Part 2
What is your sense of ownership like as part of the collective songwriting process? What is the balance between the lyrics, melodies and harmonies, and the groove in terms of your sound?
We tend to respect the structural input of every musician in the project. For me, finding good bass lines that complement the guitar melodies and harmony, and grooving with the drums is the bread-and-butter of my role in the band. I don’t claim any private ownership of the songs other than as a collective work.
Usually, songs begin with some guitar riffs Fab or Val play us in rehearsal, but the rhythmic side of music remains pivotal in our sound. Lyrics tend to come in a second part, after all the basic structures are led down.
What tend to be the best songs in your opinion – those where you had a lot in common as a band or those where you had more differences? What happens when another musician takes you outside of your comfort zone?
I wouldn’t try to put our compositional methods into a system, as this can vary wildly from track to track.
Most pieces on the album were built in a similar fashion, usually guitar pieces provided by Fab, around which we added Val’s baritone guitar, while Paul (drums) and I provided the rhythmical foundation. Each of us would then speak our minds about musical colours, maybe the sound of a band some parts reminded us of, and we would then re-work the compositions until everybody was happy with the result.
More recently, we have begun to write new material where the initial musical impulses can seem less consensual, — i.e. we built an entire track around a very fast hardcore-punk D-Beat drum and bass. But the way the guitars were layered on top of that beat makes for an entirely unexpected mix of noise-rock and chaotic hardcore track.
At the end of the day, different compositional configurations always help creativity, and we try to put ourselves in situations to make this special alchemy happen.
What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one's convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements?
Assertive tastes in a band can potentially lead to arguments over stylistic discrepancies, yet we ordinarily solve problems by talking and testing different things musically, before settling on necessary compromises.
It all comes from being pragmatic and what’s best for the project. Until now, this method hasn’t failed us.
Do any of the band's members also have solo projects? If so, how do these feeds into the band's creative process?
The five of us either play in other bands (PARLOR, Lugosi, CONTREVENTS etc.), or in solo projects (CLAQUEDENT). This gives us much more creative perspectives than if we had only one band to develop our musical/sound ideas. For instance, Paul has created the interlude “¶” as a collage from some of his solo work, and also layered some noise generators and synths to add some layers of sound on our album.
For me, playing bass with delay pedals or distortions to add texture is something I developed a long time ago with my post-metal project SaaR. It is something I try to incorporate in CC’s sound. Same thing with all the other musicians in the project.
How has the interaction within the group changed over the years? How do you keep things surprising, playful and inspiring?
Time seems to have strengthened our friendship and musical bounds, rather than erode the singular links between us, and I feel grateful for that chance.
The fact that we are already working on our next record, while the first one hasn’t come out yet, keeps us in a constant creative process and maintains us in an inspiring mood.
Have you worked with outside contributors - from session musicians via producers to other songwriters? How did this change, improve or challenge the established dynamic and how do you look back on that?
We are always pursuing the idea of bringing other musicians to ad hoc contributions, in a collective mind point of view, either on our recordings or live situations.
On this album, we wanted a feature with a saxophone player to add a jazzy vibe at the end of our track “Faraday”, and also a more free-jazz feeling on “Mathématique”’s climax. We finally settled for our friend Quentin, a classically-trained musician whose input on these two tracks is absolutely priceless.
On top of recording with us, he also regularly appears as a guest live when we’re playing in Paris. This challenges the dynamic of the band and makes us listen to the overall interaction between timbers with a new accuracy, really great experience.
I also have to mention our sound engineer / producer Youri Benaïs, who has managed to capture our “live” sound while we were recording in the studio. He has a great way to communicate with musicians, pushes us in our boundaries to extract the best take out of us. He has also mixed the entire album, plus the video sessions we filmed for “Vertige Noir” and “120 dB”, and has been a driving force behind us since the beginning.
We can’t thank him enough for his input on this project, his open-mindedness, and his overall great human qualities. The album wouldn’t have sounded the same without him.
Most bands eventually break up. What makes you stay together? What are essentials for a successful band?
As for many bands, I guess that genuine friendship bonds are paramount to keep a project healthy in the long run. Verbal communication, acceptance of compromise and not being a dick with people goes a long way, either in a band or as a human being …
As for success, we’re still quite far from any form of it, but I’m convinced that putting your heart and soul in what you believe in is ultimately the right thing to do. It may come as an extension of our commitment in the future, but only as a side effect of our work ethics and values.
