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Interview with Atomic Trip
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
JC: I don’t really know. As a teenager I really wanted to be in a band and I never stopped since then. If I wasn’t into music I think I would live barefoot on a beach.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
JC: I love woodworking whenever I can. It has the same vibes to me, creating something, thinking about it for hours when you go to sleep and trying to do it as close as you envisioned it earlier.
Grom: I am a tattoo artist, so when I don’t play music, I tattoo, listening to music!
How long has your band been around?
Gary: Since 2016 if my memory is good. And it is not.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
JC: We are from Lyon, France. And I don’t think it has any influence on our music but it for sure is a shitty place for doom and extreme music in general.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
Gary: « Atomic Trip » is the reflection of our sound. It is powerful and trippy in the same way. It is like having the best trip of your life on toxic mushrooms.
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
Grom: Sylak Open Air Festival this summer was absolutely great, we had a lot of great time and our sound was LOUD! To be honest we enjoyed most of the shows we made, if it is not with the cool venue or crazy audience it is because we laughed a lot or had good weed and beers. Or a good meal. We are not very difficult actually.
Gary: The gig we played in Black Heart - London was also a fantastic one, because it was in London!
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
JC: Let's support the local scene on this one and say we love to play Le Farmer in our hometown! We will play there again on March the 23rd. And this venue is actually very cool and we saw so many awesome bands there! We want to play everywhere we haven’t already and play once more where we already have!
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Grom: Nobody can play Atomic Trip like the three of us so that would be the three of us, at Roadburn.
JC: With Bongripper and Electric Wizard playing the same day.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
JC: To my younger self: Don’t let that beer go, if you don’t drink it, someone will drink it for you! And to the others: don’t drink my beers!
Gary: And to guitarists-wannabe : use that fucking little finger, it’s not just made to scratch your ass.
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
JC: Learn to play, you lazy ass! Everybody will think you can in the future and you will feel stupid about that.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
Grom: No song in particular but our third and last album Strike #3 because I feel like we really created what we wanted to when we started the band.
Gary: Our first one, Bomb #1 is also very significant, because we made it naturally in one or 2 practices without really knowing where we were going.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
JC: I really liked to play Bomb #2 and the new set with Bomb #5 and #6. And the most requested is without any doubt Bomb #6, don’t you think Michel Franchi (bassist from Mother & Pearl)?
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Grom: Most of the creative process is getting in the rehearsal room, opening beers up, rolling joints, switching the amps on, turning the volume buttons to maximum and jamming on a riff for hours. Then with all the good ideas we had, write a structure and finally a song. What inspires us is the images of destruction and total annihilation we have in our minds. Our music has to reflect this.
Gary: We don't even need riffs. Give us one note to play and we can write a 25-minute track from it.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
JC: We don’t really have a message as we are instrumental so sit down, get stoned, get wasted and let your soul trip on whatever comes to your mind.
Grom: People can understand it as they want, they create their own messages. Our music is just the vector.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
JC: Not really no, we want the same thing and we are brothers so everyone knows how to make compromises beforehand.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
JC: We will continue doing what we love and the way we want it, that seems to be a good idea, at least for us! Our video for the track « Bomb #6 » will be out on January 17th on Youtube. Make sure not to miss it. And as always, do not forget to DOOM BOOZE FUZZ WEED every day!
Thanks a lot Volatile Weekly!
https://tentaclesindustries.bigcartel.com/artist/atomic-trip
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Music Video - Bomb #6 -