Neimo discuss the Parisian rock scene

18-09-2008 11:13

Neimo are probably the hottest thing to come out of Paris since stripes and berets, and twhen they landed on the shores of the UK, FemaleFirst was there to bring you all the hot gossip from the life of a rockstar: Ooh La La!

What have you been up to recently?

We are London to play a few shows and it has been lots of fun.

Your EP Poison The Chalice was released on Monday, how have you been celebrating?

After the gigs we have been drinking lots of beer with our friends. We have not had much chance to see the songs on iTunes as we don’t have an internet connection over here but we know what the songs sound like so I guess it’s not too bad.

What has the reaction to the record been like and how have you found playing to British audiences?

I think that British bands are trying to define us better even though we have been touring some of the big cities in the UK for two years but we have only recently begun to build up a following to the shows so it takes quite a while to get some British fans and I think that it is something we need to earn by showing that we love to play here as it’s so easy to get from Paris to London.

With regards to the EP; I can’t say anything very precise about the reaction as the EP has only just come out but we guess that it will be all fine but we also know that it will take some work and time to gain British fans as England is not a country you win over in an instant.

To anyone who hasn’t heard of you yet, how would you describe your sound?

I would say it’s Rock N Roll but at the same time it has an electronic sound and this is because rock and roll and electronica is music we really love. If someone likes Iggy Pop, Blondie, David Bowie or Daft Punk; they will certainly like our music too. We try to put everything we love into our own songs.

There are so many electro and rock bands coming onto the scene at the moment, as well as bands with a fusion of both; what makes you different from everyone else?

I would say that we started as being a more punk/electronic sounding band because we didn’t have a drummer and for this album we decided to have a drummer. But something that never changed is that the bass has always been played on a keyboard so we really look like a modern version of The Doors.

Of course we’re also from France but we’re not trying to use this to make us different because we believe that people need to listen to our music and judge us on this; it’s hardly noticeable for an English-speaking person to notice that Bruno is actually from France. I think the fact that we are French is very important as it gives us our own culture therefore we don’t see Rock and Roll as English or American people do as in France we had only been the audience of foreign rock and roll acts such as Queen and The Beatles from Britain,

Until a few years ago everything was sung in French but for us it didn’t sound like Rock and Roll so in 2003/2004 we had many French Rock bands singing in English and even though we sound different; we have all been influenced in the same way.

Who do you look up to within the music industry?

We feel very close to people like Adam Green even though he’s not doing the same music we totally share the spirit and the kind of music we know from him. We also like The Strokes, and we would love to play with The Foals again because in the space of a year they have gained great success and we love their music and image.

If you are not familiar with any French bands I would also recommend listening to a band called The Dodoz who sing in English and make great music!

Where would you like to be ten years from now?

That’s a tricky question; I would love to do the same thing as I am doing now but in an easier way and be able to just concentrate on writing music because right now we have to do everything even though in six months we have been receiving a lot of support from people who work for us now and they are all helping us a great deal but we still have to manage lots of things which get in the way of the writing and creative process so in 10 years I hope I will be doing music the way I want to and spend all my time thinking about this.

We ask everyone we interview to come up with a question for the next person we interview....and Dave Dee wants to know what you’re going to spend your first pay packet on from the new single?

I think I will get a case for my amp because I can’t carry it! And I will also get a pedal to play with my guitar because I’m a ‘gear geek’ and I’m always buying new things for my guitar!

At least you’re not buying fast cars! So can you come up with a a question for the next person I interview?

“Where do you like to play the most, and is it the same place you like to stay the most?”

FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison