Trank 10 From 10 +1

How do you deal with disinterested or unruly audiences?

It’s only happened to us once or twice. Wrong casting each time – as in, we were too full-on for the sort of casual listening that was the point of the event. Whenever that happens – play to the one person who’s paying attention. Give them your all. You might forget about the gig, but whoever you played for will not. And that’s the whole point, isn’t it – to create unforgettable moments for people. You want them to go “I saw this band once – they were clearly out of place but they played like it was a Wembley concert and I loved every second, even if no one else did.” If no one’s listening, then just have the public rehearsal of a lifetime : you have nothing to lose.

Do you prefer to work alone or collaboratively?

Both. In TRANK each song idea starts from someone’s individual sketch then gets developed as a band. Outside of TRANK I create soundtracks for theatre plays, and that lets the introvert and the control freak in me have their way : it’s me and my machines and that’s it. But being in a band is magical. Other people’s talent means you can have ideas that couldn’t possibly happen on your own – and your own ideas can snowball into much bigger and better versions of themselves than what would happen otherwise. I always say I’m in a band because I can’t write the sort of thing I want to sing – and I’m lucky enough that I play with people who can. I’m sure all of us would say the same sort of thing. Also, serendipity is your friend – part of my role in the practice room is to spot the “happy accidents” and make them intentional.

What are your favourite venues to perform at?

By contrast to your first question – those venues where people come to immerse themselves in the music. We don’t exactly play the sort of music casual listeners can get into. Other than that – any place, really. We live for the stage, no matter how much we love to spend in the studio crafting the songs to perfection. We’ve done small gigs that were incredibly rewarding. We’ve also opened for Deep Purple in front of a packed arena filled with 16,000 people, who had come up on time to catch us because Purple had actually issued a press release about us – saying that we were worth it. When we started they were all standing there with their arms across their chest to the tune of “well, I’m here, show me what you’ve got.” Fortunately they loved us.

What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

We all have very diverse tastes. At least half of us in the band are extremely eclectic. I have around 10,000 albums in the house (2 thirds digital, 1 third vinyl), and pretty much the only genres I dislike as a whole would be free jazz (I love many things in jazz – but free is a bunch of wankers playing off-key and passing it for a concept) and hardcore techno (I also love a lot of techno, but hardcore is a joke). Oh, and French rap. John Lennon once said “French rock is like English wine.” I like a lot of French rock and pop, but most French rap sounds like a never-ending bland-fest of auto-tuned mediocrity. Not to mention the openly misogynistic or antisemitic lyrics.

How do you differ from most other artists?

In the fact that, partly as a result of being that eclectic, we’re hard to label. We don’t fit a pre existing genre. TRANK’s music is a hybrid of sorts between stadium-sized alt-rock, hard-riffing and post-punk electronics. The closest approximation we get labeled as would be “alternative metal”, but even though there’s an intensity and a power to the music, and the occasional metal-like styling, we don’t think of ourselves as a metal band. We love contrasts and paradoxes, and we make music that – intentionally and not – reflects that. It’s powerful but it’s got a richness of texture. It’s organic but technological. It’s intense and it deals with dark-ish subject matter and emotions, but hopefully in a contagious, inviting way. It’s got light and shade, it’s got love and anger. Maybe if we were in our 20’s we’d do things is a more black and white sort of way, but our 20’s were a little while back.

Who is your favourite musician?

You’d get a very different reply to this one depending on whom in the band you ask. But my ultimate preference will always go to Depeche Mode. I’ve been a hardcore fan since my teenage years and, excuse the pun, they’ve Never let me down. Well, rarely anyway. If I had to choose one of them ? Alan Wilder. Yes, I know he’s gone. Not to me, though.

How would you describe the music that you typically create?

In addition to the part about “what makes us different”, you mean ? I think the two best descriptions I’ve read were from reviewers. One said, about “THE ROPES”, our first record : “Big sound, big emotions.” Another one, about “THE MAZE”, our second and latest one, talked about “songs that sound like movies for your mind.” We love both – Johann and I like to think of it as “widescreen rock.”

What is your creative process like?

Ugh. Painful, obsessive, intense – but ultimately very rewarding. We’re perfectionists in every aspect of the music making, from composition to writing to arrangement to recording to mixing to mastering. How it starts ? Typically, one of the guitarists or Arnaud on the bass will bring 2 minutes of music with a core song idea at its heart. I will structure it into the backbone of a song with them before passing it on to Johann who will find the pulse and the dynamics of it on the drums. We then share it with the rest of the group and everyone contributes arrangement ideas, with the original composer and myself sort of directing. Once we have a fully developed arrangement, I’ll leave it there to sit for any number of weeks until inspiration strikes and I come up with a lyric and vocal. By the time we get to the studio for proper recording, we’ve beaten every second of the song into submission.

What is one message you would give to your fans?

“Hi, Mum.”

Or, don’t listen to bands that give you messages. I think the minute an artist or a band tries to impose their view, their answers to life’s questions, upon their audience, they’ve completely missed the point of art in general. I’d much rather inspire people to ask themselves questions and embrace the complexity and the nuances of life than shove simplistic recipes or even orders down their throats. That’s what I love about my favorite lyricists – you can always interpret their songs on different levels.

Do you sing in the shower? What songs?

No. Never. Ever. Unless singing in my head counts. If so, then all the time, not just in the shower. What songs ? Whichever happens to mirror the way I feel at any given point in time. For some reason, right now it’s “Isolation” by Joy Division. Go figure.