INTERVIEW WITH ALEXIS TREPANIER ON “REMEMBER DEATH”
WITHIN PUNK ZINE INTERVIEW WITH
ALEXIS TREPANIER MUTE
OCTOBER 11, 2016 BY EMAIL
COURTESY OF MELANIE KAYE PR PHOTO: HELEONE BOUFFARD STEPHANIE BOURGEOUS J.B: Okay first of all how insane is it to haul that much on the kit and sing amazing vocals? Like how does one do it what’s the secret? Lots of practice? ALEXIS: There’s no big secret here, it’s like anything else. You have to practice a lot to be good. J.B: You’ve described the scene as dying out and being consumed of a younger generation that only takes in what the next thing is, the scene is use to be about solidarity and unification do you find that this album has that metaphorical meaning behind that? ALEXIS: Not really... There is only one song on the album that directly addresses the scene, the first one, “Resistance”, and it’s actually not about it dying, but rather being reborn. The running theme of death throughout the album is not really a reference to the music scene. J.B: Of course the scene rejuvenation in Brazil and Europe is the opposite do you find that scene had resonated into the feel and influence of this release? ALEXIS: Having travelled a lot since the release of our previous album, we have had the chance to witness the passion of the fans all over the world. It certainly motivates to keep playing that genre of music. Like I said before, our song Resistance is very much about carrying the torch in the face of adversity.
J.B: What was the concept behind Remember Death” the feel of the album is kind of a journey from darkness there is hope and prevail? ALEXIS: Remember Death is not a concept album per se. All of the songs were composed as individual works, with no conscious intention of having an overarching theme. With that being said, there is indeed a recurring theme of death in several of the songs’ lyrics. J.B: Of course you guys did the amazing video for “Fill the void” is it done by the same people that did “Bates Motel” because it really shows the energy you guys bring? ALEXIS: Some of the guys that did our videos for the songs from Thunderblast were back at work on this one too. We also teamed up with the crew at Exposed Films to help us make this music video. J.B: Who’s the iconic poster women? ALEXIS: Some random woman! She was spotted by our drummer in the street completely by chance. He was looking for a specific face to fit a concept he had in mind for the cover art of the album. She was gracious enough to accept our offer to play the model and also to star in the video. J.B: Of course talking about Europe you guys are tour again? Any plans of a North American in the winter? ALEXIS: At the moment, we’re exploring many touring scenarios. We have several shows booked in Québec for later this Fall and next year. We’re looking at the possibility of a larger tour but nothing is confirmed so far. J.B: With the previous release “Thunderbalst” you had melodic breakdowns and Tempo shifts similar on this one. This one also has more metal influence like the solo on “Fill the void” and that intro to “Allies” is this the new direction of Mute? ALEXIS: I wouldn’t call it a “new direction”. That sounds a little bit too radical. More like a natural progression. There has been an obvious metal influence since at least The Raven(2008), so it’s not like this was anything new. We have had solos and more metal parts
since the beginning. Our line of thinking when we write songs is “whatever works works”. We don’t really spend time thinking about what influenced whichever part in question. If it sounds good, it’s all that matters. J.B: Of course metal has found its way into the scene years ago and that element can be found in the many sub genres and styles of punk and hardcore. What influenced the sound of that on this release? ALEXIS: A lot of the metal influences that contributed to this album are the same that have been following us for a long time. Angra, In Flames, Helloween, Dark Tranquility and stuff like that. One album that was key in defining the composition of the record was Soilwork’s monumental double album The Living Infinite. It came out at the time we were starting to write new songs and I remember being very impressed by the quality of the songwriting. That a band would release one of their best album after more than 15 years of career inspired and motivated me to write new music that would surpass what we had done before. Remember Death would not be the same without The Living Infinite. J.B: Of course “Thunderblast” had that lyrical content that personal and reflective and on “ Remember Death” that content intensifies, what was the creative writing process on that one? ALEXIS:Not very different from the last few albums, as far as lyrics are concerned. When the music is mostly done being written and demoed, the guys choose which songs they wanna sing and then go on their own to write the lyrics. Those lyrics are still mostly about personal experiences. J.B: So where was this one recorded because the mastering on this release is brilliantly balanced and perfect? ALEXIS: It was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jef Fortin at BadAss Studio. We also worked with him on our two previous album as well. We think that this is our best sound yet. We tried to have a more natural and organic sound this time. This is no drums sampling on this one, no auto-tune or pitch correction. A lot less editing too. All of that contributes to the exceptional sound quality of the record. J.B: Of course you did the tour with another iconic Canadian punk
legend “Belvedere” how was that experience? It was great. We have known these guys for more than a decade now. After they broke up we never thought we’d have the chance to see them live, much less to do another tour with them. It was a fantastic experience. J.B: you’ve mentioned about “Much The Same” before for a European leg? Any idea’s on doing the North American tour together? ALEXIS: I don’t think they are doing any tours right now. I think they just do some festival appearances once in a while. We’d love to do a tour with them, that’s for sure, if only to see them live once more. J.B: What’s next for “Mute”? How do you like being part of the Bird Attack family? What’s next is promoting the hell out of Remember Death. We will be playing a lot of shows all around the world. Bird Attack have been nothing but great to us. We’re extremely happy to be a part of their team now! J.B: we always end with a famous book or quote that inspired your life anything come to mind? From the movie Irréversible: “Le temps détruit tout - Time destroys everything”. European Tour Dates 2016: 20 Oct - Bayonne (FR) 21 Oct - San Sebastian (ES) Dabadaba 22 Oct - A Coruna (ES) Filomatic 23 Oct - Oviedo (ES) Lata de Zinc 24 Oct - Madrid (ES) Trash Can 25 Oct - Barcelona (ES) Rocksound 26 Oct - Toulouse (FR) 27 Oct - Lyon (FR) Jack Jack 28 Oct - Verona (IT) Officina Degli Angeli 29 Oct - Ravenna (IT) Bukowski 30 Oct - Milan (IT) Magnolia 31 Oct - Livorno (IT) Surfer Joe (Halloween Party) 2 Nov - Nuremberg (DE) Zentral Café 3 Nov - Augsburg (DE) Ballonfabrik 4 Nov - Wermelskirchen (DE) AJZ Bahndamn 5 Nov - Amsterdam (NL) Winston 6 Nov - Kampen (NL) Tukien 7 Nov - Leuven (BE) Sojo 8 Nov - Paris (FR) Gibus 9 Nov - Nantes (FR) TBA 10 Nov - TBA 11 Nov - TBA 12 Nov - Pau (FR) Showcase