Shudderwall go large on viral marketing

It's not every band that gets contacted by multi platinum producers from the US, but that's exactly what happened to Nice, France based outfit Shudderwall. Not only was Scott Mathews (The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Ry Cooder, Robert Cray, John Fogerty, Jerry Garcia etc etc) impressed, but he decided to jump on the next plane to Nice and record the band.

We caught up with the 3 piece to find out the details and how it all came about:

Strummer: I despise pigeonholing and genre's in general so before taking a stab at describing your music could you elaborate a little on your influences.
 
Florence: We want to stay as original as possible, but there are a lot of artists that we love, from very different styles: Queen, Metallica, Elton John, Rage Against The Machine, The Beatles.
 
Strummer: After listening to the album I could certainly hear a Death Metal vibe but other bands that came into my head were My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Mudhoney, Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine. There is also a subtlety which indicates a distinct originality in some of the songs such as Not Your Way which has delicate picking in amongst the mayhem. How did this writing style evolve?.
 
Emmanuel: As said previously, we are open to every kind of good music and so we love to blend different styles and at the same to keep our own musical identity, even sometimes inside a same song, indeed like in Not Your Way, or Dangerous Minds.
 
Strummer: One reference you may not have had but which caught my ear was on the slower track The World Is So Grey which reminded me of The Monochrome Set circa Strange Boutique. How aware were you of the British Punk and Post Punk movements?
 
Christophe: We didn't know this band, thanks for this discovery! It's always interesting to discover other bands especially as we know that  the British and Post Punk movements have marked music history.

Strummer: You have chosen to sing and write in English despite being French. was that a concious decision made at the outset?
 
Emmanuel: yes, since the beginning we chose English because it sounds better than French for our music. Also, more people worldwide can understand us and be touched by our lyrics.
 
Strummer: Are the cookie monster vocals a nod towards Napalm Death and the Death Metal genre?
 
Florence: in some extent they are, but still, they remain melodic. And we mix these kind of vocals with a music which is also more melodic (more rock than metal).
 
Strummer: It must have been a dream come true when Scott Mathews agreed to record and produce you. How did that come about and what was the experience of recording with him like?
 
Emmanuel: we sent some of our demo songs to Scott, he was impressed and flew from San Francisco to Nice in southern France to record the album with us. It was a great experience because thanks to him, we gave the best of us and of our songs, and at the same time he totally respected our musical aspirations.
 
Strummer: Having toured in the US and UK with a Mathews produced album, how did you find the shows went?
 
Christophe: (in fact we toured UK and Italy) the shows went very well, people are very positively surprised to see a French band playing such a kind of music. As well, they appreciate a lot that the 3 members of the band sing, the importance given to the vocals are very important for the audience.
 
Strummer: You seem to be big on viral marketing and judging by the number of interviews, tv appearances and reviews you've had I guess this kind of self-marketing is really working for you.?
 
Emmanuel: yes indeed, we have been broadcasted on more than 100 radios and other media in the 5 continents. Our exposure and fanbase are increasing since we have 1 million views and 40,000 fans on our Myspace and what we want now is to catch the eye of a Major label to make things even bigger.
 
Strummer: With the music industry self-imploding how do you see the future in terms of developing your career?
 
Florence: more and more music will be heard through internet, but we think a strong structure (particularly a Major label, or a big independent) is still necessary for a band to succeed in music industry. As well, the use of our music for films or TV spots is another kind of outlet for us.
 
Strummer: What does 2010 hold in store for Shudderwall? Another album? Any chance of another UK visit?
 
Christophe: we have a lot of songs ready to be recorded, but for the moment there's no new release planned because we want to be signed on a big label that would support the distribution of our CD and its promotion. But people can already listen to our new songs (a new one every week) on our Myspace page (www.myspace.com/shudderwall ), as well as our videos. Yes there is a chance of another UK visit, and we will keep you aware when we know exactly. Ken, many thanks to you for this interview, and to all the readers of Strummer Magazine!