Lark Interview
1. Tell us a bit how lark came to be
R: I guess Zach and I have always thought about making music together, although we’ve been living countries apart for some time now. A couple years ago we talked about sharing music ideas during a family Christmas thing and a few months later, both our respective bands collapsed. We had so much energy and frustration to share, Lark was born, and the EP was written in two months!
2. Lark is a mix of Post Metal, Progressive Hardcore and Prog metal into something rather interesting. I hear bands like Russian Circles, Isis, Early Mastodon, Gojira, Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum and some Sludgy Doom moments. Did the EP come out like you thought?
R.You’re spot on with the influences! The EP came out way better than I thought, regarding both the style and the sound. I was a bit afraid that patching up all those influences and parts coming from 5 different studios would create something too chaotic, but Robin from Grey Matter Studio (Lyon, Fr) did an amazing job mixing this mess into something coherent.
Z: I’m pleased you heard some of our favourite influences. For me, the EP came out much better than expected too. I kept the expectation of this simple idea we had to just have fun, but it became more and more serious as we worked the project, . Worthy of a note once more, Robin’s production is on point.
3. Why an Ep for an album and not a full length?
R: The original idea was to do a few tracks to send to labels and such. But during the recording, it became clear to us that those tracks had much more potential. We could clearly see it on a vinyl instead of just sending sad mp3s. Hence a real EP became the objective, and it actually was a better idea to make a first mark into the music world.
Z: This is our first release, and to me, it was important to have a light project to work on rather than go heavy and too serious right away with a full length record. Funnily enough, it became a bit of both, a ‘’serious EP’’ ha ha!
4. What bands are impressing the members of Lark currently?
R: There are several bands influencing both of us, like Mastodon and Gojira. Personally I really want to mix the huge-sounding vibe of bands like Russian Circles or Black Peaks with some violence coming from black metal like early Opeth.
Z: I have so much respect all five bands Raph just mentioned. We like Devin Townsend and Baroness a wee bit as well.
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5. How does the album cover play into the theme of the tracks ? That lone person and decaying plane is a stark image?
R: We really like the idea to involve other artists in the creative process. We’ve asked a talented friend of ours, Anthony Aubert, to listen to the EP when it was barely mixed and to come up with something. We gave him very sparse ideas of what we had in mind (which he discarded anyway!) and he came up with this man on a broken plane gazing into a black sun, surrounded by birds. Our lyrics deal with themes like global warming or fanaticism, and the visual brings up the same ideas of impending doom. It’s a great piece of art.
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6. Were you seeking a label or was this always a DIY project you wanted to do independent?
R: We’re looking for a label now. We wanted to jump directly into the music before to suffer the long process of finding a label. Plus, now I feel like we have more chance to find a good label that suits our band.
Z: Hopefully, working with a label will help us grow as a band. We’ll remain independent until we find the right people to work with.
7. What are Lark's thoughts on social media for bands, is it what is needed in 2017 to get the word out or does good PR and Touring really make the difference?
R: Well, both, of course. We were very lucky to work with Curtis Devar as a PR, he did a tremendous job. Social media is a very biased place, with cruel buzz-or-die rules. We love to create new original content to share, it’s part of the game. But sometime the ratio effort/recognition is quite depressing.
Z: If it is just to get the word out, I’d vote PR with mega touring. But it’s important to be able to contact fans again afterward via social media once the word is out.
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8. Where do you see the next material heading after this EP?
R: Oh we plan great things! An album for sure, with even more of this multi-influences mix. We’ve discovered that we could do much more than we initially expected, especially with the guitar sound and the singing. I heard my brother sing for the first time in studio, when we put the freshly downloaded tracks from London into the main mix. That was so exciting! The feedback was great; we want to see where this way of creating music can lead us.
Z: We have so much choice, the possibilities are endless but I’m certain I want a lot of extra heavy riffs and drums beats. I think it’ll sound like the same influences but more ‘’us’’, there’ll probably be more cohesion. I’m impatient to try some weird sounds and take risks too.
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9.If you could make a video for any track off EP. Which one and how do you want it to look?
R: I would love to find some money to organize and film a concert on an old boat. We would organize a party with friends in sailor costumes and lots of rum. The first song of the EP Hailstorm is very dynamic, that could do an awesome video for it!
Z: I would totally want to produce an intense video clip for Red Eye set in the midst of a massive riot.
10. in 4 words describe the band’s sound..
R: As much as I’d love to go like « massive wall of sound » or even « heavier than dead whale », I’d rather pick « unexpected fat metal groove ». I never expected the rhythmic section to be so groovy since we never played the song together in real life before recording.
Z: ‘’Drums, Bass, Guitars, Vocals.’’? Hahaha only joking! Raph’s answer is pretty accurate, I can’t find better.
11. Do the members of Lark have other projects you like to tell us about ?
R: Nope, we’re all in on this one.
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12. What kind of music scene is thriving in the area you're from ?
R: I come from the French hardcore scene. In Lyon, you just have to hang out late in old town to find a metalcore band shredding in a small and dark cave. As much as I love those deafening sessions with hat-sideways-headbanging-break
Z: I’m from south of France too but currently in London. And that’s absolutely true: so much sludgy, doomy, heavy metal going on here, along with fuzz and psych. When DesertFest kicks off, you realise how big the scene is. It’s pretty impressive.
13. Where is extreme underground music heading in your eyes, are we going to a more mainstream place or is it digging back further in the underground for those that are cult fans??
R: Again, both. I feel like extreme music gains popularity nowadays. People that truly listen to music are looking for the quality that metal bands are so found of. Just look at the amount of money bands are investing in gear just for small gigs! Paradoxically, the underground scene is what makes it all so cool and trendy, and discovering your new favorite band during an unplanned night-out with a beer and tinnitus is just the best.
Z: I’d say both too. Worth mentioning it’s recently become possible for a super underground band to make enough money to keep going with a small amount of very strong fans. Regardless of how niche or extreme the band is. It’s amazing. Some bands would have no interest in getting anywhere near mainstream if they can develop well within their small community.
14. Thank you for the time, any closing thoughts here.
R: We’re glad you guys found our music interesting, I hope to create more curiosity in the future!
Z: Thank you for spreading the word!
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