Wer hier den Namen Lysistrata liest, der sei nicht an die griechische Komödie über die Rebellion der Frauen erinnert, sondern an die jungen Franzosen Théo Guéneau, Ben Amos Cooper und Max Roy und ihren Post-Hardcore. Die drei Freunde aus Saintes haben am 18. Oktober 2019 mit „Breathe In/Out“ ihr zweites Album veröffentlicht. Nun beginnt ihre Deutschlandtour, den Auftakt macht dabei am 18. März Club Stereo. 

Nur zu gerne haben wir uns im Vorfeld ein paar Fragen per Mail von Sänger und Schlagzeuger Ben beantworten lassen.

First of all: congratulations to your new album „Breathe In/Out“! Being a french band, how come your new album was released by the German label Grand Hotel van Cleef?

Ben: Thank you very much, can’t wait to make another one.

I think that might mostly be down to the fact that since 2018 we’ve been touring quite a lot more in Germany. And because we already had a German booking agent (hey Julian!) It seemed like a good idea to also have a label that could release our music here. GHVC didn’t directly come to us but to our French label, Vicious Circle records, and I know they have the same kind of mindset.

During my preparation for this interview I often read the same band comparisons: At The Drive In, Refused or Sonic Youth. What do you think about these comparisons? Are they annoying or flattering?

Ben: They’re a bit of both to be honest. We really like some of those bands songs and albums, and they certainly influenced us, but we aren’t at all at their level. It’s a shame that we often automatically feel the need to compare one bands music to another, especially if they’re trying to create something new. Then again, comparing new bands to older bands also helps catch the eye (or ears) of someone who hasn’t yet heard of them.

You say: „This is the album we were dying to make“ – Why? In what way is it different from your first album “The Thread”? 

Ben: We were also dying to make the first one, but in a different way. They both came from different types of frustration. The first album “The Thread” is a bunch of songs that we had been playing live for ages and that we were impatient to put on a record so we could then start afresh. And the second album was made out of a load of ideas and riffs that were building up in our phones over two years of almost constant touring. So it was quite liberating to assemble all these elements together and call it an album. In our heads we kind of considered this new album as our true first one.

You also say „The cover photo shows someone lifting their head out of the water – out of the turmoil & disorder – to breathe“. So have you fought against your own inner turmoil & disorder with this album? Or is „Breathe In/Out“ about larger social contexts?

Ben: We’ve all hard moments in our lives where we’ve overthought stuff, felt paranoid, oppressed, I think the basic idea was to tackle those thoughts. But funny enough, it’s after we recorded Breathe In/Out that I started feeling these things more than ever before. The intense rhythm of the tour started getting to me and I was finding it hard to cope with being away from home for so long, I stopped creating anything by myself and it was just tour tour tour. Suddenly the name of the album and especially the cover photograph taken by Lily Bineau made more sense to me because it feels like I have been ever since trying to lift my head above all these feelings. It’s all growing up and makes you stronger!

How do you write and compose your songs? In which mood do you have to be for this? What inspires you for the melodies and the lyrics?

Ben: A lot of the riffs come from Théo and Max just jamming around at rehearsals and at soundchecks. We record them with our phones and they build up and up. Then we assemble all these riffs until we have the full instrumental part of the song. After that I write over it (often at the very last minute before recording) and the ideas for lyrics can really come from anywhere, a book, a film, a situation…

One of your songs on „Breathe In/Out“ is called „Death By Embarrasment“ – what was the most embarrassing moment in your lives?

Ben: This song is about being an awkward teenager and feeling humiliated and just wanting to disappear instantly, like when you get caught masturbating by your mum or something. I’d say that’s probably the most embarrassing feeling. Pretty classic.

Thank you very much! Wir sind gespannt auf die geballte Live-Power der dreistimmigen Post-Hardcore‘ler. Ihr auch? Dann könnt ihr mit ein wenig Glück 2×2 Gästelistenplätze für den Gig am 18. März im Club Stereo gewinnen. Schreibt uns dafür über unsere Facebook-Seite oder per Mail an sarah[at]hdiyl.de mit dem Betreff „Lysistrata“. Die Gewinner werden am 16. März benachrichtigt.

Lysistrata im Netz:
Facebook
Instagram

Lysistrata in Echt:
18.03. – Nürnberg, Club Stereo
19.03. – München, Milla
20.03. – Schorndorf, Manufaktur
21.03. – Würzburg, Keller Z87
22.03. – Trier, Lucky’s Luke
24.03. – Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
25.03. – Köln, Bumann & Sohn
26.03. – Dortmund, FZW
27.03. – Hamburg, Molotow
28.03. – Berlin, Cassiopeia
29.03. – Dresden, Groovestation
31.03. – Hannover, Lux
01.04. – Bremen, Lagerhaus
02.04. – Münster, Gleis 22

// Text: Sarah Grodd //
// Bild: Max Chill //