Interview with Requin Chagrin.
Interviewed by: Gracie Lowes
What made you want to get into music?
I started playing guitar when I was a teenager, wanting to do the same as my older brother and I loved playing it.
Since then I’ve always wanted to work on my two passions: drawing and music.
When I arrived in Paris for my art studies, I wanted to join some bands and I played drums with them.
I then founded Requin chagrin to finally play the guitar, sing my own songs and record them
What's your favourite musical memory?
When I was 10 years old and first heard The Cure while trying to play the drums on «boys don’t cry» it was really fun.
What was it like starting out in such a competitive industry? What advice do you have for up and coming artists?
I remember being very stressed before important concerts! but it was all very exciting,
I was so happy to be able to devote all my time to making music.
my advice would be to enjoy and give yourself all the means possible to do what you want to do
How do you find inspiration for your songs
I am often very inspired simply by the vintage instruments I use.
I love to use analogue synths and recorders for example, I really like the sound and it's unique.
Otherwise I really like to listen to label bands like SUB pop or Captured tracks
You just released your third album Bye Bye Baby, how are you feeling?!
I am very happy about this album release and to finally be able to share it with the public!
How did you decide what songs made it on the album? Was there a process to picking them?
I naturally chose the songs where I immediately had a vocal melody in mind.
If the voice or the lyrics were not obvious, I moved on.
In the end I chose the ones that, while different, were in the same direction.
And I knew right away that "Premiere vague" was going to be the first one and "Roi du silence" the last one.
From your first album coming out in 2016 to now releasing your newest album, Have you seen your music evolve throughout the years?
my first album was more garage lo fi. there were more guitars, more fire and noise on the tracks
with time I wanted to refine my sound and on this new album I wanted to use more synthesizers.
I also wanted to make an album a little warmer in the sound and in the melodies
Do you have any future projects that you could tell us about or hint at?
we are preparing a tour for the summer or fall and we hope to be able to play live soon.
if not there will be some clips
If you could describe yourself in 3 words and your music in 3 words what would they be and why?
For me I would say
messy: I am very messy, in my head as in my studio, there are cables everywhere!
dreamy : It's a word I also use for my music by the way I am often in my own little world, in my own imagination.
Geek : because I can spend a lot of time looking at and comparing hardware. I talk about it a lot, every day. And I think about it all the time
And for my music :
blue: It's my favorite color and it's the color I imagine the most on my music, when I compose. I imagine the sky, the ocean...
road trip : I have the impression that my music would accompany well a road trip, in a convertible with the hair in the wind
pop : Because I want to work the melodies on my music. To have song structures that are quite pop
Who would your ideal collaboration be with and why?
I will say MGMT because I was very enthusiastic by their last song "In the afternoon" and in general they are very strong
in the sound and the arrangements
What’s your favourite song at the moment?
I'm listening Outdoor miner by WIRE a lot right now.
There is a sweetness which is very beautiful in their music but also an English punk side. I love their guitar sound and their melodies
Our website is all about up and coming artists, are there any you have your eyes on right now?
While looking at your last articles I discovered "Marjorine" that I did not know at all. I really like his latest track, very bewitching, hypnotizing with a psychedelic vibe. I like it!