Hey, so we've been talking a lot about French folk/pop rockers The Bewitched Hands On the Top of Our Heads. Here at Mixtape Muse we figured, why not stop talking about them, and start talking to them. Thus, an interview was born. Read the full interview below and stream the EP while you do it. Hard to Cry is out now. Listen to it here.
Interview by Simon P.
How did the band form? What keeps you all together?
The band didn't form around the name, but it existed before. It was the name of Benjamin's solo project. When we had to find a name for our band, we thought this one was perfect for us: it was a long name and there are seven of us. And most of all, it was the kind of a psychedelic-oriented name which perfectly suited the musical feeling we wanted to share. We liked the image given by this name, the idea of bewitchery, the ensorcellment music can create.
The band formed in late 2006. We were friends and some of us have known each other for years. Each one of us had some different musical projects, and we wanted to gather songs from each one, to play and sing altogether and to have fun. In the beginning it was a kind of a recreative band, but we felt that the enthusiasm we had could be communicative. Since the beginning the number of people in the band has changed several times before reaching stability. We have had ten, eleven people.
You're coming into the US on the heels on some big waves that French music has made recently, namely Phoenix. Do you think they've opened up a channel for you all, or will it be harder to break in?
We enjoy the American success of Phoenix, but is it something really significant for French bands in general? And is it likely to make American people change their perception of French bands? Or is it an isolated phenomenon, focused on one band in particular ? I think it's difficult to know today. Moreover, aside from the fact that Phoenix and us both make melodic and catchy pop songs, we don't really feel close to them, at least in terms of sound, influences. And we don't have the feeling of being easily identified by foreign people as a French band, with a French sound and French influences, contrary to bands like Air, for instance.
Alright, the EP. You guys have such a versatile sound. On "Hard to Cry" there are a few different movements, each with its own kind of emotion. How do you all write material?
We don't have any precise way of writing songs. The structure of the long version of "Hard to Cry" is really the result of studio work, but most of the time that kind of work is made during rehearsals. The basis material is the original version of the song, which is generally written by one or two people, and the following step is the moment when we work on the song altogether. We discuss the structure and the arrangements, we bring in new ideas, and we make it sound like a Bewitched song. As everybody sings in the band, the vocal harmonies take an important place in the songs, and the way we work on them - who sings what, and when - is one of the central points of the process.
There's some awesome variance in style too, switching from some harmonies that have a very folky feel to a big rock sound. Who in the band likes what kind(s) of music? And how does that affect your songwriting process or the ways songs come together?
Everybody in the band listens to a lot of music. We have a lot of tastes in common, but we didn't listen to the same things when we were teenagers. Progressive/psychedelic rock, American indie-rock, sixties pop/rock, folk, glam, British pop…it would be complicated, and certainly a bit boring, to say who loves what, and who brings what kind of influence in the music we make. We are all a bit different from this point of view, but the way it affects songwriting process is quite natural, variable. There are no rules!
On the end of "Hard to Cry", the band is hitting this big crescendo, lots of voices singing, almost chanting together, making for a really great moment. What's the ideal venue for Bewitched Hands? Where do you imagine this song would sound best?
It's the first time anyone's asked us this! Maybe on the top of a mountain at sunset, or in a church in the United States, or somewhere in the desert, perhaps in the same place where Slash played his solo in his "November Rain" video.
What makes me so excited about the EP is the quality of each song, but also the difference in sound. Look at the sort of arena-rockish style of "Hard to Cry" and it's length, versus the poppy acoustic sound on "I'm in Slim". When the EP was coming together, how did you end up choosing what went onto the record?
The principal choice was "Hard to Cry". The main reason, naturally, was the fact we really loved the song. However we thought it was far from being a "single" in the classic sense of the term: "verse/chorus/verse". There's something weird in the way this song was made -- in its length, its structure -- and we thought it would be interesting to put this song out of the album's or the gig's context.
Plus we wanted to complete this EP with songs very different from this one. "Out of Myself", "I'm in Slim" and "End of the Night" are simple, straightforward pop songs, which bring the tension down. In fact, the choice reflects different aspects of our music, and we thought it would be interesting to put them altogether.
With the release date of the EP fast approaching, I'm hoping there's a chance we'll see y'all touring over here soon. Any important dates we should know about?
Right now, we are just scheduled to play in Brest on Thursday July 29th at the Astropolis Festival as well as at the Pantiero Festival in Cannes on August 13th, but we are really hoping to tour again in the UK and the US soon.
If you could choose out of anyone right now, who would you love to tour with? Why?
It would probably be difficult for us to agree on a choice, between an actual band we love to listen to (Ariel Pink, Harlem, Here We Go Magic, Smith Westerns), friends with whom it would be cool to tour with (The Shoes, but we've already toured with them...) and some nonsense propositions one of us would probably do (The Shaggs, Motörhead).
What's something that makes Bewitched completely different from anyone else out there, in your opinion?
That kind of question is a bit difficult to answer for us. We're too involved in what we are and do to compare ourselves to other bands.
We understand the last time you were in the US, you were at SXSW. NPR told everyone to look out for the band, but how do you think you were received?
We had some apprehension about it. We wondered how our lyrics and our accent would be received by people who speak English better than us; but we didn't have any bad surprises and the audience was really receptive to our music.
More on The Bewitched Hands On the Top of Our Heads:
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The band didn't form around the name, but it existed before. It was the name of Benjamin's solo project. When we had to find a name for our band, we thought this one was perfect for us: it was a long name and there are seven of us. And most of all, it was the kind of a psychedelic-oriented name which perfectly suited the musical feeling we wanted to share. We liked the image given by this name, the idea of bewitchery, the ensorcellment music can create.
The band formed in late 2006. We were friends and some of us have known each other for years. Each one of us had some different musical projects, and we wanted to gather songs from each one, to play and sing altogether and to have fun. In the beginning it was a kind of a recreative band, but we felt that the enthusiasm we had could be communicative. Since the beginning the number of people in the band has changed several times before reaching stability. We have had ten, eleven people.
You're coming into the US on the heels on some big waves that French music has made recently, namely Phoenix. Do you think they've opened up a channel for you all, or will it be harder to break in?
We enjoy the American success of Phoenix, but is it something really significant for French bands in general? And is it likely to make American people change their perception of French bands? Or is it an isolated phenomenon, focused on one band in particular ? I think it's difficult to know today. Moreover, aside from the fact that Phoenix and us both make melodic and catchy pop songs, we don't really feel close to them, at least in terms of sound, influences. And we don't have the feeling of being easily identified by foreign people as a French band, with a French sound and French influences, contrary to bands like Air, for instance.
Alright, the EP. You guys have such a versatile sound. On "Hard to Cry" there are a few different movements, each with its own kind of emotion. How do you all write material?
We don't have any precise way of writing songs. The structure of the long version of "Hard to Cry" is really the result of studio work, but most of the time that kind of work is made during rehearsals. The basis material is the original version of the song, which is generally written by one or two people, and the following step is the moment when we work on the song altogether. We discuss the structure and the arrangements, we bring in new ideas, and we make it sound like a Bewitched song. As everybody sings in the band, the vocal harmonies take an important place in the songs, and the way we work on them - who sings what, and when - is one of the central points of the process.
There's some awesome variance in style too, switching from some harmonies that have a very folky feel to a big rock sound. Who in the band likes what kind(s) of music? And how does that affect your songwriting process or the ways songs come together?
Everybody in the band listens to a lot of music. We have a lot of tastes in common, but we didn't listen to the same things when we were teenagers. Progressive/psychedelic rock, American indie-rock, sixties pop/rock, folk, glam, British pop…it would be complicated, and certainly a bit boring, to say who loves what, and who brings what kind of influence in the music we make. We are all a bit different from this point of view, but the way it affects songwriting process is quite natural, variable. There are no rules!
On the end of "Hard to Cry", the band is hitting this big crescendo, lots of voices singing, almost chanting together, making for a really great moment. What's the ideal venue for Bewitched Hands? Where do you imagine this song would sound best?
It's the first time anyone's asked us this! Maybe on the top of a mountain at sunset, or in a church in the United States, or somewhere in the desert, perhaps in the same place where Slash played his solo in his "November Rain" video.
What makes me so excited about the EP is the quality of each song, but also the difference in sound. Look at the sort of arena-rockish style of "Hard to Cry" and it's length, versus the poppy acoustic sound on "I'm in Slim". When the EP was coming together, how did you end up choosing what went onto the record?
The principal choice was "Hard to Cry". The main reason, naturally, was the fact we really loved the song. However we thought it was far from being a "single" in the classic sense of the term: "verse/chorus/verse". There's something weird in the way this song was made -- in its length, its structure -- and we thought it would be interesting to put this song out of the album's or the gig's context.
Plus we wanted to complete this EP with songs very different from this one. "Out of Myself", "I'm in Slim" and "End of the Night" are simple, straightforward pop songs, which bring the tension down. In fact, the choice reflects different aspects of our music, and we thought it would be interesting to put them altogether.
With the release date of the EP fast approaching, I'm hoping there's a chance we'll see y'all touring over here soon. Any important dates we should know about?
Right now, we are just scheduled to play in Brest on Thursday July 29th at the Astropolis Festival as well as at the Pantiero Festival in Cannes on August 13th, but we are really hoping to tour again in the UK and the US soon.
If you could choose out of anyone right now, who would you love to tour with? Why?
It would probably be difficult for us to agree on a choice, between an actual band we love to listen to (Ariel Pink, Harlem, Here We Go Magic, Smith Westerns), friends with whom it would be cool to tour with (The Shoes, but we've already toured with them...) and some nonsense propositions one of us would probably do (The Shaggs, Motörhead).
What's something that makes Bewitched completely different from anyone else out there, in your opinion?
That kind of question is a bit difficult to answer for us. We're too involved in what we are and do to compare ourselves to other bands.
We understand the last time you were in the US, you were at SXSW. NPR told everyone to look out for the band, but how do you think you were received?
We had some apprehension about it. We wondered how our lyrics and our accent would be received by people who speak English better than us; but we didn't have any bad surprises and the audience was really receptive to our music.
More on The Bewitched Hands On the Top of Our Heads:
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