Introduce us to the band! What are your names and what do you do in the band?
Well – we are TRANK, but the answer to the rest of your questions depends a lot about whether you mean who did what on the latest album, “The Maze” – or who does what now that the group has expanded to be able to re-create and expand on the sound of the album on stage.
“The Maze” is our second album, and it was largely made by David (bass, guitars, additional programming & backing vocals), Johann (drums, percussion, additional programming & backing vocals), and myself – Michel (lead & backing vocals, programming & synths). We started it when our original lead guitarist, Julien, was still in the band, and he did play on three of the songs, but he had to move on to new adventures so it was mostly the three of us (with David coming back to his old love of the guitar, in addition to playing the bass), alongside our unofficial other member Yvan (Barone), who is our recording engineer and co producer, and helped us oversee and complete the whole thing. It was a painstaking process of well over two years, so we had no time to get bored.
But as we were making “The Maze”, we realized it was built from the ground up in a way that required two guitars rather than one on stage. So we expanded – we now have Nico, also on guitar, who takes up lead or rhythm depending on the song; Arnaud on bass, taking over from David who plays the other guitar; and even our very talented manager, Emma, now playing most of the synth parts and samples live, with only a minimum left for Johann’s sequencer to do. That’s one big group of people, but we have a big, powerful, intricate sound in mind, and we absolutely want it to be played live for real, so that’s what it takes. The band sounds really huge now, especially as we’ve been working with a couple of selected live sound engineers to make sure the balance of power and high-tech richness of atmosphere we want really comes through for the audience. Of course all of that means we’re eager to go back to the studio as a six-pack and see what happens .
Where do you call home?
We all come from different parts of France, but we live around Geneva, Switzerland. It’s a much better city for music than most people would guess – in particular because there are fantastic quality recording studios around for way less money than what we’d have to pay in Paris or London. Yeah, I know, “cheap” isn’t really the first word that comes to mind about Geneva, but the studios are really great value. And there’s a great alternative music scene, as well. I mean, Young Gods hail from around here.
- How long have you been together as a band and how did you find each other?
Roughly since 2016, which is when our 1st EP came out. We all had been in semi-professional music projects before, but we gelled around the songs composed by Julien and myself at the time.
- Do you have a special songwriting recipe you follow?
We know what we want, and we sort of know how to get it.
We want music that strikes quite a fine balance that reflects our very, very diverse tastes. We’re after some specific contrasts which we believe make music interesting. We want them to be songs – with a melody and a structure – but we want them to have an element of surprise in either the construction or the production. We want them to have power, drive, intensity – but we want a deep, immersive, richly textured sound that gives the songs a sense of discovery every time you listen. We want them also a certain amount of darkness and intensity at their core, but with enough light and air and an inviting quality that you wanna headbang or sing along to them. We want them intimate AND widescreen. We want them raw AND high tech. We want light AND shade – dynamics rather than pedal-to-the-metal numbness. That’s quite a list, but the way we work together kinda naturally sets us up to create that.
We usually start from a core idea – usually a riff and a couple of variations brought by Julien or David or myself, and in the future by any of us. Once we all agree there’s power in the idea, I’ll usually complement and structure it to bring in more of a melodic, atmospheric element, and Johann will give it its basic dynamics and backbone on the drums – that’s usually done by each of us completing the others’ work at our own home studios and sharing files. After that we beat the idea into submission in the practice room, until we have a bass / drums / guitars / synths instrumental that holds up. I’ll usually leave that to rest for anywhere between 3 weeks and – well, the longest was 3 years, I think… Until one day the magical lyrics and vocal melody line pops up, inspired by what the instrumental sounds like it wants me to talk about. Then I’ll write and finetune the rest of the vocal around that core idea – so in the end, you’re still true to one core musical idea, that ends up reflected in the vocals, but it’s been developed as a group to find those contrasts and balances we’re after.
- How would members of your family describe your music to someone that hasn’t heard it?
They couldn’t be bothered. If they could, they’d probably say “not metal, but close – somewhere between hard rock and Depeche Mode.”
- What do you have on your(Spotify) playlists you would be embarrassed for others to see?
Nothing.
First because, on a personal level, I fucking hate Spotify as a company and a brand, I find their interface and sound to be utter shit, and I would rather lose a finger than give them a cent.
Second of all, because we’re all proudly eclectic in our tastes, and there’s nothing I’d consider a “guilty pleasure” as opposed to a “pleasure.” Some of the guys in the band roll their eyes when I remind them I have every album by Erasure & Pet Shop Boys; Arnaud had me discover Greentea Peng recently and I think she’s incredible, best I’ve heard since Lil’ Simz in that sort of style.
- Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Extensive sound checking .
- Who have you met that has left you starstruck?
Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher of Depeche Mode, whom I shook hands and chatted with back in 2000. As a lifelong fan, that was amazing. He was the sweetest man and his passing was a big blow – like losing a family member. Every fan felt the same.
- What do you consider your greatest achievement as far as a band?
Aside of sticking together and releasing 2 rock albums in this day and age you mean ? That would have to be opening for quite a few major acts and going down a storm every time. Probably the biggest one was Deep Purple back in 2018. 16,000 fans in the packed Riga Arena – who had been told by the band, by way of press, to show up on time for us because we were worth it. They did, and apparently we were.
- What key elements do you believe makes up a successful song?
Ask me again when we’ve had one ;).
* When writing, how do you know when it is finally done?
In the words of Leonardo : “art is never finished, only abandoned.” You have to let go when it feels like the song is in the best incarnation it’s going to be unless you spend another year on it. We’re notoriously bad at that as we do spend a lot of time crafting the fine details to make sure the big picture comes across.
* What song of yours are you most proud of?
Off “The Maze”, I would say “Miracle Cure” because it’s sort of a 4 minute concentrate of everything that’s a little bit unique about our music; and “Queen of the broken” because it’s the first time we manage to create a romantic pop-rock song of sorts, whilst not losing the sense of intensity that we’re after in our harder-hitting songs. And it has an earworm of a melody.
* Is it possible to be on the road and not eat junk food? How do you keep it leveled out?
Possible and indispensable but really difficult.
* Are you able to write while on the road or do you need a calm familiar space like home?
Home. Definitely.
* What’s the most embarrassing thing to happen on stage or on tour?
For the intro, first verse and first chorus of our first song when we opened for Deep Purple, the stage engineer had left the guitar amp on standby… So for the first 90 seconds it was bass, drums, sequences and vocals. The guitar came in (or was, in fact, switched on) bag at the top of the middle eight, so I supposed most people think it was on purpose… And the gig went down great, so they forgave us.
* What can BleachBANGS do to help you in any way?
Direct your readers to www.trankmusic .com where they can find our albums – or to our YouTube channel (trankmusic) so they can sign up and support. We’re a fiercely independent band, so every little bit helps.
- How can everyone keep up with everything you have going on? Where can they get albums/merch?
See above .
https://www.trankmusic.com/bio
