CONTRABAND - AN INTERVIEW WITH Sylvain Bellegarde (VOICE MESSENGERS)
EDITOR'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCHANGE DONE OVER EMAIL
Jack: “What inspired you to start making music? Any inspirations/influences?”
Sylvain: “Hard rock, when I was a teenager, I loved so much Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin…”
Jack: “What is your individual role in the Voice Messengers?”
Sylvain: “Band leader and baritone singer.”
Jack: “How did you guys meet the Gorillaz and end up on the track?”
Sylvain: “I received a phone call by an agent here in France, he said they were looking for a "French touch.”
Jack: What did you think when you first heard the song, and what was the vibe you got from it? How did it make you feel?
Sylvain: “I liked the little melody we did; we didn’t listen to the entire song.”
Jack: Tell us about the recording process for “Désolé.” Did Damon give you guys any sort of instruction for what to do? What was the session like?
Sylvain: “The session was fun! Yes, Damon gave us direction more like "image" He wanted us to feel that we are driving a muscle car on "côte d'azur.”” (editor’s note: the côte d'azur is a Mediterranean coast on the southeastern side of France.)
Jack: “What inspired you to start making music? Any inspirations/influences?”
Sylvain: “Hard rock, when I was a teenager, I loved so much Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin…”
Jack: “What is your individual role in the Voice Messengers?”
Sylvain: “Band leader and baritone singer.”
Jack: “How did you guys meet the Gorillaz and end up on the track?”
Sylvain: “I received a phone call by an agent here in France, he said they were looking for a "French touch.”
Jack: What did you think when you first heard the song, and what was the vibe you got from it? How did it make you feel?
Sylvain: “I liked the little melody we did; we didn’t listen to the entire song.”
Jack: Tell us about the recording process for “Désolé.” Did Damon give you guys any sort of instruction for what to do? What was the session like?
Sylvain: “The session was fun! Yes, Damon gave us direction more like "image" He wanted us to feel that we are driving a muscle car on "côte d'azur.”” (editor’s note: the côte d'azur is a Mediterranean coast on the southeastern side of France.)
Jack: “Can you remember when you guys recorded your parts for the track?”
Sylvain: “Yes.”
Jack: “…Ok, there is often a lot of mystery surrounding what Gorillaz songs are about, what do you guys think “Désolé” is about?”
Sylvain: “I'm not very sure .”
Jack: “For those of our readers who aren’t familiar with your work outside of Gorillaz, what do you wish to tell them? Any specific songs or highlights you want to share? What do you want the world to know about Voice Messengers? I know you guys are active on YouTube and you have a couple albums out.”
Sylvain: “Our new album is ready!! it's called "Comme le temps passe"
listen to it, comment, share, and visit our website!! Buy our disc .”
Jack: “Before we finish up, I gotta ask, what’s next for Voice Messengers? Any plans to work with Gorillaz or Damon Albarn again?”
Sylvain: “We want to do a showcase for our album, complicated time!! We hope to have a great tour after that.
Work with them again will be a super pleasure!!”
Voice Messengers have a new album out now! Go listen here!
You can also find the Voice Messengers on the web here!
Website