disorient the listener sometimes. 

It is therefore really more of electronic music, with its strong classical influences in the sound and harmonies, more cold like the Germans know how to do it.  

3. What are the influences of your creativity?

Everything. A sound in a pub, the timbre of a voice, a photo of LA, a movie. I love building things. The accidental sounds are often very inspiring, because they surprise, they take me out of the routine of composition, and they derail my train of thought. They take me away. I’ve done a few concerts with toy instruments, it was very inspiring, because of their weaknesses, it forces creativity. On a level of artistic influences, that is really wide. I don’t really have a privileged style, not really into celtic music much, however. 

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4. You’ve got a new EP: “The Shapes.” Who should listen to it?

My new EP hasn’t been officially released yet. I am still looking for a serious label. I have some interesting propositions, but I want to make the right choice. 

Who should listen to it? Chuck Norris.

Thanks Patrick! Make sure you like the Oh Morice Facebook page, and subscribe to him on Whyd! Here is the new EP for your listening pleasure!