Xang
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Interviews
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=75657
Printed Date: December 18 2024 at 21:55
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Topic: Xang
Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Subject: Xang
Date Posted: February 04 2011 at 10:36
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Xang is a new young quartet playing an instrumental prog close to PENDRAGON coming from the north of France. The French guys are offering here all that the heart desires: Mysterious chords envelop strong guitar riffs, melodies on which we can dream and all kinds of varieties, that results in the listening of demo there is no boring. The guitar playing recalls very strongly Steve HACKETT and bass and keyboard players let themselves be inspired by MARILLION. It's complex, sometimes quiet, sometimes loud and always very intriguing, like a mix between ARENA, DREAM THEATER, FLAMBOROUGH HEAD, GENESIS, IQ, LANDS END, RUSH and SPOCK'S BEARD, but all instrumental. I got in touch with Emmanuel for the story. ================================================= When, where and by whom
was Xang started ? Did any of you, past and present Xang members, play in any
other bands before joining up in Xang ? Why did you choose that name ?
XANG started in 1995.
Vincent(keys) and me were playing in a jazz-rock band, Anima cry. We were
listening prog bands at this time. We talked together to the opportunity to
create a band. Matt(Vincent's brother) joined us
to play the bass. And then a
very long delay to find a guitar player. We tried many guitar players, and it
was very difficult to find a good player, but before all, a person to play with
the same point a view about music and simple things about life. Finally we found
Antoine.
About the name it's a very
old story. 30 years ago, I was playing like others teenagers with a OUIJA game.
The supposed spirit who was talking about my future talked to me with the name
of XANG.
I find funny the choose this
name for the band 20 years after.
How was the music scene in
your area when you started ?
At this
time, the music scene in Northern France(close to Belgium) was essentially
turned around
rock and
hard rock music. The progressive was not in the air. So, when we arrived with
strange musical structures and typical sound of keys it was evident we had to
play not only in our region, but everywhere in France and crossing the
frontiers.  Let's go straight to the
first album. Please tell us more about Destiny Of A Dream from 1999
We
recorded a demo one or two years before and sent to fanzines and magazines. We
were invited
to the
Prog festival of Sarlat. We played two or three times at the off festival and
then, Patrick BECKER contacted us a few weeks later to helped us to do an album.
And then creation of GALILEO RECORDS to help to reach this purpose. And that's
we did. We recorded this album very quickly in studio because we were playing
this tracks since many months.
Bob KATZ
did the mastering in Florida(what a chance to work with this kind of master) and
then this CD was released.
Despite
the fact we were totally unknowned and the music was instrumental the reviews
were great, the public reaction too. We sold 5000 copies of this opus, played in
France, Belgium, Holland
and
Brazil for a small tour after the Rio Art Rock festival. It was fantastic, a
great period for the band.
And then there was years
of silence. What happened ?
Simply
life, like everybody... Each was very busy with our work(we are not pros
musicians), work and renovation at home, family, kids... I really know waiting a
long time was a great error, one or two years was a decent delay, longer is an
error. We ever playing tracks of The last of the lasts in festivals and gigs
during these years, before the released of the second album. It was difficult to
find the motivation again, but it's very difficult to do an album, not really
and excuse but simply obvious for us.  You returned again for the
2007 album The Last Of The Lasts which is also your most present album. Please
tell us more about this album.
WWI.
This theme was really important for me. I made my military national service in
1990 in the Verdun region. This part of our country is incredible. I was not
able to believe it. Hills and craters as results of explosions, parts of metal
in the forest, many places still no mans land 90 years after, ossuaries, huge
fields of crosses, villages totally destroyed and missing under tons and tons of
bombs.
It's
very difficult to decribe what I saw. How to survive in these conditions? How to
continue to fight and die for the human kind madness?
I took
my camera 15 years after my military service and took pics of cemeteries in my
region(french flanders and hainaut), took pics of British, French, Canadians,
Russians, Germans military cemeteries...
All for
the booklet with the CD.
All of
this is still incredible, but more incredible is we never learnt something. The
history did it again in 1939 for 6 years of nightmare.
For the
music, I think we did something a little bit different, more mixes and
influences. Sometimes jazz-rock, industrial, metal or neo progressive. Sometimes
north african percussions, accordion, spanish guitar. How is the availability of
your two albums ?
The
reviews were great again, but for the sales(vital for us to produce an another
album) it was different with internet 8 years before, like the high speed
donwloading for example. Our second album was available very quiclky on illegal
websites and downloaded several thousand of times. An album is many costs;
internet is a fantastic
tool but
in the same time a threat for small bands. In one minute you can donwload an
album for free. I perfectly understand it's easy and cheap, but this kind of
things killed the band.
Our
first album « destiny of a dream » is now out of print(still a small quantity at
home). Our second one « The last of the lasts » is still available by the way of
our record label GALILEO RECORDS in Switzerland.
What have you been up to
since the release of that album ?
I sold my house in town and
built a Finnish wooden house in a small village!
I stoped playing during two
years but we decided to play again with Vincent and Matt. Vincent now is playing
guitar, found a female singer. We will playing some covers but decided to make
compositions very soon. We're all very excited.
Antoine is now a guitar
teacher and playing in a national academy, but stoped playing for XANG.
Just to give those of us
who are unknown with your music a bit of a reference point or two: How would you
describe your music ?
Instrumental
progressive music for the first album, maybe a mix of several influences for the
second : progressive, folk, rock, folk, metal, industrial. Music for
illustration of stories in the booklet of the CD.
It is my understanding
Xang is on a long holiday. Do you believe Xang will ever return to do a third
album ?
For now
we stop XANG. We found a female singer and start playing again with Matt on bass
guitar,
Vincent
on guitar(and not keyboards), me on drums. We'll play some covers and stop
festivals, to play in pubs and clubs. Maybe we will work on new compositions.
Not really important aims
for the
moment, just playing for fun. I think we'll recording something one day, but
absolutly don't
know if
it will be under the name of XANG. Not sure at all in fact...
To wrap up this interview,
is there anything you want to add to this interview ?
Playing
music, talking with people before or after the show was really great, sharing
feelings and emotions. I think we learnt
many
things about us during all these years, despite the fact it was at our humble
level. We just want now start to play again(our last show was in Paris at LA
LOCOMOTIVE in may 2008).
Just
playing music and leaving the exclusive progressive « etiquette ». Thank you to Emmanuel for this interview Their PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=353" rel="nofollow - and their homepage's http://www.xang.free.fr/" rel="nofollow -
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Replies:
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: February 23 2011 at 19:12
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Hi,
I had the pleasure of receiving a copy of this when I had my Internet Radio Show 10 years ago. ("The Space")
And I have to tell you that I can still play "Destiny of a Dream" today, and the album is excellent and a total, total, total joy, from beginning to the end ... I still can not play one piece from there ... only the whole CD!
And, I'll take the opportunity to thank Patrick and Emmanuel and say hello ... it's been a while and I look forward to listening to the new CD. And if you can play in that CD like you did on the first ... I will have to find new words to describe the whole thing ... ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |