Français
Deutsch
Español
Formed in Bordeaux in 2019, DROSTE fits into a metal universe that owes as much to the "old school" fringe of the genre as to the modernity of Gojira or Katatonia. We have Fabien in an interview to introduce you to these newcomers in the heavy French sound!
Hi, Fabien / DROSTE! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Can you quickly introduce your band to our readers?
Hey, hello! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak! We formed the band in Bordeaux in 2019 by meeting through a dating site... for musicians. And apparently, it matched! We each have our influences in a bunch of different musical styles, including within rock itself, but what unites us is a metal that is both powerful and current, at the crossroads of Deftones, Gojira, Machine Head or Katatonia. DROSTE loves heavy riffs, groove, and more ethereal parts.
With the COVID health crisis, how do you manage your band in such a particular context?
The pandemic hit us just five months after the band met, I say "met" and not formed, it was a hard blow and a huge challenge at the same time. To briefly go into details, at the time of our meeting, my young bandmates were great musicians, super motivated, wild but without band experience, and I was a bit older, with some experience in the metal scene, but definitely less motivated. When I started to understand the potential of the guys and to get them into composing 2-3 songs, we found ourselves confined. So I got back to business. I personally learned to know them from a distance, to create a bond between us, and especially to teach them DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to allow them to express themselves and make use of this social and professional downtime, but unfortunately without collective practice. We can say that we're a pandemic band because the entire creative process, socialization, production, and management was done remotely. We could only try the songs "for real" at the pace of the deconfinements.
Your first EP, "Chasing the sun" is released on March 3rd on digital platforms, but also physically in CD format. How long and how did you work on it?
As for the way to proceed, you have some elements of answer in the previous question. Concretely, the year 2020 served as a period of intensive composition. Personally, I had nothing else to do as I was on partial unemployment for a good part of the year, but I wasn't alone in this situation, so the other members of DROSTE saw their mobile plan break the ceiling haha! Then, I produced the album throughout the year 2021, recording, mixing and mastering, finishing half in burnout at the end of December, because it was a huge workload and as I am very stupid/meticulous/chronically unsatisfied...
You unveiled your video "The Passage" a few weeks ago. How did the writing and shooting of this video go?
It took five months to set it up, and this in parallel with the production of the EP. I made this clip with the help of my buddy Téo LG on camera and post-production, but also with Grégory Gicquiaud (guitarist) who supported me and even skillfully unblocked script elements where I was stuck! We shot over two consecutive weekends, the outdoor part on the beautiful Arcachon Basin and the "indoor" part in THE metal concert hall of Bordeaux, "Le Salem".
Can we talk about the artwork of your album? What story does it tell us?
As often happens, we did a "roundtable" on everyone's ideas and desires, and it jumped out at me: the visual would contain symbolism from each title of the EP. It might be very cliché, but we all agreed. Then I made a rough sketch and gave it to an artist friend from Bordeaux, Pedro Da Silva Mourao, who has a great talent for understanding and adapting ideas. His style and stroke are truly unique!
Let's talk about merchandising and your record. You called on us for the design of your t-shirts, your record, and also for your stage dressing. Can you talk about your experience with Distrolution Merch?
There were a number of graphic touch-ups to be made and you pointed them out and helped to rectify them. In terms of deadlines, we had set milestones and you beat them every time! And finally, all the products ordered arrived super high quality! You delivered and we're super satisfied.
In general, is there a merch item that you give particular importance to, both for DROSTE, but also as fans of bands? If so, which one?
Like many rock'n'roll fans, we love band t-shirts. It's a way to claim the violence of one's dark soul like a rainy day, as much as the coolness of a summer festival afternoon. Yep, t-shirts are a kind of individual flag!
The final word is yours!
DROSTE is starting its adventure, humbly, without claiming to invent a style, but fucking determined to deliver heavy, metal music, to feel good or powerful, quite simply. Don't hesitate to follow us!
