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The Distrolution / Distrolution Merch team had the chance to participate in the Hellfest Festival from June 19 to 26, 2022. The programme included concerts, meetings... and several interviews, which you can find each week in FR version on Distrolution Merch and in EN version on Distrolution! Discover without further delay our interview with Cyril, singer and guitarist of the French band Stubora!
Hi Cyril! To start this interview, I'll let you introduce yourself and tell us about your band!
Cyril: I'm Cyril, I'm guitarist and singer for StuborA. In the band, we're 3. We also have Mick on bass, who also does vocals, and we have Niala, who's on drums. We've existed since 1996, so that's a long history. But like some bands, I'd say the story has been riddled with obstacles, sometimes big obstacles, since we even had to stop for two years at one point, as the previous drummer had a serious motorcycle accident. We put everything on standby etc. And then finally, the return didn't happen as planned, so... That's why our history has really been cut into many pieces. We really restarted in 2015 with an album, the new drummer, so we put everything back in place. Even though we've existed for so many years, it's really since 2015 that we're starting to resume normal activity!
We're at the Hellfest festival. What's it like to be at such a legendary festival?
Cyril: It's always extremely pleasant. The first thing is that it's extremely pleasant. It's also good for your ego, you see! Doing an interview at Hellfest is always super nice! And it's always special, because already, you see lots of friends, lots of people you don't necessarily see, except when you do concerts, quickly etc. Here, sometimes, you have more time, so you also meet people who are not necessarily in the same place and you see them at the same time, in the same place! So it's really nice. And then, there are so many bands, so many things to see. The site is incredible! There are great concerts!
Well, in addition, this year, we're experiencing what I would call a special edition because it's over two weeks. Also special because the first week, you're under an incredible heatwave, we were dying, and now, we're getting drenched, it's flooding... It's "Baghdad"! So it's incredible, it's really great. We're lucky to have, I think, the biggest festival now, especially this year. It's a bit of a paradox, I find. In France, we have the biggest metal festival, while metal, in the media, apart from yours and the media... Let's say without the classic media, it doesn't exist! Traditional media don't talk about it. Maybe now they talk a bit about Hellfest, but it's true that it's the paradox, I think!
I understood that you attended both weekends. Were there any bands you absolutely didn't want to miss when you discovered the full line-up?
Cyril: Yeah, well for me, there are many bands from the Warzone. Because actually, I come from the hardcore scene. So all the Warzone bands: we had Agnostic Front, now we're going to have Terror. What else was there? I've even forgotten because there were so many! But the Warzone, yeah. I found that the first week had a great line-up! Yesterday, there was Kreator who was really good. Well, afterwards it deteriorated a bit because with the rain, it was a bit less practical. But yeah, the first week, I found there was a great hardcore line-up. A bit less so in the second week. And as for bands I wouldn't want to miss, there's obviously Metallica closing, it's always good to see Metallica in concert. Especially since it's an event, because it's the first time they've had them, it's kind of the only band they hadn't had until now. There are so many bands. I saw bands that I hadn't seen in years. Godflesh, yesterday, which I went to see. They really manage to get legends!
By the way, where are the other members of your band? Couldn't they come?
Cyril: Well, Mick was here the first week. Niala couldn't come because he had other obligations! But Mick was here the first week. In fact, Mick is also a big music fan, so he had concert tickets to go see Metallica in Germany, he has lots of things like that! He loves going to concerts. Because as we come from the East, well we have Luxembourg, Germany, and he had lots of things to go see. So he went off to see concerts!
You mentioned it to me earlier. Your band was created in 1996. Despite your break, in your opinion, what's the magic recipe for such longevity?
Cyril: I think it's just a matter of passion, actually. That's what we notice... When we're young, there are often lots of bands. What's hardest is the duration. Especially when you don't have the support of a label and all that. That's what's hardest, because after that, life goes on, there are lots of other obligations and that's what's tricky. But what makes us "resist" is passion. We have a passion for music that's been the same since we were young and we've always kept it. That's what motivates us, actually. Doing concerts... Now, we've been able to start them again. We started concerts... Let me not say something stupid... I think it was in March, April... I can't remember! There was a new cancellation period so I knew we had some in January, but it was cancelled again, so I'm not sure anymore. But we were finally able to officially resume concerts without being really bothered, so that's why we do it. So yeah, it's passion!
By the way, how do you balance professional life, personal life and managing a band? Not too complicated?
Cyril: We actually have a great shared calendar, where we put everything we have to do and all our obligations to make sure we plan everything in advance. After that, what there is, is that... As we've been working for a long time, I've known Mick since high school, so we're really close, so that also facilitates relationships. We've been able to develop a working method like that. We work a lot remotely, we exchange a lot. Now, there's everything you need to be able to exchange. We each have our home studio, so we really only meet when we need to fix things, and then we fix it in the calendar. And for concerts, I told you, we have a shared calendar, so we immediately know what our free dates are and we try to anticipate and then it rolls, you know. And you know, when you have the passion... you always find the time.
I'm following up on your answer. You each have your own home studio. I suppose that was quite convenient during lockdown.
Cyril: Yeah! Well, in fact, we've been doing this for years... At first, I wanted my own studio because I wanted to have time to do things properly. Because we had all experienced studio sessions where each time you finish, even when you go to a great studio, saying "I need a few more days... I need a few days" and then the studio isn't free, you can't add etc., or you don't have the budget. It's always complicated! So it's been about ten years since we started working like this. I learned. And little by little, we each developed our ability to work alone. And we can record ourselves, as a result. I'm the one who reintegrates, who does the mix, master etc. But as a result, with all the lockdowns, the Covid period, well we were actually much freer than others, because we didn't need to book anything.
Unfortunately, the first thing is that we had released a new album in 2019, in November 2019. So we were supposed to start concerts in March 2020, well... Everything was stopped! We said to ourselves: "Well, we have nothing to do", that's why we made an EP. We made an EP while being in lockdown because we were able to exchange, work remotely, we did video calls to talk about the tracks, try things together. And we actually benefited from the ease of technology to be able to make an EP. Because we wouldn't have done it without it.
Are you talking about your EP "Aprem au Garage"?
Cyril: Yeah!
It was also a way for you to keep a connection with your fans!
Cyril: We made two EPs, because we made "Vision Obscure" during lockdown, and then we thought... It was for Christmas. We said to ourselves: "People don't have concerts or anything". We made the cover EP that we had started to do. So it's the same, as we are autonomous. Especially since the "Garage" EP, we distributed it just digitally. As they are covers, we put it up for download, we left it freely accessible during the end-of-year period. All those who wanted to download it downloaded it, and then it disappeared.
On this EP, if I'm not mistaken, there are covers in English. Whereas usually, you offer titles in French. Was that a challenge for you?
Cyril: No, because... Well, it's always a challenge! At the beginning of the band, we were singing in English. Since the first part of the band's history, we were more hardcore, singing in English. Actually, when Mick joined the band, he came with a much more melodic singing style. We changed our style because we wanted to do other things at that time. That's also why there are really different stages in the band. And we felt we weren't perfect enough in our English to do it, because the accent, especially when it's melodic, well, you can hear if it's not perfect. And we said: "Why not sing in French? We're French, we sing in French, there are plenty of bands doing it, it would work well".
Even if our style is perhaps a bit further from what's usually done with French vocals, we thought: "Let's go for it"! Actually, we found ourselves comfortable because we manage to write lyrics that are perhaps deeper, more detailed than when we did it in English, as we may have a more limited vocabulary in English. But now, quite naturally, we've returned to singing in English, which is what we did before and what we had already done. And we don't forbid ourselves from one day recording tracks with bits of English or other languages. In fact, we don't set any constraints!
You've anticipated my next question: can we imagine, in the future, new songs in English?
Cyril: Yeah, well I'd say maybe not a whole song. At most, maybe! But I don't think so. I don't think we'll do a song entirely in English. If there was a chorus in English, yeah, why not. Actually, it all depends on the track, it all depends on what we're conveying and what the message is in the thing, you know!
Would it be possible to detail your composition process and each person's roles? Does each of you have a predefined role, or is it a real team effort?
Cyril: Well, it's both! Mick and I write the songs, compose the music and write the lyrics. Generally, we have a first exchange, until we reach something that seems complete to us musically and in terms of vocal melodies. At that point, we bring in Niala who will challenge everything rhythmic in the songs. Already, Niala plays several instruments. He does guitar, bass, he plays drums. He has this ability to take a step back on the groove, the rhythms, so he will suggest to us, change elements. And from that moment on, we set the song and that's when we write the lyrics. So sometimes, you have songs that will be 100% Mick or 100% me, and sometimes we mix. Sometimes, Mick will have a better idea for a vocal line on one of my songs, it can vary!
For us, the melody comes first. We've always been in search of melodies and the overall sound, actually. We want the vocal melody to fit perfectly. So we start with the melody, and then we force ourselves to write lyrics that fit the melody.
On your EP "Vision Obscure", is there a track that speaks to you more personally than the others?
Cyril: Well personally, I don't know. I think Atta is a bit special because it talks about a story that comes from our region, which is Lorraine. Since it's the arrival of Attila in Lorraine. It's a track, when I saw the story... I found it quite powerful in relation to our region. He had passed through Metz, since we're from Lorraine. And I wanted to put it in. So that's one of the tracks I found powerful. Which is also powerful because it goes back a bit to our roots with thrash. It's a bit more thrash than the others. Because we mix all these styles, be it heavy, thrash, rock and even sometimes a bit of stoner. We have this mix, because it represents a bit all our influences. So we try, like that, to mix everything. So that one, it's maybe the track, let's say a bit different. It's the closest one.
What are Stubora's future projects?
Cyril: We've decided to start a new album. So we're in the process of composing new tracks. We're usually quite slow when it's like this. It's going to take us a few months. What we'd like is to be able to record it by the end of the year. This time, we want to approach a label, because we see that we're reaching our limits in terms of schedule. We were talking about it earlier. So we'd like some help to try to push us a bit further and continue developing the band. So we're starting now. We already have a few tracks, we've already started exchanging with Mick. There are things that will probably be a bit different, or maybe very different. We like to refresh, not to use the same recipe every time we make new tracks. We mix influences so it always remains... We're not going to do pop tomorrow, nor industrial! But yeah, we already have some stuff that's going to be different!
That was my last question, the final word is yours! If you have a message to pass on to our readers, now is the time!
Cyril: Well, first of all, thank you for interviewing us! And they shouldn't hesitate to go on streaming platforms to listen to us, follow us on Facebook, Instagram. We try to publish as much as possible to keep things alive. In fact, we like to share what we experience, so we try to share it on Instagram, on Facebook as much as possible, especially when we go to do concerts. When we have time, we share. We were in the South, so for us, it was crossing France. So we also like to share so that people can see a bit behind the scenes. They shouldn't hesitate to follow us and listen to us!
