Interview with Novelists

French metallars Novelists release their 2nd album ‘Noir’ today! You can read our review of it here.

Dave speaks with frontman Matt Gelsomino about what to expect from ‘Noir’ as well as what’s he listening to at the moment and his love for pasta.

Dave: Thanks for giving up your time to speak to us! How are you doing today?

Matt: Great thank you for asking! We’ve been very busy for the last few days packing up all of the pre-orders, but most of it is ready to be shipped now so it’s all good.

You’ve got your new album ‘Noir’ coming out on the 8th (September), how do you feel it tuned out?

We’re really excited about the release. ‘Noir’ is very different from ‘Souvenirs’; the core of the record hasn’t changed but we had a whole different vision of what we wanted to achieve on this one. It’s at the same time really exciting and also very nerve-racking haha.

I heard you say“this album might not be what people thought we’d release?” Can you explain what you mean by that?

I feel like a lot of ‘Souvenirs’ fans were probably expecting something quite similar, very technical, “djent” influenced etc. While we didn’t make a complete 180 turn from our previous record, ‘Noir’ is extremely different and showcases a lot more aspects of our personalities than ‘Souvenirs’ did. A lot of bands like to play safe on the second record but we just didn’t want to do that, hopefully people will like it anyway!

Have you got a favourite song off the album?

My personal favorite would be ‘The Light, The Fire’, I’m just so happy with what we achieved on the chorus of this song. Love it!

What was the recording process like?

The recording process wasn’t really that different from the process for ‘Souvenirs’. Flo and Amael write everything, then they send it to us all for review and that’s when I can start writing. When everything was finally pre-produced we headed to the studio with Nico and Amael to record the vocals – they then went home and locked themselves away for a month to mix the record!

You also recently released a video for ‘A Bitter End’, what was it like making it? Did you get much creative input?

‘A Bitter End’ was shot by Pavel Trebuhkin; he’s been our go-to director since ‘Souvenirs’. We are absolute fans of his work so most of the time we just hire him, give him the outlines of what we’d like and let him work his magic. It turns out just wonderful every time!

You’re going on tour from October, what can we expect from your live shows?

New songs and a lot of fun!

What’s on your stereo at the moment?

We’ve all been listening constantly to a band called Nothing But Thieves. They’re a great UK band!

How do you relax away from performing?

Some of us have other jobs so it’s sometimes hard to relax when we come back home from tour and have to catch up with all of the unfinished work we left beforehand! Luckily for me, I don’t, so I just chill at home, play video games and eat lots and lots of pasta.

Are there any final words for our readers?

Thank you to anyone that supports us we hope to see you soon at a show!

‘Noir’ is out today! You can order online here or at any good record shop.