French outfit EYE 2 EYE, at the onset known as Eye to Eye, was formed in early 2003, when Didier Pegues (drums) and Phillipe Benabes (keyboards) decided to form a new band when their previous outfit AND folded. And when Cecile Carratero (bass) hooked up with the duo after the demise of her former band Limelight, Eye to Eye was instigated. And with the addition of Mederic Colas (guitars) and Benoit Derat (vocals, guitar), the band was born. Two albums followed.
I got in touch with the band and both Didier and Philippe answered the questions.
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Your biography has
been covered in your ProgArchives profile so let's bypass this and go
straight to the albums. But why did you choose the Eye 2 Eye name?
Didier: It
means that, for many years, Philippe and I are working on many
Musical projects, and we try to do it with the same point of view.
We’ve always trying to work under a democratic way, for reaching
the point where everyone’s happy to play and to work with us… We
just try to do things and to see things eye to eye… We first were
named EYE TO EYE, but in 2008 we received a mail from the management
of another Anglo-American group which was called EYE TO EYE for many
years, so we both agreed to finally use EYE 2 EYE as a name.
Who were your
musical inspirations?
Didier: There
are many musical inspirations in our Music… I listen to many kind
of Music: Folk, Jazz, Classical music, World music, Hard Rock, Pop,
Celtic Music, Electronic Music, everything that is melodic with good
vibrations! The first group I ever loved is Supertramp. Then I
discovered The Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd, King Crimson,
Genesis, Angel, Yes, Kansas, UK and many mythic groups from the
seventies, which were influenced themselves by the Beatles… When I
discovered Marillion in the middle of the Eighties, I considered this
group as an Oasis in the musical desert of that period. Shortly
after, I discovered some others like IQ, Pallas or Pendragon… All
of them have certainly influenced our music in a way or another…
Philippe: I
started to listen to Supęrtramp when I was 12. I discovered Pink
Floyd at 15, but I really started to discover music with Marillion
when I was 18. I love French groups like Ange, Versailles, or Asia
Minor for example, Italian groups like banco, Jumbo, Pierrot lunaire,
Japanese also, the must for me being Gerard. I love also Swedish
groups like Anekdoten, anglagard, and more recently Therion. In the
supergroups I would say king crimson. My top 3 albums are lizard,
Darwin, and the first Gerard.
I
also listen to more pop music like Muse, air or Archive.
Please give me your
(long or brief) thoughts and lowdowns on......
One in Every
Crowd from 2006
Didier: I
considered that first album as a kind of Liberation. During the 90’s,
Phil and me where working in a Band called ADN… After a first CD
(« Prelude » 1999), we decided to do a double concept
album. But after some months, we were obliged to admit that that
concept was not going the way we first wanted, because every
composition was ruled by our singer… So we decided to split in the
beginning of 2003. Then we decided to form a new group, and EYE 2 EYE
was born! The
ideas came
easily and after 6 months, all the music was written. It was for us a
great period of inspiration. When we finished our Ayreon’s cover of
“Back on planet Earth”, Arjen Lucassen was amazed by the way we
did it and he wrote us to encourage us to continue. I have to admit
it was an honour!!...
After All... from
2009
Didier: When
“One in Every Crowd” was released at the end of 2006, Benoit
Derat and Cécile Carretero decided to leave for personal reasons.
Then we found Aymeric Delteil and Jacques Daly. Both of them made an
incredible work in a relatively short time. I think the production is
much better on this album than on the previous one (and I do hope it
will be much better on the next one). Amirouche Ali Benali did his
first compositions on “After all…” because when he arrived for
“One in Every Crowd”, all the songs were already composed. I
first wanted to do a concept album but we finally renounced, because
Jacques did not agree to do so… The album was finished at the end
of June 2008, but MUSEA didn’t release it before February 2009. One
of my best souvenir is certainly when we were nominated for the
Progawards 2009 in Italy. It’s very gratifying when you’re a
“young unknown group”.
A new album has been
announced, but that was in 2009. What is the latest update and what
can we expect from a new album?
Didier: Between
June 2008 and February 2009, we continued to compose some new
material. But in between, Jacques preferred to continue a Solo
Carrier…
So
it is true that we actually work on a brand new album that is all
musically composed. It will be an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s
“Picture of Dorian Gray”. We still have to work on Lyrics at the
moment with a brand new singer, but we do hope it will be finished
soon. We especially try to bring some new instruments in our Music,
like the acoustic twelve strings guitar, which is very new for us.
There will be also more keyboard melodies like Tony Bnks did. We
expect to release that new album during the first months of 2011…
What is the lyrical
topics on your albums and how is your creative process from coming up
with a theme/riff/idea to you get it down onto an album?
Didier: Well,
it depends of the moment. Sometime you let your fingers play on a
keyboard or a guitar, and you don’t know why, but there is a kind
of magic that comes, or not… Sometime, you just have an idea, a
subject you wanna develop, and then you have to adapt the kind of
music you need on it… Our next album has a strong story, so we try
to do our best to put the right feeling, the right note, the right
mood at the right place. In fact, it’s really difficult to explain,
because it’s never the same. Each track is a different experience
for every musician, but that is why doing music is so exciting, I
think!
Just to give those
of us who are unknown with your band a bit of a reference point or
two: How would you describe your music?
Didier: The
first word that comes to me is: “Emotion”… We just try to share
emotions with everyone listening to us, and of course, we do hope
those emotions will reach a grand majority of people. If it’s the
case, we can consider we made it!
Another
word could be: “Contrast”. We try to go from one side to another,
the Yin and the Yang, the Black and the White, the Beauty and the
Beast… That’s why progressive music is so rich. We can go from a
very heavy passage to a very ambient one. That’s what pleased Arjen
Lucassen in our Cover of “Back on Planet Earth”. Piano and
Synthesizers on one side, Heavy Guitars, Bass and Drums on the other
in a different mood…
At
last “Melody” could be the third and the most important word to
describe our music. It’s certainly the most important thing we want
to bring in it!
How is the French
rock scene today and how is your gigs situation? Do you also play
gigs and festivals outside France?
Didier: The
real problem in France nowadays, is that there are more Progressive
Rock Groups than Progressive Freaks… We’d like to play much more
than we do on stage. But we are not professional musicians and we all
have our work beside music, so it’s not really easy to find the
time to do it, but we’d like to do some gigs, to play in some
Festivals! There are many Prog-Festivals in France so we do hope we
will play quickly...
What is your
experience with the music industry and the internet music scene?
Didier: I
do believe that nowadays, Internet is the best way to be exposed.
Our
Myspace
site permitted us to be heard in every part of the world in a few
minutes. It’s a fantastic way to be recognized musically and
visually. The only real problem with Internet is to be illegally
downloaded.
But
there are two different problems:
On
one side, the artist doesn’t earn any money on his work, and some
others are doing their own illegal benefits with it…
On
the other side, when you’re unknown, it can be some kind of free
publicity. I prefer someone who illegally downloads our albums, who
loves them and talk about them around him, better than someone who
buy them and forget them in a place or another. Over a long period, I
believe that this first option will be much “bankable” than the
second one… But the best way, is naturally, to earn on each side if
it is possible!
Is any of your
members involved in any other bands or projects?
Didier: Amirouche
is often working in some Pubs in Paris. He’s playing oriental
styled music. But he also works for another Group which is mixing
Celtic and Oriental Music in a group called Nomadia.
Our
new singer, Jam, has his own group which is called Transperception.
His debut album “Colour
Green”
has to be released soon by MUSEA. Be careful, because it will be a
fantastic album!!
What are your plans
for the rest of this year and next year?
Didier: Our
plans are quite simple: we have to finish to record, to mix and do
the mastering of our new album, as soon as possible. Then we will try
to play it live, in its integrality, as Marillion for “Misplaced
Childhood” or “Brave” , Queenr˙che for “Operation Mindcrime
1 and 2”, or Pink Floyd for “Dark Side…” or “The Wall”,
etc…
It
would be a formidable experience…
Anything you want to
add to this interview?
Didier: First
of all, we are glad to see that more and more people appreciate our
work around the world and we do hope our popularity will keep on
increase with our next album. We do hope you will appreciate it… Thank
you for your work and your passion for Progressive Rock. We
do need people like you. Best
wishes from France.
Thank you to Didier and Philippe for this interview
Their PA profile is here and their homepage here
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Eye 2 Eye
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