M’lasse are traversing genre planes on an aircraft made of dreams. You might just be getting an introduction to them, but they’ve made sure it’s the first impression. Putting their best foot forward, they have a collection of 7 songs for their self-titled album. Wear a helmet for safety, there’s a chance you’ll fall in love.
Your instrumental cocktails are unlike any other. How did you arrive at this kind of sound?
We’re a pretty straightforward guitar/bass/drums trio, so nothing groundbreaking there. We do tend to use a lot of effects pedals but that, too, is par for the course when it comes to shoegaze. If anything, our EP might sound a little different because it was recorded on 8 track cassette and then transferred to digital for mixing. We really wanted it to have an analog warmth which we feel is missing from a lot of music these days. We’re glad that came through in the final mix.
Les Yeux opens up as the dreamy wormhole to paradise as a shoegaze epiphany. It has the softness of the pop side of the genre, while still having the aggressive break suddenly, during the distortion guitar part. It’s a great opening to what promises to be a remarkable album. Thérapie Primale introduces us to an indie rock dream, with jazz influences. The tones have a distortion ruling them, yet create a unique prismoidal result of sound. Short enough, it is like a dream for a power nap that draws you into a daze.
Shoegaze tends to use a drowned-out instrumental palette. With your style, how do you switch it up if there’s a certain patch of monotony?
We’re a very song-oriented band so we try not to let things get too repetitive. If you listen to classic My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus and Mary Chain, for example, there’s always a well-constructed pop song underneath all the layers of sound which is a huge part of why those bands are so great!
Éléphant is a groovy rock track with a great bassline. It especially stands out given the fact it opens the track. With its fresh riffs and kick-ass changes along with brilliant transitions, this is where you’re showered with another shade of the spectrum. A country, bluesy wave comes with Révé. It has a different tone, again showing how M’lasse can create divergent realities for music. Temps Gris merges effects of grunge into an alt-rock spine. The result is a unique track that unfolds on itself with a powerful punch. Novembre has a purpose to shift the warmth with sound and has a pop wave in it. It helps in uniformly creating a genuine flow that goes through all the troughs and crests to make this experience truly M’lasses.
You’ve shown us every music genre you love with your EP. What do you lean most towards during composition?
That’s a tough one. We have a lot of diverse influences that inform our music so when we’re coming up with ideas, we’re not really thinking too much about what genre they fit into. We just, sort of, let it flow. It might make us more difficult to get into, given that certain kinds of music have a built-in audience. But maybe that’s just the cost of following our muse.
What are some major inspirations to your work? The more unlikely, the better.
We all listen to tons of different stuff, from the Beatles and the Stones to post-rock like Grails and Tortoise. Antony (bass/vox) and Steve (drums) are Quebecois, so they bring Quebec’s rich musical tradition to the table with bands like Beau Dommage and Harmonium. Amer (guitar) is Lebanese-Canadian, so Arabic music like Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz and Um Kalthoum is part of his musical DNA.
What is next for M’Lasse? What can we expect from a band like this next?
We’re really focused on promoting the EP at the moment and are looking to set up some shows around Montreal in the spring and summer.
By the time we close with Le Navire Chavire, you’ve experienced the whole pie chart. It shows what a band like this is capable of, with their music and style. It is an experience to learn a new style and ways to play around it. M’Lasse create an experience like no other indie band, and with style. Listen to their album here:
Check out our playlists here!
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Promotional Disclaimer: The content in this post has been sponsored by the artist, label, or PR representative to help promote their work.
Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
