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Interviews Howling Syn

Interview with Patryk Pigeon

Interview conducted by Michel Renaud

Date online: February 10, 2003


Hails Patryk! Well, since this is essentially a follow up to the first interview, we'll skip the usual questions and concentrate on the release of your first album. How does it feel, after a few years of being essentially a project band, to finally attain the "real band" status and have your first real CD in hand? (yeah that's a dumb question, but I have to start somewhere. ;))

It's very cool to have a full band now. I’ve waited a long time to have a solid band like that! Eric & I have been playing together for 12 years now so the chemistry is there! So is now the chemistry with Sophie and Gilbert. Having the first official cd released is a dream come true and a hard working project that finally came to life in 2002.

I think this was your first studio experience ever? How did that go? Any surprises? Any fuck ups during recording? :) Which studio did you go to? What producer did you work with?

For Eric and I it was our 2nd experience. We did some studio recording in 1995 together. But it was the first time for Sophie. We recorded the CD at Radicart Studio with Francis Perron of the late Decayed Remains. The recording session went pretty well. We recorded 14 tracks in 14 days. So I don’t have to tell you that we were exhausted after that. As for the mixing I’m sure if we were involved in the first mixing the sound of the CD would have been better. But we are happy & thrilled since it’s our first CD.

Your album was released on a new label called Galy Records. How did that happen?

Eric Galy sent us an e-mail to ask us if we wanted to be the first band on his new label with a licensing agreement. The CD was recorded since the summer of 2001 and the fact that he was living in Quebec helped us a lot in our decision to try it out with him.

Are you satisfied of the label's work for you so far? (promotion, etc...)

The first two months were very nice but after that a conflict of personality arose and after too many disagreements, both of us thought we should part ways. For the better I think! We’re already seeking for something else.

"Forebearers of Dusk" has been out for several months now, what kind of feedback have you received so far? I guess you got quite a bit of positive reviews, but have you also run into negative (or "very" negative) comments?

We had some very cool feedback! The fans loved the CD and so did the media! We are very blessed no "very" negative reviews have been sent to us. They all liked the music. Some didn’t like the cover but what can you do? You can’t please everyone!

You have already played a couple of live gigs. How did that go - especially the first time? Where was it, how did the crowd react to your sound, did everything go as expected, etc... Tell us everything or I'll strap you to a chair and make you listen to Limp Bizshit or some other crap like that. :)

The First Gig was in St. Hyacinthe with the Ghoulunatics. It turned out to be more of a rehearsal since it was our first gig. We have played a new song called Bleed in Silence that we now play on every show. It was in a small place with a small crowd, but it was still a lot of fun. All the other shows were pretty cool! The crowd loved what they saw and that gives us the power to continue! We also did the Weekend Extreme in June 2002, all the best bands from Quebec were there for 3 full days of metal! We have closed the weekend with Liva and Soulforge as the best hopes in Quebec's metal scene. The best show we did was the last one in November with Liva and Moonlyght. The crowd went nuts! We have played 6 news songs and we have tried some new theatrical stuff. We can't wait to do more shows! A lot of people are asking us if we will tour their country. WE CAN’T WAIT!!!!!

Are you satisfied of the final product? I found the songs to sound so much better than the versions of the same songs on mp3.com. Did it require a lot of work to get things the way you wanted?

Oh yeah! There's a big difference of course. We are talking of old demos done with my PC and now we have a full studio CD. The versions are more mature and were meant to be that way since the beginning when I wrote them. It’s hard work but when you know where you wanna go it’s simpler! The new songs are written the same way as the old ones.

Will the mp3.com D.A.M. CDs remain available to those who want them?

Only the compilation "Demos-Vocals-Remixes" will remain available for some time. All the other DAM CDs are out of print. They are now collector's items! LOL

Speaking of mp3.com, are you still having quite a bit of success there? I know that since last year mp3.com changed a lot of things regarding payments to artists and many bands have complained about not being paid, etc... Any problems?

There’s still a lot people who visit the page everyday but since mp3.com changed so much we don’t spend much time promoting the page from mp3.com anymore. We promote howlingsyn.net instead. Mp3.com was and is still all about the money (for them, of course).

mp3.com recently changed (once again) their policy so that artists who don't pay for the "premium artist service" can only have 3 songs available to visitors at any time. I believe they don't pay for plays anymore either. How do you feel about that change? Was mp3.com still a source of income for the band, or had that dropped so much that it's not much of a bother for you?

When they decided to stop paying the artists that are not "premium", we were still having a big success there. But what they want is Bon Jovi and all the crap like that so all the good indie bands have suffered from that. Now you have to pay Big US money to have some kind of success on the site. Mp3.com = Sucking money machine! We even have been ripped off by them, like many others! But it’s a long story!

Are you already at work on another album, or are you taking a break from songwriting (you have quite a large number of songs on mp3.com)? Is everyone in the band now involved in the songwriting?

We are getting ready to record a new CD. No title yet but 20 songs to choose from! Surprisingly, no old songs from the past demos will be on the new Cd. Only new stuff! Eric & Sophie always write lyrics on some songs. They are still writing cool things for the new songs. I still take care of the music and some lyrics. Gilbert is writing his solos! If everything goes well the CD will be recorded before the end of the year!

Other than that, what are the plans for Howling Syn in the months ahead? Are you planning on any kind of touring?

We will get everything ready to record the new CD and we’d love to do more shows! We’re open to propositions! Howling Syn is ready to darken your town! Howling Syn shows are something out of the ordinary!

Well that's pretty much all I got. If there's anything else you'd like to add, here's your chance! Thanks for your time!

Thanks for your support! STAY EVIL!!!!!!!!!

Other information about Howling Syn on this site
Review: Forebearers of Dusk
Interview with Patryk on February 14, 2001 (Interviewed by Michel Renaud)




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