Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
Zak: I wasn’t interested in music at all in my childhood, I eventually started listening to songs in my teenage years, heavy metal mostly, and quickly bought a guitar to play black metal. My music tastes have changed since then but the music stayed.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “back&2theleft”?
A: By pretty much performing live as often as possible
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Steven Wilson is a huge influence among us. Drumming wise, Julian (our drummer) is a big fan of Danny Caddy from PPC.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Pure Perception.”?
A: It’s about erasure of the self. We’d rather leave the rest open to interpretation, because the album works more through immersive listening than through literal explanations.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Dense. Also the colour green, back&2theleft has always been green to us.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Pure Perception”?
A: Mostly restraint. Knowing when to stop adding things.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: We really don’t like dissecting our own stuff, but the narrator wishes to be seen. Our goal is having people connect with the record the way we react to some of the records we like.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: We all agreed on Bowie
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Make something that feels honest to you.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Julian: “Things take time.”
Salem: “Trust yourself but don’t forget that things take time, don’t give up !”
Zak: “It can always get worse.”
Ugo: “start doing cigarettes sooner.”
