Interview – Lower Than Atlantis : « This album says music is an escape. »

 Verson française 

Tuesday, March 7th – Lower Than Atlantis is here today in Paris for the last leg of their European tour to play live their amazing powerful album, Safe In Sound. Before living this Rock experience, we met Dec and Ben at the Badaboum for a little talk.

Let’s go ! It’s time to be safe in sound !

Who’s Lower Than Atlantis ?

Dec : We’re a rock band from London, in England…
Ben : We’re a band for ten years now but this lineup is together since 2010. It’s not that long. It’s really at this time that we started to play big shows. It’s in 2010 that we really became a band.

What’s your music influences ? Because I heard that during your early years you guys loved Punk music and Mike prefered Post-hardcore…

Dec : We all listening different types of music. It’s not just one type we listen to. That’s why I always say that our music is a kind of big smash of all these things. I’d say we started as a Punk band and I still think that we have a quite Punk sound. We still use the same methods…but it’s a kinda mix of things.

But your sound has quite evolved through the years…

Dec : Yeah, definitely. We always try to move forward. You know we just listen what’s around us and try things… We don’t wanna play a boring music.

Your last album really reflects this change. How did you work on it ?

Dec : Mike worked on the writing…
Ben : We worked with the same productor we worked with for the last record.
Dec : We dedicated more ourselves. You have known over the years how to make a record, how to build a song…This time it was really interesting. It’s a bigger sound.
Ben : We just learned of what we did with other people before and we applied for it.

Do you have a song on this album that means more for you than the others ?

Dec : I think Had Enough is like everything’s our band is about. If someone have never heard of us before and tell me « Play the song that would describe the best our band », that’s this song ! It has rock stuff, electronic stuff, aggressive lyrics but then like soft lyrics, drums feels…I think that’s everything is in this song.

According to the name of this album, do you think that music has a special role ?

Dec : This album says music is an escape. You can have a good or a bad day, you just put the music on and you forget about the bad day you had or you just celebrate the good day with it.

Could you tell us what will be your next single ?

Ben : Arf, we don’t know. It changes, it depends on the country.
Dec : In Germany, the last one was Boomerang but in Australia it was Still Work For It…
Ben : Is it ? In Australia …
Dec : Yeah, Still Work For It. So it’s really different.

And tonight it’s the last show of this european tour, before the UK one, how was it ?

Dec : Amazing ! Best time ever play ! We came here to support You Me At Six like four monthes ago, so obviously we had new fans now and there’s a new album and they come to hear it live.

Any anecdotes ?

Ben : We aren’t going this mad on this tour. Normally we’re just drinking, going out…We really have one night we went out…
Dec : I didn’t go out…
Ben : (Laugh) Yeah you didn’t…It was in Berlin the other day, it was about three in the morning… You know when you say three in the morning it seems that everybody’s packing up and is ready to go out, it’s like you were drinking since seven…(laugh).
Dec : Oh and we filmed for a TV show called « Circus Halligalli » in Germany yesterday ! It was REALLY cool ! I’ve never heard of it before…
Ben : But it’s massive in Germany ! It’s HUGE !
Dec : I don’t know if you have it in France but it’s like a talkshow with music guests…
Ben : They have something like 2 million views…

What do you think of France and your french fans ?

Dec : That’s really funny ‘cause we’re so close but it’s like so different. It’s at only like 3 hours from us but so different. I feel so lucky. It’s cool to be here.

Your next tour is in few days in UK. It seems pretty big. Are you excited about it ?

Dec : Oh yes, it’s the biggest tour we’ve ever done. So exciting…

You always want to do bigger shows ?

Dec : Yes bigger and bigger ! We don’t wanna get a smaller (laugh).

What’s next ?

Dec : I think we’re just gonna tour in Europe a lot this year. I want to make a big fanbase in whole Europe.

Do you have a special message for your french fans ?

Dec : « Bonjours mes amis ! »
Ben : Wo.. What does « amis » mean ?
Dec : It’s « my friends » in french…
Ben : « Au revoir Motherfuckers ! » (laugh)

But you speak french ! Do you know some french words ?

Ben : Oh no ! (Laugh) We learned it at school for someting like 2 years but we forgot about everything.
Dec : « Tu parlais anglais ? » and when someone speak I say « Je ne comprends pas ». That means « I don’t understand« , right ?
Ben : I can only say « Bonjour », « ça va ? » and « ça va bien, merci ».
Dec : Yeah, it means « I’m good, thank you ». In England we all learn french at school but we don’t pratice it so we forget but « MERCI » !