Plebeian Grandstand interview (Simon Chaubard)

I only have one word to describe the music of these French and that is madness. There is no other way to describe it, and as it mixes with all the extreme, metallic, and other flavors more than any other band in 2021 it managed to do it with such efficiency and class. Excellent return of this from Plebeian Grandstand in this “Rien Ne Suffit” that was pending to have something so forceful. That’s why Metallerium talked with Simon Chaubard, guitars from this amazing band exclusively.

Para leer la entrevisrta en español: Entrevista a Plebeian Grandstand

Metallerium: Welcome Simon to Metallerium pages. It’s a great pleasure to talk with you about the band, this amazing new album, and more things related to the metal world. Starting, how was the composition process of this new album? Coz It blew my mind since the first second to that last. What kind of horrifying things has your background been in making this sick album?

Plebeian Grandstand: Thank you. «Rien ne suffit» is a collaboration between Plebeian Grandstand and Amaury Sauvé. Amaury is the producer of our two previous albums, «Lowgazers» (2014) and «False Highs, True Lows» (2016), but it was different for this record. This time he joined the band, and we wrote the whole record as a five-piece, him playing modular synthesizers. In the past we used to arrive in the studio with all music prepared and ready to record, this time was different because the writing and recording process was done in parallel. This album took three years in the making overall. The five of us live in three different parts of the country now, and we joined multiple times at Amaury’s studio in Laval («The Apiary») over the years to complete the making.

Metallerium: Since the first time that I heard Plebeian Grandstand, the name of the band caught my attention. Coz is one thing more related to bourgeoisie and proletariat subjects or perhaps is just my perception. What was the idea of the name at the beginning of all? And does that feeling persist after 16 years?

Plebeian Grandstand: Yes, it means to be related to the people, not only but mostly middle class. The idea was to express the dark and obscure side of society. Those underlying feelings come from the world that you live in, that silently injures you every day or pushes you in a random direction.

Metallerium: When I received the complete album to hear the music of this “Rien Ne Suffit”. I was in a catatonic state when I finished listening and reading the information that came with it. For that, what is the general concept of the whole album? And does it have something to do with parallel worlds with the hands gathering in one concept and divided by a kind of doppler effect like on the album cover?

Plebeian Grandstand: This album was crafted as a screenplay. Even before writing the music, we wrote an emotional scenario, and then build the music around it. The general concept is a cycle. “Rien ne suffit” has the ambition of exposing a representation of the world, by portraying the archaic tropism which condemns us to squander the excess of primitive energy. This cursed part, which generates the exuberances of our modern societies as well as in our intimate lives, pushes us to move forward without really choosing the direction. Despite all our efforts, the permanent search for meaning dazzles us and leaves us exposed to blind spots. The will-to-power leads us into a permanent, almost cyclical movement, which alternates an attempt to overcome and a return to our ancestral misery.

Metallerium: “Rien Ne Suffit” is an amazing title with many psychological subjects coz “Nothing is enough” for capitalism is a huge strike to that concept. So how have you related the cover art with the title of the album and finally with the concept of the word Plebeian? And can we relate with a strike to capitalism?

Plebeian Grandstand: We related the cover art with the album’s title and mostly concept, referring to the exuberances of our modern societies versus our primitive energy. In that way, it is definitively a strike against capitalism yes.

Metallerium: Let’s talk about the sound of Plebeian Grandstand from “How Hate Is Hard to Define” (2010) to this new one “Rien Ne Suffit”. How are you defining the music of the band? Coz you have a lot of styles into each album of yours. And which word defines exactly the whole concept per album?

Plebeian Grandstand: Plebeian Grandstand is our musical and artistic executory. Through the years each person evolves on a personal and artistic basis, and our music reflects that. This is not a planned process but more of a natural move between us. (Sorry I won’t go album by album with each concept).

Metallerium: Related to the album's subject. I see an attachment to the abstract madness from their first album to their last one. So, when you think of the cover of new production. Do you let the artist follow his abstract instincts? or do you get some sketches to start working on the album cover?

Plebeian Grandstand: Olivier, our bass player, made the cover himself in collaboration with five of us, to illustrate the concept of the album and he did fantastic work.

Metallerium: The extreme world has changed a lot since the 80s. And today there are many bands that continue to push the limits of extreme music. For you, what motivates you to stick with abstract sounds, electronic, jazz, dissonant, black metal, etc., and continue to push the boundaries of extreme music? How would your music have been taken in the 80s or 90s with other extreme bands of the time? Do you think the people of that generation would have accepted all this mixture of sounds?

Plebeian Grandstand: Our motivation was to cross a bridge between analog and electronic extreme music. We didn’t plan to merge on purpose different styles, we built this album like a movie, with a storyboard of emotions, organized in a specific timeline. So, we had to explore those emotions with the tools we had, resulting in this feeling of style merging maybe, but also intended to push the boundaries as you said. I don’t know how people from the 80s or 90s would react to nowadays extreme music.

Metallerium: Just as the music of Plebeian Grandstand is one of the most abstract things of this 2021. We will delve into a much more abstract subject called Synesthesia. Which tells us about colors, smells, and tastes when a person hears music. So how would you describe the colors, smells, and flavors that the listener will find in this "Rien Ne Suffit"?

Plebeian Grandstand: Hard to describe, but I’ll say it smells like an overheated computer with burning components in a cold prehistoric cave.

Metallerium: As I said in the first questions. We’ll talk about other matters in the extreme music world and now we focus a little more on the French scene. Coz nowadays is one of the biggest ones with Gojira, Hacride, Deathspell Omega, Peste Noire, and you. Since when was this crazy sound brewing in France? Coz in the 90s your country never got attention from the media to know more about bands there. And do you think that thanks to Gojira, extreme music from France have started to get more attention from the media and to say that you have a distinguished sound like England, Brasil, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, US?

Plebeian Granstand: We don’t feel attached or connected to any scene or movement in a strict «french» way. Obviously, we feel connected with several bands over the planet and some of these bands are french, but we like to see it in a worldwide way. Yes, Gojira probably brought more attention to french and European bands these days.

Metallerium: The way of listening to music has changed drastically in recent years, coz the digital platforms have prompted fans, especially younger ones to only choose one, two, or three songs per album, and there is even talk that bands should no longer record albums if they don't need it and just record singles. How do you think this could affect the way we make music in the near future? And what do bands need to do to motivate the listener to hear all the songs on an album?

Plebeian Grandstand: I don’t know if this new way of listening to music had yet affected the global extreme genre of experimental/progressive stuff because I think there’s still a heavy base of listeners who listens to albums the « traditional » way, but maybe it will have an impact in the future. Bands must deliver a coherent and strong piece of music instead of a collection of tracks put side by side, in order to maintain the attention of the listener by creating something immersive in any form of way.

Metallerium: We talked about musical platforms, however, there is another trend on the other side in which old formats such as cassette or vinyl are reverted, which together with CD become practically only collector's items. Do you consume any of these formats? And what is your favorite?

Plebeian Grandstand: I personally consume a lot of vinyl and tapes. I was born in the 80s and I’ve discovered a lot of stuff through paper magazines, cassettes tapes dubbed by older friends, then burned CDs... I would say vinyl is my favorite format, but I’m also really attached to tapes because of the dubbing nostalgia I have with this format.

Metallerium: Before we finish this interview. What are the future plans for the band? And with all concepts of album. Did you think of making an independent movie? Coz there is a lot of auditory material that can be used for horror films, horror, etc. Or perhaps animation in 3D.

Plebeian Grandstand: it remains to be defined when we’ll get back on stage, but it’ll happen next year. Speaking about future live performances, we’re looking for someone who will deal with electronics/modular machines and synthesizers. We would love to work on an independent movie or with a director that fits our aesthetic

Metallerium: Well, Simon. The sad time arrives at this interview. I hope you enjoy this one as I did and thank you very much for your time. This new as I said many times blew my mind and congratulations on this new one. Any last words for your fans here in Latin America and Metallerium readers? I hope someday you’ll come to play here in Latin America and if not, I’ll go to see you in France.

Plebeian Grandstand: Thanks a lot for your interest! We would love to come to Latin America, hails to all of you.