Interview Painted Scars

Painted Scars' journey from forming in April 2023 to their EP 'Kintsugi' in 2024 is a whirlwind of live shows, creativity, and overcoming personal challenges through music.

1. Can you tell us more about the band’s journey from forming in April 2023 to recording your first EP ‘Kintsugi’ in 2024?

It's been quite a trip. A lot has happened in a very short time period. Mainly because we wanted to start playing live shows as soon as possible.
To achieve this, we recorded our first single "Life and alive" at home and had it mixed and mastered. The song was released as a lyric video in July 2023. At the time we only had some basic ideas for songs, but we were determined to have a try-out show at Jeugdhuis Dido.
This then evolved into Scarfest, a small festival which spanned an entire day and 9 bands.
Because we wanted to play at least 30 minutes we rapidly threw ourselves into songwriting and pumped out 4 more songs.
Additionally, we created our own version of 2 existing songs to get those 30 minutes.
Due to the success of the festival, we got the opportunity to play some more shows in the fall and winter of 2023.
We realized there was potential and had to bring our more songs to get more shows.
We recorded the EP in February of 2024 and signed up for some competitions to score some more shows in the spring of 2024.
This led to quite some shows in the fall as well as some competitions. The most impactful one has been the Wacken Battle, where we achieved 2nd place in the belgian finals.
Now in the summer it's quite calm in terms of shows and we are fully focused on the release of our EP in August 2024. There's lots to do, like shooting video clips or managing the promotion material on the social media side.

2. What was the inspiration behind the band’s name, Painted Scars?

The name was an idea by our singer. It was originally a reference to tattoos. However since then, it has become a metaphor for experiences people endure during their lifetime.

3. How did each of you get started in music and what drew you to the hard rock genre?

Jassy Blue has loved singing since she was a child, but was always hindered by her illness CF. Since the new medicine that is available, she can sing without issues and she immediately joined a band. She got into hardrock by frequenting the local hardrock pub in Aalst.
Kevin De Brauwer has a long history in music, starting as a child in the choir. He has been playing in metal bands for some time now so he brings a lot of experience.
Jens actually used to play guitar in a local band, but has since discovered his love for the bass.
Bram has been playing variations of all kinds of percussive instruments since he was a child. He is into all kinds of music, ranging from free style jazz to extreme metal.
Yannick started playing guitar when he was 18 years old and played some local bands on and off. He rediscovered his love of the instrument when Jassy Blue invited him to form a band. He started out by discovering Guns and Roses at the same age he picked up the guitar.
You'll have to excuse the lack of detail as some band members aren't present for this interview!

4. How does your personal experiences and struggles, such as Jassy’s battle with Cystic Fibrosis, influence the lyrics and music of Painted Scars?

Most of the lyrics are written by Jassy Blue, so the lyrics are mostly a reflection of her personal experiences. We try to generalize somewhat, as a lot of people experience the same emotions, even if the reasons are very personal.
The music itself is written from the feelings of the musicians, rather than the experiences they've had.

5. What can listeners expect from the upcoming debut EP ‘Kintsugi’ in terms of sound and themes?

Kintsugi is a japanese artform where they fix broken vases with golden glue. This is a metaphor for how people can often be broken into pieces by their experiences. We believe that everyone can be fixed and become more beautiful than they were before.
The songs on the album often reflect mental struggles and how to overcome these struggles. However, there's also a song that's all about partying!
The sound we aim for is a high energy, sing along, party vibe. We want people to take their pain and heal from it through music.
We want people to have fun. 

6. How do you approach the songwriting process as a band, especially when dealing with such personal topics in your music?

Songwriting for us is still something we are learning. We don't want to exclude particular methods.
For now, it seems that the chord progressions and song structure ideas are coming from the guitarists and bassist.
When we find something that most of us think has a good feel to it, we'll involve everyone to throw out ideas.
It is then that Jassy looks through her little book of stories and lyrics.
We try to link the feeling she gets from the song and pick out lyrics that match.
The drummer then tries his hand at some parts to fill out the drums.
During this time, everything is subject to change, whatever works for the vibe of the song.

7. Can you describe the energy and atmosphere at one of your live shows, such as Scarfest, for those who haven’t had the chance to see you perform yet?

From the feedback we've been given, we are a high energy band that tends to surprise most newcomers.
Some of the songs we have are pretty high up there with regards to the tempo and we tend to start and end with the high tempo songs.
It's all about giving it your all ( or enjoying it in your own way) and soaking up the energy!

8. How do you balance the heavy riffs and guitar solos with the melodic choruses in your music to create a cohesive sound?

We try not to overthink it. If it sounds good, we go for it. A lot of bands in other genres combine heavy riffs, with open chords and sing along chorus moments. We always said we wanted our music to have a chorus people could sing along too. 
There's nothing like singing along with your favorite song at a show!

9. What are your plans for the future after the release of ‘Kintsugi’ in August 2024, any upcoming tours or projects in the works?

After the release show at Scarfest 2024, we have some shows at local festivals. We have some talks ongoing about setting up a small tour in the UK or the Netherlands, as we have some contacts there. That would probably be in the spring of 2025.
Coming winter, we'll be focused on working on the new ideas we have ready.

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