Stéphane Miollan is the type of hyperactive musician for whom we have a soft spot here at The Thanks List. Endless Floods, a Doom/Ambient Metal 3-piece in which he serves double duty as bassist and singer, released their latest LP, Circle The Gold, just last week and they are already plotting its follow-ups. Monarch!, a Doom/Drone band on Profound Lore Records, is also keeping him very busy, playing guitar. His D-beat band Bombardement is preparing an album as follow-up to their excellent demo. Despite all of that, he stills finds time to start yet another D-beat band! That’s the spirit!
Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
CORRUPTED – El mundo frio
It’s deep, dark, heavy and beautiful. I’ve listened to it so many times but there always something new appearing.
THE MELVINS – Night goat
Built around one the heaviest riff ever. It’s intense, the tension never goes down. Played live, it’s the best, people go crazy.
FUNKADELIC – Maggot brain
Almost 10 min of quasi non-stop guitar solo. It always gets me in a very nostalgic, melancholic mood.
MIKE OLDFIELD – Tubular bell part 1
First song that allowed me to understand that “Rock music” could be something else. Some sequences of the song are crazy.
DEAD CAN DANCE – Severance
Brendan Perry’s voice is perfect. It feels like out of time.
Which music genre do you listen to the most?
I don’t feel connected to a particular genre of music. Anything may ring a bell for me if I feel, at one moment, connected to a song, album or artist.
I can get bored quickly, and music is an important part of my everyday life. So I really feel the need to switch from genre to genre to keep it fresh and healthy for me. So no specific answer possible here, sorry.
Your five favorite rappers of all time?
I’m not a “rap person” as I re-discovered interest for the genre recently. In fact, that was mainly motivated by being surrounded by friends that are really connected to the genre, so today my tastes are copycat of theirs: WILLIE D., THES ONE, MF DOOM,….
What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
Lysol from the MELVINS must be in top 3 ranking. I’m obsessed with it. 6 songs, half are covers, first one is just a wall of feedbacks and drums. I stopped listening to it on a daily basis but it comes from time to time.
Five hardest riffs of all time?
Haha … well that’s tricky…Ok. Focusing on “Hard”, the “of all time” parameters and my personal tastes. Something like this emerges:
AC/DC : Let there be rock
MELVINS : Night goat
WEEZER – Say it ain’t so (haha chorus sounds super hard to me…)
let’s say METALLICA – Ride the lightning
Not a riff but MAGMA’s Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh is harder than a lot of hard rock.
What are some of your favorite song lyrics? Lyrics that have been important to you or that had an impact on you?
Regarding the music I love and as French, between 70% and 90% of the music I hear/listen isn’t in my native language. So to be honest, for years, my concern on lyrics was highly overshadowed by my interest for the music. But some singers heavily “touched” me through there lyrical choices: Rob Alford (well that’s Rob Alford, he just heavily shaped Metal decorum), Creston Spiers from HARVEY MILK (Profound melancholic lyrics, always connected to a very “basic & sad reality” from my point of view).
Do you have an absolute all time favorite band or musical artist? What makes them so special to you?
For years I would respond that question by saying The MELVINS. Not because they were the best at everything but because they completely emphasis the “free to do what we want” aspect that I’ve always found absolutely fundamental in music. So I was 200% seduced by the band for that idea (and for the music also, of course). Now there are other aspects that define my ranking, and I recently admitted to myself that I just can’t find an absolute #1…
What are your ten favourite albums of all time (all genres)? Name a standout track on each of these albums.
WEEZER – Blue Album – Say it ain’t so
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – Rated R – I think I lost my headache
ASUNDER – A Clarion Call – Twilight amaranthine
CORRUPTED – Garten der Unbewusstheit – Gekkou no Daichi
ULVER – Kveldssanger – Halling
POISON IDEA – Feel The Darkness – Just to get away
TURBONEGRO – Apocalypse Dudes – Back to dungaree high
MELVINS – Lysol –With teeth
DEAD CAN DANCE – Serpent Egg’s – Severance
NOFX/RANCID split – Radio (NOFX version, of course)
Do you remember the first time you really appreciated an album or a song?
Got two clear memories about first music appreciation :
DEEP PURPLE – Made in Japan. My dad played me the 3rd track (Smoke on the water) and that was the very first riff I remember.
The 2nd track off Tubular Bell by MIKE OLDFIELD. When the creepy voice comes in and speaks indistinctly… Well my parents told my sister and I that it was the voice of Satan or a kind of demon (sounds like a very bad prank now, as I was just 5 or 6…)
One important thing is that my early age musical appreciation was with cassette tapes & CD format. My parents had vinyls but they were just frisbees to me. I didn’t grew up with vinyl.
What were you listening to in elementary school? then in high school? How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
In elementary school, I was basically listening to the same things that my parents did. QUEEN, DEEP PURPLE, ELVIS PRESLEY, DAVID BOWIE, EXTREM, POLICE. Basque Country music and a lot of French pop like FRANCIS CABREL, PATRICK BRUEL, ALAIN SOUCHON… We also listen to the radio a lot so it was all about classic 80-90’s radio hits.
All that music is deeply part of me I guess. I’m kind of good at karaoke and blind test for 90’s French radio hits…
I evolved a lot from this but I kept the love for the « hook », the « pop » side of every songs. For a long time I guess I tried to keep that side of me as far as possible from me because it was strongly linked to « the music I was listening with my parents ». Today, I love to include this dimension of me in my work. It’s like I had a toolbox for years that I refused to use, and now digging and playing with those tools is a lot of fun.
We also listen a lot of movie soundtracks. The most important soundtrack for me is from French movie « Le Grand Bleu » by Eric Serra. It’s 200% shaped like a 80’s movie: dreamy synth, ambient, beat machine, sometimes with subtle « world music » touches and some very very catchy songs also… and I will love it forever I guess.
Then high school was : Rancid (Life Won’t Wait), NOFX (White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean), Bad Religion (Stranger Than Fiction), QOTSA (Rated R), Daft Punk (Discovery), Metallica (Ride the Lightning), Kyuss (…Welcome to Sky Valley), Boris (Akuma no Uta), Melvins (Lysol), Zeke (Death Alley), Turbonegro (Ass Cobra/Apocalypse Dudes/Scandinavian Leather/Retox).
What beloved music do you share with your parents? Any specifics memories?
As I said we shared a lot of music in my family. Also I had the chance to have musicians in my family so I went to see people making music at very early age. I remember seeing my uncle playing the guitar solo from Sultan of swing and thinking to myself « that’s so cool ».
My sister was also a lot into listening & singing music. Alanis Morissette, Fugees & Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, all the Disney songs… I was hearing this the whole day for years when my interest was just playing video games. And it remained a lot. Recently, I listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for the first time in 20 years and it was good !
Most memorable show you’ve ever seen? What makes it stand out?
I’ve seen a lot of shows that sticks out for many reasons, it’s always connected to the band, the music but also the moment, the people with me, etc … I guess my top 2 is :
CORRUPTED. The whole night was crazy, I was touring Japan for the first time and playing with Corrupted in Osaka was such an event (they don’t play that much). For some reasons I missed the beginning of the show but for the 2nd half of their show I was captured by the sound. This whole day & night will stand forever I think. Kanpai!
MAGMA. I recently saw Magma playing in Bordeaux (where I live). I went alone to the show, it was a seated show and the audience was way older than me… I had a strange feeling at first. But from the very first chord until the end of their show it was pure madness… Some of the most powerful music I heard live. Also one of my high school friend is playing electric piano in Magma so seeing him playing and offering this music to the people in the audience was even more powerful.
What music or artist has been the most influential to you as a songwriter? Do you change what you listen to when you write music?
I don’t really choose a moment to write stuff. It comes while playing guitar or bass.
The music I’m into at the moment has a little chance to influence my playing but the rest is just me through all my influences playing guitar for myself.
I think I’m more interested into digging for production ideas in my influences, so it comes afterwards. And as it evolves a lot it’s always different depending on what I’m looking for.
What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night? Did you learn anything from them/by watching them?
BIRUSHANAH (Japanese Weird Noise/Metal) is a band I can’t be tired of watching play. I’ve toured maybe 6 or 7 times with them so I might have seen them playing 50 or 70 times … It’s always beautiful to watch. I didn’t learn about technical aspects watching them, I learnt about playing your music for people. I also toured a lot with BELL WITCH and YEAR OF NO LIGHT : I learned to party and wake up at 7. Tough lesson…
Is there any classic / universally acclaimed artist or that you missed out on when they first came out and discovered way later? Any artist that you didn’t like at first and learned to appreciate over time?
A lot! I’m super slow in discovering music. And I prefer seeing that as a chance. I refuse to force myself. Also, a lot of new music comes to my ears but most of the time I’m thinking “let’s save this for later, I want to listen to JUDAS PRIEST’s Turbo right now”.
For the Classic/Universally acclaimed artist I have a very good example: NEUROSIS. I had to see them play (2011 or 2012) to finally understand how good they were. Before it didn’t touch me that much. Now I can listen to most of their music and appreciate it.
Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
Haha… well I’m not interesting into Club Music (not sure about the terms) but I do love some DAFT PUNK I guess…
Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them? Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced?
A lot. Young Stephane would die to see RANCID. Actual Stephane wants to see MIDNIGHT playing a lot!
Of course I wish I saw some bands during their golden era: Deep Purple, The Who, Metallica, Fugazi, Lungfish, etc …
Do you have any controversial/unpopular music related opinions that you would like to defend?
Haha… this is kind of stressful honestly…haha… I guess controversial opinions depend on people you are used to talking with… I have to admit that I’ve had kind of a soft spot for RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS ever since I was a teenager, especially when it comes to John Frusciante. Frusciante is underrated because of the rhcp shitty stuff, but he’s a great guitar player. His solo career is good.
If you could create your dream band (with any musicians, dead or alive), who would play which instrument?
I really don’t know… I don’t have any « dream band ». I think I would rather look for something very strange that might be able to explore some aspect of music in a new way. Different people from different style of music….
Attila Csihar, John Fahey &, Christian Vander as a power trio. Or I choose the full lineup of Contrast Attitude and add myself so I can do nothing and watch them play every night. Yeah that’s better. Contrast Attitude line-up + me “playing” Kirin & Shoshu is my dream lineup.
What albums have been on heavy rotation lately?
KING GHIDORAH (MF DOOM) – Take me to your Leader
CONTRAST ATTITUDE – 18 tracks Compilation
PROFOSS – S/T 7”
LONG KNIFE – Sewers of Babylon
NOT SCIENTISTS – Golden Staples
SUMAC – Love in Shadows
THOU – Inconsolable
What are some up and coming artists that you would recommend?
It’s more or less recent I think, but :
ACID CANNIBALS (Sleazy R’nR, Glasgow)
PROFOSS (Swedish Style Dbeat, Sweden)
SWALLOWED (Cavernous Doom Death, Sweden)
Also : Listen to SEXPLOSION (Grave New Punk from Bordeaux City Rock) !
Is there a band that you’ve discovered live recently that blew you away?
HEMIPENIS (Doom, Osaka Japan). They opened a Festival we played on with MONARCH in Osaka (FarEast Festival) and they were pure hate. Mastering the sound, shapes & textures. It’s so hard to do a Sludge/Doom band today as there’s so many bands. Live, Hemipenis was better than most bands I‘ve seen.
Not a discovery, as I saw them 4 or 5 times, but I saw COFFINS in Tokyo and it was above the rest. Simple & Perfect is the same.
What are you listening to right now, while answering these questions?
I started the interview with the last DEAD CAN DANCE album, Dyonisus and then I switched to TOTALITÄR, Wallbreaker 1986-89, and ending with BAGARRE GÉNÉRALE, Tohu Bohu.
“3 salles, 3 ambiances”
Is there anything (new album, tour) you would like to promote?
Well, ENDLESS FLOODS released a new album Circle The Gold in February. We also work on a split album with our friends from THE TRUE MALEMORT and a collaborative album with GREYFELL. We also have new songs on the way so we might release something like a EP or something like that during 2019.
MONARCH focus on creating new material right now. Never Forever was released in 2017 and we toured a lot since that. We’re preparing what’s coming next.
BOMBARDEMENT, a D-beat band (English style) I’m in (with Emilie, singer for Monarch, Luc, drummer for Gasmask Terror/Sexplosion, Boubi who plays in Endless Floods, and Nico from Warning//Warning and Sexplosion) is about to release a new album. Straight to the point Discharge-style attack.
I also started another D-beat band… we don’t have a name but the spirit is more or less « Double Axes Guitar D-Beat Raw Assault… Of Death »…same shit, same millenium…
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