You can read my review here:
Claire at Purple Sage PR offered me the chance to interview the guys behind the project and I jumped on board. As I wanted to find out more about this great project and how the idea came about to make the record.
Claire at Purple Sage PR offered me the chance to interview the guys behind the project and I jumped on board. As I wanted to find out more about this great project and how the idea came about to make the record.
Stephane Miollan from Endless Floods answered most of the questions, whilst Quentin from Greyfell answered the artwork question.
Read on for the interview....
We are here to talk about your new album ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL. Which is quite a refreshing and original collaborative album from both bands. How did the idea for this album come about and who originally thought of making a joint album together.
Hi thanks a lot for the kind words. The idea came when Benjamin and I met the guys from Greyfell during a show we shared with our other band (Benjamin and I play also in the doom band Monarch!). We had a looooot of fun with Greyfell’s guys and we just threw the idea as some excuses to spend more time all together having fun.
Did you guys actually know each other before recording this album. Had you ever toured together or played gigs together.
We knew each other a few times before the recording session and we also shared shows as Endless Floods and Greyfell played together in France and Spain.
Were you worried that your different styles of music may not actually work before recording the album. As both GREYFELL and ENDLESS FLOODS have different sounds to each other.
Well not that much I think. We don’t even talked about “style of music”, we just share ideas about ambiances and colors we wanted to explore. We wanted the album to be also an excuse to go outside the comfort zone for each bands. So ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL do not sound like Greyfell and not like Endless Floods. It sounds like ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL at the end.
What is the actual album about. As it has some cool interesting ideas running throughout the entire album.
We are here to talk about your new album ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL. Which is quite a refreshing and original collaborative album from both bands. How did the idea for this album come about and who originally thought of making a joint album together.
Hi thanks a lot for the kind words. The idea came when Benjamin and I met the guys from Greyfell during a show we shared with our other band (Benjamin and I play also in the doom band Monarch!). We had a looooot of fun with Greyfell’s guys and we just threw the idea as some excuses to spend more time all together having fun.
Did you guys actually know each other before recording this album. Had you ever toured together or played gigs together.
We knew each other a few times before the recording session and we also shared shows as Endless Floods and Greyfell played together in France and Spain.
Were you worried that your different styles of music may not actually work before recording the album. As both GREYFELL and ENDLESS FLOODS have different sounds to each other.
Well not that much I think. We don’t even talked about “style of music”, we just share ideas about ambiances and colors we wanted to explore. We wanted the album to be also an excuse to go outside the comfort zone for each bands. So ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL do not sound like Greyfell and not like Endless Floods. It sounds like ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL at the end.
What is the actual album about. As it has some cool interesting ideas running throughout the entire album.
During the composition process we had a lot of images and colors coming to our mind. Most of them were clearly about Big Castles, Big Swords, Royal Court with a touch of Sci-fi… The album use a Sci-fi / Chevaleresque background to talk about personal subjects also.
How did you write and record the album. Did you all collaborate together or did both bands just submitted their songs and then put together in the recording process. Or did members from both bands actually work together on all of the songs.
We use a time when Greyfell’s squad were in our home-town in Bordeaux to write and test different ideas in a live configuration. Then we went to Rouen few month after and record all together. Everyone proposed ideas and we decided together.
The thing I admire most about the album is how different it to the music you’re both known for whilst retaining something familiar for fans of both bands to get on board with. Was that something easy or difficult to achieve when making the album.
We didn’t think about that too much. The most significant aspect of both Endless and Greyfell expressed themselves naturally. So I guess it wasn’t difficult.
What influenced you all when writing and recording this album.
Musically speaking, we didn’t mention that much other music. But we watch a lot the video-clip of Vangelis’s “Chariot of fire” and talked about “Planet of the Apes”.
We worked with a graphic designer friend of ours, François Vesin. We did not give him much of an input except the music itself and the global spirit of the recording process (i.e. music made by upgraded monkeys). He found this old photo taken around the Ukrainian Front during World War II, displaying an old orthodox church gate torn apart by bombings and imagined and redesigned it as a gateway to another parallel universe. Probably ruled by upgraded monkeys.
Was this a hard album to write and record for compared to your own individual albums.
It was easy to write and easy to align each other comparing to the amount of time we had to work on it. The most difficult and long part was surely the last 20% of the production process. All the tiny aspects that need a little time to be done properly. We had a strong basis and we needed few extra months to finish
Why did you call this project and album ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL. What is the meaning of the name for this project.
It’s the name we wanted to have when peoples of Endless Floods and Greyfell make music together. There were the Stone Age, Iron Age, Middle Age, Modern Age… And now we decree the ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL.
What comes first for you when recording new music. Lyrics or Music.
Music came first. But feelings, colours and overall aesthetic came quiet the same time. Quickly after we translate all those things through words and lyrics.
COVID-19 has pretty much put a stop to all life as we know it for the time being. How big of an impact has it affected the band. And how are you surviving in this stressful time.
ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL had recorded everything before this huge mess came so it didn’t that much impact our work on this album. Of course things are totally out of control right now, we keep working our music, adapting things to the new context and the best medicine.
After everything is back to some sort of normality. What does the future hold for both bands and ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL in general. Will you be touring the record in the future.
I really don’t know about touring ha-ha. I don’t want to hope for things that are still out of my control right now.
Will you guys be working together on any further projects in the future or is this just a one-off project.
We already have desire and new stuff for a second episode of ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL to record all together. I think it will happen sooner than later.
What are the future plans for GREYFELL and ENDLESS FLOODS. Any exciting plans for both bands in the future.
Endless Floods have 2 records in the mixing process and we plan to go record 1 or more new record in the coming weeks. We love to working new music and we want to keep it busy.
Thanks for doing this interview. Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom that you want to say to your fans.
Thank you for offering the opportunity to talk about ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL. No words of wisdom, just love for everyone.
COVID-19 has pretty much put a stop to all life as we know it for the time being. How big of an impact has it affected the band. And how are you surviving in this stressful time.
ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL had recorded everything before this huge mess came so it didn’t that much impact our work on this album. Of course things are totally out of control right now, we keep working our music, adapting things to the new context and the best medicine.
After everything is back to some sort of normality. What does the future hold for both bands and ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL in general. Will you be touring the record in the future.
I really don’t know about touring ha-ha. I don’t want to hope for things that are still out of my control right now.
Will you guys be working together on any further projects in the future or is this just a one-off project.
We already have desire and new stuff for a second episode of ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL to record all together. I think it will happen sooner than later.
What are the future plans for GREYFELL and ENDLESS FLOODS. Any exciting plans for both bands in the future.
Endless Floods have 2 records in the mixing process and we plan to go record 1 or more new record in the coming weeks. We love to working new music and we want to keep it busy.
Thanks for doing this interview. Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom that you want to say to your fans.
Thank you for offering the opportunity to talk about ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL. No words of wisdom, just love for everyone.
Words by Steve Howe and ÂGE ⱡ TOTAL
GREYFELL Links:
Facebook / Bandcamp / Instagram
ENDLESS FLOOD Links
Facebook / Bandcamp
