METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Estelle. So glad to of caught up with you. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.
ESTELLE: You’re welcome, it’s a pleasure for me too!
MPAP: It is said that Except One is flowers, birds, and children… all thrown in a blender! What else can you say about your band that everyone needs to know about?
ESTELLE: I don’t know what might be useful to know aside from our music, it is the most important part in a band, isn’t it ?
MPAP: Who else makes up your partners in crime in Except One?
ESTELLE: There is Adibou at back vocals and guitar, Junior at guitar, Crypp at bass, and Naty at drum.
MPAP: What can you tell us about them?
ESTELLE: Hum… Just look at pictures we post during tour and I think you could have an idea who they are!
They’re my musical family!
MPAP: What inspired the band name, Except One? What is the meaning behind it?
ESTELLE: Oh it’s just because we all have the same name, Georges, except for Junior of course! (Yes, it’s true, I swear, you don’t believe me?)
MPAP: Haunted Humanity, your latest EP, is just over a year old now. What can you tell everyone about it that hasn’t heard it before?
ESTELLE: That’s a difficult question! I think all you need to know is in the music and lyrics.
MPAP: How would you say you’ve grown as a band since your first EP, O.M.N.I. #1 which was released in December 2013?
ESTELLE: We have grown for sure, especially with the arrival of Adibou in the band.
MPAP: O.M.N.I. is the French acronym for ‘Unidentified Musical Object’. Could you go into more detail about this?
ESTELLE: That's just because we don’t really want to make a particular music style. Okay, we do metal but if one day we want to put accordion, harp or i-don’t-know-what in a song, we’ll do it. We do what we like and what we want to do, that’s all.
MPAP: Is 'Disease' your first ever music video?
ESTELLE: Yes, it’s our very first music video.
MPAP: What took so long to make the first one?
ESTELLE: A lot of things like, find the right person for doing it, have the time, have good ideas, stuff like that.
MPAP: How was making the video? Everything you expected it to be?
ESTELLE: The making of was great! It was two days of pure happiness, fun and good job! This video is really what we’ve got in my mind, I’m really happy with it.
MPAP: Do you have any plans to do another video off Haunted Humanity anytime soon?
ESTELLE: Not at all, there is two videos for Haunted Humanity, "Disease" and "Revenge." The next ones will be for our upcoming CD.
MPAP: Where do you get your lyrical content from when you begin to sit down and write? Are you scanning the news to find a subject to sing about?
ESTELLE: I don’t need to scan news to find a subject, I just have to look around me. You know, you just have to open social network to know how bad the world is going.
But it’s not my only inspiration. Sometimes I’m talking about subject more personal or stuff I like! It could be a kind of therapy.
MPAP: How often are you writing new material? Or do you just wait until it’s time to head into the studio?
ESTELLE: It depends of my inspiration; the muses are capricious. Sometimes I have lyrics ready a long time ago and sometimes I just finish to write a song in the recording studio.
MPAP: When not growling and screaming into a microphone, what else do you like to do in your free time?
ESTELLE: I like to paint minis from Warhammer 40K!
MPAP: Are you able to pay the bills being in Except One, or do you also have another job on the side?
ESTELLE: No, I have a full-time job.
MPAP: What changes would you like to see in the music industry to allow you to make a living from your music?
ESTELLE: I don’t know for the music industry but for sure, I would like that media could be more open-minded about metal and underground stuff. That could be helpful for us!
MPAP: Before we bring this interview to a close, just a few more things. What are the future plans of Except One? What can your fans expect?
ESTELLE: We are currently working on a lot of new songs, we would like to make our first album, but I don’t know when we will release it.
MPAP: What is something you want to accomplish as a singer and as a band member in Except One?
ESTELLE: Not something in particular, I just want to go as far as possible with Except One. And as a singer, I want to keep improving.
MPAP: Who influenced you to pick up the microphone and start singing?
ESTELLE: At the beginning, I didn’t want to sing, I wanted to play guitar! It’s our former bassist who pushed me to pick up the microphone. But of course, there is many vocalists that influenced me like Nergal, Corey Taylor, Max Cavalera or Dez Fafara.
MPAP: What musician would you like to be able to collaborate with if you had the chance?
ESTELLE: Any of those I quoted just before!
MPAP: And finally, new music, when can we expect it?
ESTELLE: Like I said before, I don’t know when but we work on it so stay tuned!
MPAP: On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Estelle, for being a part of this interview. Look forward to what Except One does to finish out the year 2017 and beyond. Any last words for the readers and your fans out there?
ESTELLE: Just thank you for supporting us! And I hope we could meet you all on stage!
Estelle- Except One/ June 12th, 2017/ Interview #48
