9+1 Q&A with N.A.N – Not A Number

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

I started music pretty early. When I was a boy, I began learning how to sing then I took to playing the keyboard with my father. When we were home, we used to play music and I was lucky to be raised by my parents. My father was crazy about Rock, Blues and R’N’B. My mother helped me discover international and French variety. Then, my sister introduced me to Hard Rock, Metal and other independent genres like Post-Punk or Grunge.
Then I progressively learned to play the gass guitar, the drums and the guitar on my own. Later I improved in MAO in order to create my own music. At the same time I performed in many groups ( Panda, Dirty Raven, Organic spirit, Gueule Noire a band I created with Renaud, my bass player…) But, in 2018 I definitely decided to work alone in order to create the music that fits me best, NAN’s music : that is to say rock music tinted with electro, Pop and many other influences. I must confess I really needed to go back to my roots, to create my own music through writing the lyrics, the composition and the arrangement, the videos I often shoot by myself.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

We have just released a new official video : Run Again which is certainly my favourite hit. It is available on our first EP : Wave, released on the cloud in October 2020. Finally we decided to release the EP under the format of a tape which you can buy on our page Bandcamp : https://nan-notanumber1.bandcamp.com/ ), a tape that will be available on February 2022.
I had the opportunity to fly to Malta for work in December 2021. When I had spare time there, I would shoot videos almost everywhere. It was pretty nice to sing in mythic places such as the Gozo Island, St Gilian, Ir Rabat…Some people were even intested in seeing me shoot. Therefore, what you can see in the clip was shot with my smartphone and a stabiliser.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

My influences are various and varied. I have been lulled by Post Punk and Rock Prog/ Psyche groups since childhood: The Cure, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Joy Division, Killing Joke for the first category and The Doors, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin for the hard trend. I was influenced by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart music and by movie soundtracks. Later, I fell in love with Rock and alternative Metal performed by Korn, System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails. If I had a name to quote, it would be Chino Moreno I discovered through his bands : Deftones, Team Sleep and Crosses. I am also a big fan of Shoegaze and other alternative musics : Slowdive, Drab Majesty, The Opposition, The Soft Moon, True Widow Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle. I am also very inspired by Post-Rock ( PG.Lost or even Lost in Kiev). I can’t skip the Grunge scene which I have been following since I was a teenager : Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam or Nirvana. I love the Stoner Rock, too.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

It’s an excellent question. I have really wanted to use as many influences as I could in NAN and not only copy a sound following a style, I can’t do that and it’s a challenge in my home country, France. Most French people cling to what they know and many of them can’t cope with different styles. As for me, creation needs innovation and not mimicking what yet exists. I am really different from other artists because I have mixed the styles that I do love. Thus, all the coolness of the Cold Wave can be found through the drums, the bass keyboard and the keyboards. Furthermore, I always try to sing a story in my songs, so the movie soundtrack atmosphere is highlighted through the keyboards. The bass sounds Post-Punk, simple and efficient. The guitar is a mixture of Shoegaze, Rock Alt/ Prog and Cold Wave. The voice is close to Pop, Rock or even Variety. I love sweet melodies and voices sailing between calm and tempest. I can be labelled Cold Gaze, a mixture between Cold Wave and Shoegaze.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

There are so many….Yet my three favourites albums are: White Pony by Deftones, Disintegration by The Cure and The Demonstration by Drab Majesty.

The 3 movies I prefer are Alien by Ridley Scott, Interstellar by Christopher Nolan and Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis.

The 3 books are: Terre des Hommes written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philipp K Dick, a dystopian novel and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince because this literary saga gave me the taste for reading when I was a teenager who only read comic strips or Comics

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

It is a difficult question. My bass guitar player, Renaud, would tell you he prefers the studio for the cookies and the coffee. That’s true that it is comfortable to work in a studio because you have the time to create, to innovate and to try many things. But I do prefer concerts for the ambiance, the dynamism, the adrenaline and particularly to be able to meet our public. I constantly need to discover strangers, to talk, to share.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

When I first met my wife, she listened to me without knowing who I was. She worked at a beverage retail and met many people involved in the music scene. One her friends had advised me. The day came when we really talked. I told her I was devoted to music and she realized I was linked with my other group, Dirty Raven. It was pretty funny when she showed me I was in her playlist. She already loved the singer and his voice, that is to say me!

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

Time by Pink Floyd on the album, The Dark Side of the Moon. I like almost every hit recorded by this group. I have chosen Time because it sounds perfect to me. The general tone has a movie-like turn and it narrates a true story. I’m obsessed with time therefore the lyrics move me particularly! Nothing compares to the music construction, I consider it perfect. David Gilmour’s way of playing the guitar is stunning. I love how he plays. He offers something simple and sophisticated at the same time. He doesn’t show off, I don’t appreciate boasters but he can build a unique atmosphere. I love Gilmour’s reverb effects, modulations. Gilmour’s sound takes a big importance in the sound I build in NAN.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

I think that 2022 will be our year. Many things are going to happen. We have just signed with a label: North Shadows Records. They are extraordinary and passionate people. Moreover they trust in us and help us a lot. We are soon going to release our first album: on August the thirteenth 2022 for our annual festival, the Lucie A Live Festival in Arras in France. We are so eager to present this album I have been working on for about three years. We are going to offer some video clips for the release of the opus. We are going to provide a lot of goodies ( T-shirts, tapes, badges, albums…). We are thinking about the future tours even though it is pretty difficult because of the virus that has damaged the world culture. Just for your ears, we are working on a remake from Elvis Presley for our label. We are reshaping the title to play it our way.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

If you had the opportunity to achieve only one thing in your career, what would be the ultimate deed of the group?

Without hesitating, I would compose a movie soundtrack. I’m a great fan of Hans Zimmer, John William, Ramin Djawadi and the great John Carpenter. They are artists who inspire me constantly.
I want to thank Last Day Deaf for their support since the group has begun.

Photo Credits: Bernard Collot

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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