Video interview with Pleymo @ Hellfest 2018!
It must have reminded you a lot of memories! (Davy) I think yeah! Well not later than yesterday, there's a little guy who was 14 years old who asked me for an autograph... And 14 years old, how is it actually possible! And so obviously, there were his parents behind, who must be our age in fact, you see? And there's everything... All that mixes and you say “But I'm old like that actually!”. And actually yeah, yeah, we're very old! (Erik) And it's true that this new tour it gave the opportunity to people who, at the time, could not come to see us. For example yesterday, I saw a girl who was 15 years old when we stopped in 2007. And her mom, 15 years old, she didn't want to let her go to a Pleymo concert. And so there, she saw that we were reforming 10 years later, for her it was an opportunity to come to see us finally. So here are some funny stories like that! How did you manage this « post-Pleymo » period? Did the idea of reforming the band come to you often? (Erik) There was a period, a few years after we stopped, where we ended up together, all. You were not necessarily in... In the same delirium so you were not with us. But we tried to recompose some tracks, but, it didn't really go very far. It was not very convincing, we were not very inspired at that time, so we had... We dropped the idea a bit. And then this reformation, in fact, the pretext was... It was really the 20 years of the release of the first album, “Keçkispasse ?” which came out in 98. So 2018, 98... 20 years! It was the good opportunity for... To do shows. In fact, the desire was really to go back on stage... To have fun yeah, to see people again! To laugh, to blow off some steam, to replay tracks! That's it... It was done like that! You have often claimed to be a live band above all. Did you exactly waited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band to make your comeback, or was there another trigger? (Davy) Yeah, that's right, that's right! It is true that we were often told! We still saw each other regularly, at least once a year you see. And obviously it was latent, every time we see each other well... We see each other because we are the Pleymo band! So inevitably, it... It comes back! But there, the twenty years, it was a pretext, because I think the return to live... Heu well that's it, although at one point, it was about making an album. So, me, I was not down, I think that the conditions were not gathered etc. That's it! And but the live however, yeah! However the live yeah, there is no reason. In fact, the live, we're taking over, we pull out our guitars. Well... me, they were already out, I take care of it since... I didn't put away my guitars! But what I mean is... We all had that in mind and then here, that's it! Arriving on 2018, we thought “Ah, what if we went... If we sent e-mails a little bit to people, see what happens!”. And the feedback, as earlier you talked about the Trianon, the feedback of the pros was also great! Well that's it, it made us happy, we thought “Oh yeah, okay! In fact, there is a demand!”. There are people who wanted to see us! (Erik) There is also a little story, it's because after we've split up, Marc, the singer, went to live in the United States! And the bass player was playing with another band. They saw each other in the United States, they went to see a gig from a rock band. And during the concert, they looked at each other and said to each other “It's still cool to make music, it must be awesome to be on stage and everything, do you remember the sensations we had at the time? Come on, we propose to the others to reform the band, we will see what happens!”. So there, they submitted the idea more or less like that when we talked to each other. We were all OK with that idea! To really laugh, do the stage to... For the pleasure! So that was really the motivation initially! How does it feel to do « sold out » shows or to play at the Hellfest Festival, in front of so many people? How do you handle the pressure before going on stage? Is it the same as at your beginnings?
(Davy) For me, it's not the same as at the beginning! It's not the same pressure! In fact, here, we have... It's a pretty positive pressure actually! Because we have... We do not defend an album, there we defend... It's nothing in fact, it's just an appointment with pals! So that's the pressure. You know, it's really about telling yourself “Damn, I'll see him again, it's going to be awesome and everything!”. That's it in fact! On festivals it's different, because there are people who do not know Pleymo. So maybe we'll have to go get people who do not know us, who perhaps have negative a priori on us. It happens! And it's the game, it's the game! But for me, it's a positive pressure, that's it! More positive than before, and on the first tour! Well, on the... 10 years ago! There... There, I like it a lot! There's a lot of pleasure! And you're not parasitized by the rest! (Erik) Yeah, yeah we're all a little in this same state of mind to tell oneself that we're here to have fun. To have fun with people, to communicate with them. So, there's no pressure of perfectionism etc, like I could have at the time maybe you see! I tell myself “Well, I'm here to have fun!”. So, I'm not in... The intention is more spontaneous, you see! (Davy) And there are these parameters only, I think we are... I think we are better than before! I think it plays better in fact, definitely! We have automatisms, it's emptied, it, it works! It works and I even think that it probably works better than before! (Erik) It's different... Yeah so it forms a cohesion between us! And we are more... Yeah! (Davy) For example, when we made Russia, there were conditions a little bit more... After the tour, we went to Russia there, there were a little more extreme conditions, you see? And we had to... It was not our amps, because you can't make the amps travel and everything, it's a little complicated! And we did 3, 4 and... It was... We did two crazy concerts, completely crazy! People, the same, incredible! They knew all the lyrics in phonetics and everything! And you see, because I know that, here, on these dates... Well, I thought, but in fact, we were still... We knew how to do that! Well, as you said, I think that we are actually a live band I think! Well, we like that! We like that! Really! In hindsight, if you had to select an album from the 4 that you released (not to mention your live album of course), which one would it be and why? (Erik) Uh I would say “Rock”! Because it is a little synthesis of everything we have explored as musical universes in this style! Between the stuff, the tracks a little more... With rap texts, a little jump, and more rock and melodic riffs, that can be found in the last album “Alphabet Prison”. I think that this album “Rock” does a little synthesis of all this, even if there are a lot of tracks that I like in all the albums, I think that in that one, we find a lot of universes that are... That coexist well together! (Davy) I... Almost copy / paste! Me too! Me too it's... It's “Rock”! Well, the first album, we went to the studio, we had 7 songs? And we composed everything else on the spot. It was not long since I was in the band, I was the last to arrive! It was uh... It was the big roller coaster, right away! It was complete madness! It was like “Yeah, OK, alright, studio!”, and it was really spontaneous! I loved it! And so suddenly, you're in a kind of constant pace like that! Then, “Medecine Cake”, it's almost the same, but with more means etc. But “Medecine Cake” yeah, there are many people I know it impressed! Because I see you doing that! Tell yourself that there's many, many people who tell us that, typically! And I know that “Medecine Cake”, there, clearly... And in my family too I have cousins who tell me “Yeah, great Davy, it's awesome the album!”. And it stayed like that and that marked and everything. But “Rock”, in fact, that's it, we could take a step back. We had a first wave of feedback from people who told us that it was good, etc. We had made... Music videos! Yeah, we settled down, we took the time to think, we took our guitars and then we tried to really do something... We were uh... That is to say we were full time musicians. We had to do the job! I think we notice it too. Because everything else, we did it really very spontaneously! You see? It's... “Ok we take a guitar, we make riffs!” and we got back! “Rock”, we settled down and that's it, and uh... (Erik) And at the text level as well! Yeah! There are things that are more mature, that have more sense! (Davy) After, I know it's the only album, there are lots of people... That many people did not like! Because... We had... We had softened, etc. But then it's like that, we did what we wanted to do! https://soundcloud.com/pleymoofficial/sets/rock-1677 And finally... What does 2018 still have in store for you? Can we expect a new album? (Erik) A new album it's not... It's not up-to-date! For now, we're still in the... In the dynamics of the tour! There, we have just started the first dates of the festival tour. We have about ten dates this summer, between June and August! And 2018 it's not over, so I don't know what it has in store for us, this year. But maybe other things so... We'll see! We are open to surprise! (Davy) Perfect, I can't say... Nice doublespeak! (laughs) You prefer to keep the suspense until the end? (Davy) Well it's because we don't really know! (Erik) Yeah, well yeah! (Davy) We would like to tell you stuff but frankly... We don't know! (Erik) We do not have scoops! (Davy) Nope! We have nothing!
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