SOURCE – First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the repertoire featured on Le Sanglot. It may be just a personal impression, but the new songs written in French sound much better. I believe this had a major impact on the reception of Le Sanglot. Not that Antidote isn’t a good album, but in my opinion, Le Sanglot truly represents Impure Wilhelmina. How did the songwriting process for Le Sanglot unfold?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – Thanks! When it comes to writing songs, we went about it as usual. I’m the band’s main songwriter. When I have a riff or two, a rough outline of a song, or even something more developed, I record demos and play them for the other band members. I try to include lyrics in those demos right from the start. That’s what happened with this album. The lyrics were in French from the very beginning. That means we decided to use French very early on in the process. In fact, it was our cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s “La Javanaise” on our EP Dead Decades that sparked the idea.
Getting back to the songwriting process, if the other members like the demos I’ve made, we work together, possibly revising the song’s structure and fine-tuning the arrangements until everyone is satisfied. We try as much as possible to arrive at the studio with songs that are ready to go, since time is limited and there’s little room for improvisation.
SOURCE – Internationally, how do you evaluate the impact of the language change in Impure Wilhelmina’s compositions on the reception of Le Sanglot?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – In the French-speaking world, the response has been very positive, and the same goes for other regions. Generally speaking, people who understand the lyrics appreciate them, and others feel that the songs sound more natural overall. Some non-French speakers have even taken the time to study the lyrics and translate them. In short, there’s never been as much talk about Impure Wilhelmina’s lyrics as there is now, which I find very encouraging because that’s always been a top priority for me.
SOURCE – Le Sanglot is probably the best album the band has released so far. How would you present the record, and what do you consider to be its strongest points?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – For us, “Le Sanglot” is a more refined version of Impure Wilhelmina. While we remain true to the style we’ve been developing for years, the French lyrics allow us to convey a much clearer and more precise message.
The album’s strengths are therefore the lyrics, but also the songwriting, which we always strive to perfect, the arrangements by Edouard Nicod, our new guitarist, and of course the production, which is both clear and organic. But above all, and this is perhaps the only thing that should matter in any musical project, there is the fact that we have succeeded, or so we hope, in conveying emotion throughout the entire process, from the initial idea (me alone with my guitar) to the final result.
SOURCE – Following the album’s release, are you planning any promotional activities to further support Le Sanglot, such as releasing additional singles or music videos?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – We’ve already released three videos to promote the album ahead of its release. We might release a fourth one in a few months to reignite interest in the album, given that these days an album can quickly get lost in the constant stream of new releases.
We also plan to post a few videos of our live performances. We’ll see what we can do! In fact, the best way to promote an album is to perform it live. So we’re planning a European tour in February and March.
SOURCE – Le Sanglot is already available on several digital platforms, allowing listeners to experience it in different ways. Did this ease of music consumption directly influence the way you composed the album?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – Not really. Once we have enough tracks to make an album, we focus mainly on the album as a whole: the sound, the overall vibe, the artwork, the track order, and so on. Choosing the singles comes later, even if there are a few obvious choices. So our approach stems directly from our roots, which lie in the 1990s.
But we’re well aware that the way people consume music has changed. As a result, we realize that our album, which is 50 minutes long, is quite lengthy by today’s standards. However, compared to some albums released in the 1990s, the golden age of the CD, 50 minutes isn’t very long.
That said, over the years, our songs have tended to get shorter, even though they’re still relatively long. Is this out of necessity, to cater to a more fickle audience than before? I think it’s more because we’ve improved as songwriters, which means our message is more concise and therefore more powerful.
SOURCE – What are your expectations for Le Sanglot?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – I think we’ve already achieved our main goal: artistic fulfillment. In fact, many reviews have mentioned and praised this aspect of the album. For now and in the coming months, we’ll be promoting this album on stage in an effort to attract new fans and open new doors for ourselves.
SOURCE – Financially, most bands are not generating immediate profits nowadays. What strategies do you intend to develop so that Impure Wilhelmina can achieve some financial return?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – We regularly seek financial support from various cultural institutions in Geneva and throughout Switzerland. Without this support, we would never have been able to produce “Le Sanglot” the way we did. Our goal is to maintain the highest possible artistic standards while keeping our budget balanced. It’s not always easy, and it involves administrative work that’s a far cry from pure artistic creation, but that’s just how it works. In the end, that’s what allows us to offer high-quality music.
SOURCE – How likely is it that you will tour South America in support of this album?
Michaël Schindl (Guitars, Vocals) – Honestly, we don’t have any plans for that right now, but who knows? I’ve always heard that South American audiences are the best for metal, so we’d love to come and play there!
Photo Credit: Mehdi Benkler
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