Name: Hey Hey My My
Members: Julien Garnier, Julien Gaulier
Nationality: French
Occupation: Songwriters, vocalists, producers
Current Release: The new Hey Hey My My album High_Life is out via Vietnam Label.

If you enjoyed this interview with Hey Hey My My and would like to find out more about the band and their music, visit them on Instagram, and Facebook.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Julien Gaulier: The impulse comes from a need to express myself I guess. At first it’s only musical. Then, if lyrics have to be written, they can follow the initial feeling, or go somewhere completely different. It’s like a thread you pull, slowly …

Once you have actually written a song and you listen to it, then you know if it has some connections to other art form, your dreams, or your feelings. I mean, this connection is not always made in a conscious manner.

For the song “Restless Mind” I just had this riff on guitar, then some mumbling for the vocals, then the “I live with a restless mind and I can’t find sleep” came, and then the rest of the songs appeared.



Julien Garnier came up with the little “hook” on the verses, it’s a good example of how we blend our inspirations, sometimes we talk about it, sometimes we have no idea and we realize it afterwards.

In the end we discovered the song was really influenced by the 90s indie rock that we were listening to as a teenagers like Weezer, Pixies etc …

Julien Garnier: Inspiration and melody ideas are coming through connecting with my imagination, with my instrument. I need to be sitting on my coach, to be lazy, to try and come up with chords on my guitar first and then I get in a mood like dreaming, watching out the window and a feeling is coming with notes.

That first step is crucial for me. It always comes first before lyrics.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Julien Gaulier: 80% of the time I’m just goofing around with my guitar and then a succession of chords or a riff takes me somewhere. On some other occasions, it can be more like “let’s try this specific form for fun and see where it goes”.

At some point, two or three years ago, I was listening to Ennio Morricone’s music after his death. And then I was trying to find a riff that would be intriguing, strange, like a signature. I wanted a little piece of music made by one instrument only and that could have a kind of personality in itself, like Morricone did with his film scores. So that’s basically a counter-example of what I was stating earlier. At least, this time, I was trying something specific on purpose.

I didn’t have a very precise idea, but I knew I wanted something I could use to build other stuff around. At first I just had this kind of “descent” on bass, but in the end that’s what became the instrumental “Dal Canale”.



A long time after that first demo, Vincent Artaud wrote the arrangement and we added the strings section. So it kind of became more and more Ennio Morricone-like whereas at the beginning it was just trying out an idea because of his music.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Julien Gaulier: I just need to stop procrastinating, and that’s the hardest part. Once I have no ways to escape, once I have the energy and the will to take my guitar or play the piano, then I can record stuff here and there, and get back to it later … when I feel I really need to (again). Maybe in the end the procrastination is part of all this creative phase?

Julien Garnier: For me inspirational moments must be a pure moment of freedom without barriers or stuff to do. Have an entire day free to do what I want. Nothing in my mind or on the contrary have an emotional shock like being in love and thinking about it.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

Julien Gaulier: I would say the easiest part is to start with a few notes, sometimes a few words, then if all goes well it transforms itself into a kind of song. So the music can come pretty quickly actually, but often I will need a great deal of time to write the lyrics.

It’s really hard to actually finish songs. That’s basically why I needed help on the song “My Friend”.



I asked Zachary Gaviller, a friend of mine, to complete the lyrics of the song. I had the chorus “My friend, oh my friend we are here to be free”, then I had some kind of ideas of the meaning of it, and then Zach brought a great deal to the song. The good thing, as in a good collaboration, was that he brought a new meaning

Julien Garnier: I have a ritual during the early creation process. I record the idea I try to get with drum machine and several guitars. I always record it not to loose the first feeling and then I go swimming at the end of the day.

When I come back home I pour myself a good glass of wine and I press play to listen to my early creation. I know then if it’s good or crap with proudness or shame. I like this moment of truth facing reality.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Julien Gaulier : Lyrics are both linked to the music and they have a word on their own as well. It really depends on the song, the best time as creator is when you feel both are intertwined. But it doesn’t happen that often (I could  take J.E.Sunde’s “I don’t care to dance” as an example of a perfect fit for me)

Julien Garnier: I always write lyrics after the music. I like to build something with the first words I found with the early idea. Then I can build something around it. I like to keep the first wave of meaning if it’s possible.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Julien Gaulier : Being French, and as English is not my mother tongue the hardest part is both to be correct in terms of usage, and poetic at the same time.

But I don’t have a preconception of “good lyrics”, the best is when you find something musical and that fits the song (either with a strong meaning as intented, or evasive if need be)

Julien Garnier: My mother is an English teacher, I lived in London for a year, so English is part of me even if I still make some language mistakes. (laughs) It’s coming naturally in English because I find it more musical for me according to all the English pop music I’ve listened to.

Good lyrics for me should be perfectly musical before being meaningful. It’s great when you get both of course. I still have to find a way to create more emotion with the lyrics or have more ability to tell a good story.
 
Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?
 
Julien Gaulier: Some parts of the work can go very fast (starting with a melody, the first words of the song) and then it can be very demanding to finish it. I guess for me that’s the hardest part.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Julien Gaulier: You are always in control. You can have some ideas that pop up suddenly or be playing without any precise direction, but soon enough you’ll have to steer your ship.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

Julien Gaulier: This is especially the case when you compose many arrangements (guitars, keyboards, vocals) and you can either pile them up, or try to pick the good ones for the right time. And this is really hard and often that’s where we need the help of a producer (like Romain Clisson who produced and mixed our latest album).
 
There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Julien Garnier: Creating is a pure act of freedom for me - no boss no master no god. (laughs) The freedom to express ourselves as we want is something precious to keep.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Julien Garnier: For me you have to face other people’s reaction. It’s very easy to please yourself without sharing anything with other people and have the illusion that what we are creating is great.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Julien Garnier: The production has to serve the idea, the kind of universe you have in your mind. Therefore you have to talk a lot about it to the producer.