1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
The principal activity is focused on the promotion of the new album “Arcane”. On the web and of course on stage. So we are looking for some cool places to play this year, which is already well underway! And a maximum of album reviews.
2. How would you describe sound of the new album?
Deeper and darker. We really wanted something heavier, because it’s the natural evolution of our live sound. The first album was more “roots”. Something near of a simple AC/DC production, plug and play, and too bad for the defects! For this record we were searching completely for another dimension. We realized day after day, month after month, that our music was evolving to something more orchestral as we advanced in the composition. It was not a choice at the beginning, it just came naturally. So when we started to think about the recording, we thought it was necessary to find the perfect studio that would be able to transcribe these environments. And we found it! I think, this album is just “more” in everything we made in the past. Heavier, more arranged, more produced, more mature etc…
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
It depends of what the music inspires us. From this day, we always composed the music first and after the lyrics. In “Arcane” the global universe is the occultism in its different forms. Myths and legends, beliefs, voodoo, black magic, shamanism, zombies, ghosts, luck etc…
LDDSM is not a politically committed band. In all our discography, I think we just wrote about a political subject only one time. In general, we prefer to speak about stories and keep a certain form of fun and imagination. We already have the theme of the next album, but it’s a secret!
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
That’s the classical question hahaha! I think, like for every band, it’s the result of a big melting pot around few beers. We wanted something different and each one of us had his exigencies for the name. Some wanted something that evokes the cinema, some the Latino’s side of America, that’s why it’s in Spanish and personally I had always wanted a very long name, because I thought it was funny. We knew that people would fight to learn our name, but we just thought it was cool. It leaves no one indifferent and we think this is the most important. The “disidentes” word actually comes from the mother of Bobby. At this time we were all in other bands and LDDSM was a bit of a recreation for us. Leaving home she asked him where he was going and he said he will repeat with his new band, so his mother called us the “dissidents” and we found it was a fun idea. The funniest thing is that no one of us can speak a single word in Spanish! At first we didn’t even know how it should be pronounced or written. On the flyers of our first concerts, the name was not even spelled correctly, because even we, didn’t know how to write it! If you have one at home, it is collector man! I have one… The organizer asked us “hey, what’s the name of your band? Can you spell it?”… “heu… not really”. So after few gigs, we decided to ask to our friends who can speak Spanish once and for all. It doesn’t mean that today, spelling is systematically observed for all! Oh no! But it sometimes gives very funny things!
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
I think, that every one of us would answer, the Eurockéennes festival in Belfort. It was last summer. We were the really first band opening this huge festival. Everything was just perfect. We played in an incredible stage over the lake, under an amazing sun and blue sky, with a huge sound and in front of a big receptive audience. The stage was just right next to the festival entrance, so every person who entered was driven to us, and we were the only band playing, so everybody stayed and I think we played a good show and that people appreciated it. That was really amazing.
On stage we always try to give the most as we can. We try to stay rock n’ roll in the attitude, but with a professional spirit. We want to give the best show we can with the given possibilities. Each gig is approached with the same spirit, big or small. We move and sweat a lot and we keep on smiling, it’s really important. People need to feel that you enjoy being on stage to please them in return. And we have our famous Sheriff on stage with us, making funny things. People love him. He makes them laugh a lot!
6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Yes, our management team is working on the next tour. It will probably happen mostly in France, cause this is where we can play in the biggest places, but we’ll try to play a little bit in Europe too if possible. Our dream would be to tour in the US. Maybe the next year? Who knows? ... In June we will be opening for Orange Goblin in Colmar, I think it will be a great moment!
7. How would you describe your views on Occultism?
That’s a good question. I think we try to find fun in everything. In life, we are nice and funny guys, at least we try to hahaha! So we are always looking at things on the plus side. You see, when we think about ghosts, we’re thinking about having a conversation with Elvis. When we think about zombies, we sing about Z series’ movies. When we think about death, we talk about Santa Muerte (which is a happy celebration of death in certain cultures). When we think about voodoo, we’re talking about a beautiful girl using magic to break some hearts. You know what I mean? You can speak about everything with fun if you want to. Even “Journey”, which is a serious song musically and in the lyrics too, talking about shamanism and how to leave your body by meditation, was inspired at first by one of the worst film of Steven Seagal (and maybe one of the worst film on history J ) “On Deadly Ground”.
We are all a little bit geek, so all this culture inspired us very much. The movies, the comics, the web etc… So we see occultism through this culture and interpret it with.
I think we are the incarnation of the total opposite of SunnO)))!
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner rock?
In France it’s a little bit strange. French people love to put bands in boxes. If you don’t answer all the codes, they don’t know how to behave. “LDDSM? You think it’s Stoner Rock? I think it’s more Metal/Rock.” or “How could you say that you play Stoner Rock when you sing with clear and harmonized voices?” This is what we often hear. In the other way, some people think that it’s our force, the thing that makes who we are and not another copy of a classical Stoner band. Yes, you can hear a little bit of Metal, a little bit of Punk, a little bit of Grunge in our music, in a Stoner root but this is what we are. We stopped listening to all this shit and just keep on making the music we love, that’s all. But beware, I'm not saying that we do not have fans in Stoner scene, on the contrary, we have a lot of support in this scene, including the other French Stoner bands, many of them are good friends, but in France it's always a bit apart. You know, the French have this reputation of grumpy guys but it’s totally justified haha! In the US, we have a lot of good feedback. Maybe because it’s a historical country of Rock and especially Stoner Rock, so they have this kind of experience that allows them to be more open on that kind of music.
We have a good feedback, in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland too.
9. What direction do you see your music on future releases?
I think that we will evolve to something more progressive. It’s hard to say. As I said before, during the writing of Arcane, we didn’t say “hey, we have to write something with many voices and arrangement”. No, it came naturally. From this day, we have only composed one new song and it even doesn’t have lyrics, so, it’s really the beginning of the beginning. But ideally, we would like to write a long album of a single story. Maybe, with no interruption or just a few, but it’s too early to talk about it. I always write the music first, so everything will depend on what will influence me when I’ll be starting to work on it. But there are great chances that I’ll look in the side of Pink Floyd in quest of inspiration…
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We all listen to many kind of music. I’m a child of Metal school. I’ve learn guitar with Pantera, Metallica, Sepultura and of course Black Sabbath. But I think that the band who changed my life is still Led Zeppelin. Bobby and Johnny are big fans of Punk Rock, Sonny loves Emo Rock, Billy classical Rock. There are few groups on which we all agree finally. I would say, Nirvana, Queen, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, RATM and AC/DC maybe and yet I’m not even sure! Bobby is fan of Turbonegro. He’s the boss of the Strasbourg’s Turbojugend chapter. On the new album, many people find some Alice in Chains and Tool influences, which is for me a huge compliment, cause I love these two bands, but for the others, it doesn’t mean a big thing.
While for me, finding some Lagwagon influences is not a big deal, cause I only know one song of this band haha! I don’t have a good Punk culture, but I know that for Johnny and Bobby, it means a lot. They grew with this music.
11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
As I said, we are all sorts of geek. So we love movies, comics, TV series, video games etc… I like drawing too, but I don’t find enough time to do it anymore, only sometimes for a concert poster. We love to travel and learn about other cultures (traditions, religion, food, art..). We are interested in the news, what’s happening in our world. We are all sensitive with ecology. Not as Gojira can be (one of my favorite bands by the way), but in our daily life, we try to do all these little actions that can change our world if everybody would do it: sort garbage, carpooling, bio food, donation to humanitarian organizations... I’ll even drive a hybrid car very soon!
And like every musicians in the world, just spending time with friends around a beer, telling bullshit!
12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
First, thank you very much for this interview. And I hope to tour in your country soon and meet you all. I want to see each one of you headbang Ok?! If you like us, share our facebook page and don’t hesitate to write us a little word, we always answer! Cheers!
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