We're thrilled to have Hugues Berger-Pelletier, co-founder of Principius, joining us today to discuss their latest release, "Peace Through Affliction." Hugues shares insights into the band's journey, evolution of their sound, and aspirations for the future.
1. Congratulations on the release of "Peace Through
Affliction." How do you feel about the reception it has received so far,
and how does it compare to the response to your debut album, "Lingering in
Despair"?
Thank you! We think the reception has been very good, but
it's still difficult for us to be able to gauge the true reception. There's the
fact that for the first album, we had 0 expectations and any positive feedback
that we received got us overly excited! For the 2nd album, I guess we did have
higher expectations compared to the first album. While I think the 2nd album
was better received than the first, I was probably hoping we'd be able to get
more visibility. But it is so difficult in 2023 to be visible! There's so much
content being released! We're still happy and proud of what we did!
2. The band was founded in 2018 by Hugues
Berger-Pelletier and Marc-Etienne Lebeau. Can you share the story of how
Principius came together, and how has the lineup evolved over the years?
Marc and I studied together. We were in the same engineering
class in university. We lost sight of each other for a while, but got back
together for a beer and decided to start writing music together as a hobby. At
first we didn't intend to form a real band, but after attending a few live
shows together, we told ourselves "why not!". We recorded a 5 track
instrumental demo to recruit the rest of the band. Axelle joined and everything
took off at that point.
3. Your decision to release a full LP for your debut in
2020 is quite unique. What motivated you to take this approach, and how do you
think it contributed to your early success in the metal scene?
First, Marc and I had been writing music for a while at that
time, so we had a lot of material that was almost "album ready".
Second, that's how Marc and I consumed music (that's still how I do it). We
like the experience of going through a complete album. To this day, I'm not a
fan of one single being released every 4 to 6 months. Third, what I like the
most is writing music. I like the creative process and witnessing the end
result. So I wouldn't be satisfied if my focus was only on booking gigs or
writing posts on Facebook and Instagram. As such, I spend a lot of time writing
ideas for potential songs.
4. "Peace Through Affliction" is described as
slightly heavier than its predecessor, both musically and vocally. Can you talk
about the creative process behind the album and how you approached evolving
your sound from "Lingering in Despair" to this latest release?
There are multiple elements that brought us there I think.
The music on the first album was written by Marc and myself, however soon after
the release, Marc decided to leave Principius for personal reasons. So I wrote
the second album's music alone, which surely affected how it sounds.
There's also the fact that I simply wanted to change things up a bit. That
probably pushed me to get interested in slightly heavier music. I started
listening to more metal genres and slightly less melodic death metal. Finally,
there were many things I learned with the first album in terms of production
that I wanted to improve on the second album. Both albums are self-produced, so
obviously there are many things we didn't know when doing the first one.
5. Axelle, as a vocalist and lyricist, how do you
approach crafting the lyrics for Principius? Are there specific themes or
inspirations that guide your writing?
I start by listening to the songs Hugues has composed
instrumentally, and I begin by absorbing the emotions it releases. I can then
figure out the overall rhythm and the nature of the vocals that would fit well
with it. Naturally, subjects or polemics that reside in my thoughts emerge and
join in with what I'm looking for musically. Hugues also writes the lyrics for
certain songs, and sometimes I do so myself. We go according to our feelings.
6. With a background in melodic death metal, how do you
balance the melodic elements with the heaviness in your music, especially in
"Peace Through Affliction"?
My brain and fingers always gravitate towards simple melodic
parts and this makes finding melodies not so difficult. But I have to force
myself to try and write music that isn't just that, just a sequence of
simple melodic parts. And it's difficult! I do usually let the music write
itself, by that I mean that I don't pre-plan things such as "I want to
write in such key or such time signature". I just go with the flow of how
I feel. That being said, I still have to sometimes make some effort to try and
get out of my comfort zone, because it is extremely easy when you write music
to stick to said comfort zone.
7. You've been actively performing at local shows and
festivals. How has the live performance aspect influenced your music, and do
you have any memorable moments from your live shows that stand out?
That's a very good question! On the local scene in our area,
I feel there is a very strong enthusiasm for very heavy genres. And I can be
wrong, but I really feel there is a slightly stronger interest for genres such
as Deathcore, old school death metal, etc. My guess is because of the energy
these bands bring into a venue and how it transfers to the crowd. So I would
lie if I said this doesn't influence me and my writing. At the end of the day I
still write music that I like. While I'm not overly concerned by what others
think, there is still a small portion of my being that wants people to enjoy
our music, both live and in their living room, so I always keep that in mind.
8. Hugues, you mentioned working on new music for the
band's 3rd release. Can you give us any insights into the direction or themes
you're exploring for the upcoming album?
For now I'm still focusing on the music of the 3rd album. I
always write music and then work on lyrics, with the help of Axelle. So for now
there isn't any lyrical theme decided, but I can say it's almost always
influenced by what is going on in the world or in my personal life. The 2nd
album lyrics were heavily influenced by the pandemic and social behaviors that
ensued, so maybe the 3rd album will be our own reflection on war and global
economy, who knows! Musically, I don't think there will be a major change, but
as I said I always try to change things a tiny bit. I also try to have songs
that are quite different from one another, so that the album doesn't sound
like the same song being repeated. But one thing I want to explore is to
participate more in the vocal melodies and rhythms. Axelle was doing all of
that by herself for our 2 albums and I thought that if I want us to sound
a bit different on the 3rd album, simply having a new person (me) involved in
the melodies might do it.
9. As a band from Montreal, Canada, how has the local
metal scene shaped your musical journey, and are there other bands or artists
that have particularly influenced Principius?
The local scene is what motivated me to officially start the
band. We were at a local show, listening to a very cool Montreal band called
Decadawn, and for some reason looking at them on the stage triggered a spark in
my brain that made me want to also have a band. In terms of influence, I guess
our music shares elements with old Amon Amarth, old In Flames and old At the
Gates. But it really isn't done on purpose. I liked these bands and listened to
them a long time ago, but I've never aimed at sounding like them. I guess it
just happened. And obviously that comparison is without considering our vocals,
which are different. I know Axelle was influenced a lot by Angela Gossow (Arch
Enemy), and more recently for our 2nd album I think she got a bit of
inspiration from Tatiana from Jinjer.
10. Looking ahead, what are your goals for the future of
Principius? Are there specific milestones or achievements you aspire to reach
in the coming years?
This one is hard to answer, because I feel sometimes what we
want as band and what we control don't align! I'd very much like to have the
opportunity to open for some relatively big act, for example if Jinjer (since
I've just named them) were to play in Montreal and we'd have the chance to
open, that's definitely one milestone I hope we can achieve soon. Apart from
that, I'd very much like to be able to work with a good producer for our next
album. It would surely help us get our music on a different level if we could
have the input of a real producer, but that will really depend on how much
money we can spare. Like a lot of small bands, we're completely independant, so
our funds are very limited and we always have to think carefully about what we
do with whatever we have.
Music | Principius (bandcamp.com)
Principius Band (@principiusband) • Instagram photos and videos
Post a Comment