by marcs77It could be there is a “new” scene or something of the sort going and growing faster among the today's multifaceted hardcore punk. It's been a while now anyway. Currently there are lot of these bands in Italy and a few good locals from my area as well, and I'd like to think the label «blackened screamo post-hardcore» to fit just fine for describing this genre that blends the raw primal heaviness of black metal, unconventional angular song structures, obscure atmospheres and crusty hardcore punk urgency.
France's POTENCE, our “hot new band to check out”, ideally embodies all of above though for sure there's more served on the plate.
The foursome hails from Besançon-Strasbourg and has an untitled 4-track demo out you can download for a name-your-price-deal off their bandcamp page.
When I first heard their music I really liked the songs that make up the very first recording of these Frenchmen so we've decided to email them a few questions to give the guys the chance to introduce this new band to our readers.
gan: First off, can you please offer a lowdown on POTENCE? Who plays what, where you from, when you started out...
Hello and thanks for asking us for this interview. Basically, We are Potence, four friends playing together that wanted to hit the road and have a great time. Things started in September 2014 when we were jamming around (Anto and Sylvain), doing covers (Ekkaia, Tragedy...stuff like that) for fun. We always wanted to play with Nico because is a good friend and we met Aurélien one night in a bar, we talked about our project and he was really into it. The next day everything became real. Anto plays guitar, Sylvain plays drums, Nico plays bass and Aurelien sings. Everybody is from Besançon except Nico who lives in Strasbourg.
gan: In April you did release your first demo. How do you feel about it? Wanna talk about the creative process behind your first stuff?
Before we'd hit the road, we wanted to give something to listen to people so that they could hear what to expect. So we asked our friend Leo to record us in our rehearsal room. Then, we thought "why not release it ourselves on a cd-r?". Everything was done in less than a week and basically that's it. About the songwriting, it's the usual. It's quite hard to spend as much time together as we want to, since we all have a busy schedule (playing in other bands and living in different cities). Most of the time, it's always Anto and Sylvain who jam around, writing parts of songs that we build all together when Nico comes visiting us. That way, the songs remain quite simple with a strong "urge" feeling, and finally, that's what we wanted to do.
gan: I don't know how you guys would label your genre and if you care at all. What are some of your personal influences?
We're not that good with etiquette and labeling things. For us, we play hardcore punk, but since the genre is so vast. Saying that we blend some screamo stuff with crusty parts is probably the best way to describe our music. We all have been active in the scene for years now (in different bands), so we all got the chance to meet some bands that we all love as well. We have different influences, but there are some bands that we all love such as Ekkaia, His Hero Is Gone, Converge, Tragedy. You know, the usual.
gan: It seems like that kind of a new scene is growing up faster around, this blackened screamo post-hardcore that I would say you guys play (this time it's me labeling your music). Actually also in Italy there are quite a few bands that are doing great things. What are your thoughts? And what in your view makes this music capable to grab the attention of more and more bands and kids?
What is appealing in this new genre is that everyone can find what they're craving for! Yep, it seems that doing this kind of music is the new thing. But who really cares anyway haha? That's just what came up from the influences that everyone brought! We don't feel to follow the new trend: we only wanted to play together and this "blackened screamo post-hardcore", as you said, is what came out of it. Some people seem to like it and that's great! Regarding the growth of the scene, over here in Besançon, the scene is "fading away". There are not so many new faces attending to shows and starting new bands! So for us, this kind of music doesn't look like to be "in".
gan: Why playing music and being in a band is so important in your life?
Free beers, good food, friends, traveling, meeting new people, seeing new places. Basically we do it to escape the dullness of our lives, share our experiences with other people and to keep a relevant look on society!
gan: After the demo release what's up next at Potence camp?
Our buddy Pibe will be soon releasing the demo on tape via Deaf Death Husky records. Otherwise we're planning to play as much as possible and we are currently writing songs for our first LP.
Listen to and download their demo here http://potence.bandcamp.com/releases
Check: www.facebook.com/gibierdequoi
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