Hello everyone! Today we're here with Harsh, a rising French hard rock band that's about to release a brand new album. How are you guys doing?

Harsh – Hi! We're doing great, thanks! How about you?


We're here today to talk, above all, about your upcoming album, FEELS, which will be released on July 3rd. The title seems quite fitting considering the album's overall theme. How did you come up with that name?

Léo – We compared it to our previous record, which was very much rooted in hard rock, with a strong glam influence. Back then, our songwriting was mainly driven by riffs and a more straightforward hard rock approach. This time, we decided to change the way we worked a little. The writing process became much more focused on personal experiences, emotions, stories we'd lived through ourselves, but also stories we'd witnessed around us. Once the music was finished, we started looking for a title that would reflect what we'd created. We struggled a bit. During a brainstorming session, Albert suggested FEELINGS. We felt it wasn't quite right. Then I thought, what about FEELS? A shorter version. As soon as we said it, we all felt it was perfect. We immediately agreed that it was the right title. There wasn't a second of hesitation.

Julien – It became obvious the moment we heard it.


I noticed that the album doesn't have a self-titled track, which is fairly uncommon these days. I was wondering why you chose not to include one.

Séverin – We did think about it and considered a few different options. But, as the guys mentioned earlier, we eventually settled on FEELS because it suited the album much better. If we'd gone with a song title instead, the two strongest contenders were Back to Life and Forever Yesterday, which were also the songs released just before the album. But in the end, we felt that FEELS was simply the better choice.

This is only your second album, yet you've already been getting a lot of attention lately. How does that feel, and how are you experiencing all of this?

Julien – It feels great. To be honest, we don't really realise it because we're constantly playing shows. We always do our best, but we also know we can always do better, so we're never completely satisfied. That said, we definitely feel there's some real momentum building, especially since we've started getting the first feedback on this new record. So we're feeling really optimistic about what's ahead.

A second album is also an opportunity to show more of what a band is capable of. The first album lays the foundations, while the second allows you to refine your identity. In your opinion, what has evolved the most? And what makes this second album a better reflection of who you are today?

Léo – I'd say the biggest change is what we were talking about earlier: the way we write and approach an album. We stopped putting so many limits on ourselves. We told ourselves that the aesthetic didn't really matter, as long as it felt right to us. On this record, you'll find glam, rock, alternative influences, pop… there's a lot of different things going on.

But we didn't hold ourselves back. We genuinely like everything that's on the album, and that's a requirement for us before putting a song on a record. As long as it fits this idea of expressing a feeling, an emotion or a meaningful story, then it belongs on the album. To us, it all feels coherent, so we kept it.

Julien – It's an approach that really suits us, and I think it represents us much better than before, when we were trying to stay strictly within glam and hard rock and didn't really want to let outside influences into our music.

Did you have any specific influences that really shaped this second album?

Léo – For this second album, I don't know if there were really any specific artists that influenced us, but I could probably mention Shinedown, The Struts...

Julien – Three Days Grace.

Séverin – It's actually quite broad.

Julien – Even within a single song, we could move from pop influences to alternative, glam or hard rock influences. We could name a huge number of bands, but I'm not sure that would really answer the question any better.

You're now signed to Fireflash Records. How did that come about? What was the process like, and what has working with the label brought to this album?

Albert – We were talking with Olivier Garnier, who recommended several labels to us, and Marcus was one of them. We had already spoken with quite a few labels before, but it was the first time we truly felt a genuine commitment. A lot of labels are willing to sign bands, but this felt like something that went beyond simply helping the band move forward. There was a real commitment to our music, to what we were creating, and on a human level, we got along really well right from the start.

Léo – There was genuine enthusiasm.

Albert – Exactly, real enthusiasm. We immediately had a really good feeling about Marcus. So we're very happy to be working with him. It's a real pleasure.

That's great to hear, and congratulations! I also noticed that the album was mixed and mastered by Hannes Braun. What do you think his work brought to the record?

Julien – I think he brought a lot to the album because his artistic vision is very close to ours. Maybe there's a little less of the emotional side in his approach, but he really shares that modern hard rock sound with pop influences. Working with him allowed us to head exactly in the direction we were aiming for. On top of that, he understands where we want to go so well that we simply send him the stems and a demo, exchange a couple of revisions with a few comments, and the song is done. He immediately gets what we're trying to achieve. He was exactly the right person for this record.

Albert – What's great as well is that he also comes up with ideas of his own during the mixing process. Every time he sends a song back to us, we rediscover it through little details and effects he'd added. He really invests himself in every track, and it's a real pleasure working with him.

Before the mastering stage, what does your creative process in the studio look like?

Léo – We have several ways of working, there's no magic formula. Most of the time, Albert comes in with a riff or song ideas he's written and presents them to the band. As long as everyone likes them, we're happy to move forward. We rely heavily on consensus. But songs can also start from the lyrics. Sometimes I'll come in with a text, or Albert will have one, and we'll build the music around it. We might follow the theme of the lyrics, or, on the contrary, deliberately create a contrast. So it really works both ways. We write a lot of songs, which gives us the opportunity to experiment and try every possible approach.

Julien – Once we have an idea, we usually work on it during rehearsals. Everyone suggests changes and improvements. We try every possible variation, for example,  "Léo's version number four," where the riff lands on the and of beat three instead of beat three itself. Once we've tried everything, we agree on the best version, move forward, and when everyone's happy with the song, we lock it in. Sometimes we're still making final adjustments while recording the guitar tracks.

Albert – Sometimes a song comes together very spontaneously, really quickly, and everyone agrees straight away. Other times, we can spend hours in the studio looking for the perfect arrangement for one very specific section, or even during post-production, adding a new part or reworking an existing one. It really varies from song to song.

I read that this album is rooted in human experiences and emotions. So far, we've seen two music videos, Back to Life and Forever Yesterday, both of which put a single person at the center of the story. Is that because they're based on personal experiences, or because the song holds a particular meaning for the person featured in the video?

Julien – Those two videos each tell a different story. They are indeed based on personal experiences or things we've witnessed ourselves. We also chose to work with actors. For example, in the Back to Life video, there's an actor who plays drums, surfs, and does several different things. We felt it made more sense to have someone embody the story and its theme rather than one of us. Otherwise, we'd have ended up being part of the narrative ourselves. This way, we stay on the outside, focusing on the musical performance instead of being directly involved in the storyline.

Albert – As for Forever Yesterday, I'm the one doing the acting, so that's a bit different. It's not a particularly personal story, but a lot of our friends and the people around us share their own experiences with us. That inspired us to tell a love story, of course. A rock album without a love story isn't really a rock album! This time I played the role, but there wasn't any special reason behind it. As far as I remember, it was simply the director who wanted me to do it.

Is there one song, for one reason or another, that means the most to you?

Séverin – All of them!

(laughs)

Julien – When We're Together, because it's really about friendship and what we experience within the band. Naturally, I think it holds a special place because it sums up what we all go through together.

Léo – The way we write lyrics means there's always a central theme. We know what a song is about, but we deliberately leave it open enough for us to attach our own meaning to it, and for listeners to do the same. When We're Together is a song that really reflects who we are. Beyond that, I think every song can resonate with people in different ways, whether it's us or the listeners. It's really up to you to make it your own.

Julien – Personally, I've made the lyrics they wrote my own by relating them to experiences from my own life. I can see parts of my own story in them, even if that's not exactly what they originally meant. They wrote the lyrics broadly enough for anyone to interpret them in their own way. Even within the band, we each connect with those emotions differently, and when I play that song, I have my own story in mind as well.

Your album explores a wide range of styles and influences. Alongside the ballads, listeners will also find a cover of Maniac. Why did you choose that particular song?

Albert – That's a good question! We knew from the start that we wanted to put our own spin on an existing song. That was the idea. We tried quite a few different tracks during rehearsals, really a lot of them. I think Call Me was the one we worked on just before Maniac. We thought, "Yeah, this could work." But as soon as we started playing Maniac -the guitar riff, the groove- we immediately felt that something special was happening. There was a real spark. In the end, I think we chose that cover mostly because it just felt right.

Léo – Another reason we picked Maniac was that we wanted to cover something outside the usual Hard Rock classics. We love that genre, of course, but we also wanted to bring something different to the table. So we decided to reinterpret that song in our own Hard Rock style. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones to have that idea. At the time, though, we hadn't really paid attention to who had already covered it. It was only afterwards that we realized we certainly weren't the first.

Albert – I already knew Carpenter Brut's version. Then people started commenting, saying, "Hey, Firewind covered it too!" and "Avantasia did as well!"

Léo – What's interesting is that the audiences we play for don't necessarily know those references. A lot of people have never heard Firewind or Avantasia's versions. So it's quite common to see people genuinely surprised to hear such an iconic song reimagined as a rock track. For many of them, it's the first time they've heard it that way, so I'd say the gamble paid off.

Was it always the plan to include this cover on the album, or did that decision come later?

Séverin – No, it wasn't planned at all. We'd already been playing it for a while, but every time we performed it live, people kept asking us to put it on the next record. So, in the end... everyone wanted it. Well, almost everyone!

Albert – It's true, we got a lot of requests. At every show, and even at the merch table, people kept asking, "Is Maniac on the album? Is Maniac on the album?" And we'd have to say, "No, sorry." After hearing that over and over again, it eventually got through to us... So now, Maniac is on the album!

(laughs)

It’s really important to listen to your fans, and you seem to do it while building a community. So, well done !

Back To Life was the first music video released from the album. In your opinion, how does it prepare listeners for what they'll discover on the rest of the record?

Julien – I think it strikes a really good balance between the Hard Rock, alternative, and pop elements. To me, it's a great summary of the album and all the different sides it has to offer. It's a perfect introduction because it gives listeners a taste of those different influences. I'm simplifying things a little, but those three elements are present throughout the record. From there, people will discover songs that explore each of those directions. I think Back To Life is the perfect track to represent the album as a whole.

Your music videos also have a very cinematic feel. To you, how important is that cinematic aspect for a band today?

Julien – Even though we're less glam, the '80s are still somewhere in the back of our minds, especially with the whole MTV era and the music videos from that time. The same goes for the alternative scene in the early '90s, which also had that strong MTV culture. So making cinematic music videos has always felt completely natural to us. We never really questioned it just seemed obvious. We're also lucky enough to work with Julien Patrice, who's an exceptional director and really enhances that side of what we do. He's genuinely passionate about cinema, and he approaches every project with an artistic vision from start to finish.

Séverin – We tell stories through our songs, and he's able to translate them into images.

Albert – We have long discussions together during pre-production, really breaking each song down and looking at every detail. You can tell that, while we're talking, he's already imagining things and building the concept in his head. It's a real pleasure to work with him and his entire team.

Speaking of cinema, if your album were the soundtrack to a movie, what kind of movie would it be?

Julien – That's a really tough one!

Léo – I know! I'd love for it to be the soundtrack to Guy Ritchie's next film. There you go... I'll let you figure out the rest!

Albert – The album intro, to me, belongs in a Scorsese film... Actually, no. More like... what's the name again? A Tarantino film! You know, with that little opening riff... I can picture a cowboy showdown.

I saw that you're celebrating the release of the new album with a release party at La Maroquinerie on July 3rd. What can people expect from that evening?

Séverin – A great night!

Julien – A huge party!

Léo – An amazing night! That's really how we see live shows. We put a lot of work into the setlist, the stage production, and every little detail, but above all, it's about having a great time together and celebrating with the audience. We're a band that loves to party, and we love sharing those moments with the people who come to see us. It's also our return to Paris, which is something we haven't done in a while. For the occasion, we'll also have Existence joining us as special guests. They're great friends of ours and an outstanding heavy metal band. I think it's going to be a fantastic night for everyone to share together.

And finally, do you have a message for the people listening to your music?

Julien – We just hope people will connect with what we're trying to share and make those emotions their own through our music. Most of all, we hope they'll come and see us live so we can all celebrate together.

Léo – That's a nice message.

Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.

Harsh – It was our pleasure. We really enjoyed it.