FIRST DRAFT - Quest For Self-Discovery (France - Post-Rock/Post-HardCore - Interview with Marine & Clément).
- Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music?
Marine : We are First Draft, a French post-rock/post-hardcore band formed in Tours in 2016. Clément (bass) and I (drums/vocals) immersed ourselves in the world of rock and metal when we were teenagers, and we haven't looked back since. What fascinated me about the first concerts I attended was the intensity of the sound mixed with the intensity of the emotions shared and received, a kind of communion where you are both enveloped in a bubble, identifying myself to the music, while feeling connected to the artists and the audience. I was already playing music as a child, but it was this musical universe that touched me and made me want to be a full-time musician.
- Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
Marine : Having recently arrived in Tours at the end of 2014, I posted an ad on a meeting website for musicians to form a guitar/bass/drums-vocals power trio. I first started playing with a guitarist, then I met Clément, with whom I got along very well. The guitarist wasn't very available or involved in the project, so we tried our luck with another guitarist, who left the project after six months. At the time, we were discovering Royal Blood and challenged ourselves to break free from guitarists and create a duo that sounded like a band of four or five musicians, without loops or samples. We wanted to play together and needed to express our emotions and experiences through writing our own lyrics, while exploring different rock and metal influences and constantly searching for new sounds.
- Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Clément and Marine : Because there are very few who offer what we do, with our unusual sound research, our emphasis on contrasts. Because there’s a stage “performance” from Marine that captures the audience's attention, while ensuring that everything heard by the public is played on stage: no sequencers, samplers, or loops. Because we pay a lot of attention to our lyrics, which are meant to be both politically engaged and poetic.
- Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
Marine : influences... Shannon Wright, Russian Circles, Foals, We Insist!, Radiohead , Elie Zoé…
Clément : Cult of Luna, Johnny Truant, We Lost the Sea, Brutus, Chelsea Wolfe, La Dispute, The Chariot, Rolo Tomassi.
The lyrics are extremely important, even though it's usually the music that comes first. We write and rewrite until we're really happy with every word. Our songs are about our experiences on both an individual and societal level. The EP “Declines Are Long Gone” is about our denial of current climate issues and the twists and turns of the quest for self-discovery.
The message of our upcoming album “An Instant Before The Promise of Dawn” is that we believe in the power of the collective to unite and tackle the many challenges we face today (fighting dictatorships and the rise of extremism, patriarchal and capitalist violence) while taking care of ourselves on an individual level. Each song depicts a moment before the shift towards a more desirable future for all of us.
- About your latest release ? Where/when was it recorded - content - artwork - what are the available formats - how to get it ?
Marine : The album was recorded in July-August 2024 at Studio Drudenhaus (Issé) with Benoît Roux (Alcest, Sylvaine). It will be released on October 10 by Vlad Productions / Baco Music. For the formats, it will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital. Artwork by Lohengrin Papadato, available on our social media. The first singles, “Paralysis Kingdom,” and “Satellites in Your Sway” are available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms. Pre-order available here: https://firstdraft.band.fm/
- Future plans ?
Marine: To share this album with the world, to tour in the fall/winter 2025-2026 and promote it as much as we can. To translate and explain our lyrics in French to make them more accessible. To shoot a music video to release in the fall.
Clément : To tour as much as possible and give each song the spotlight it deserves. To go back to places we’ve played at before and meet our public again, to be able to introduce the new songs to them.
- Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Marine : Do a zero-carbon tour in English-speaking countries, take the time to visit and meet people, avoid ending up in the red financially / Perform our collaboration with Manush Music on stage, continue collaborating with artists from other musical backgrounds and cultures.
Clément : To finally tour English-speaking countries supporting and sharing the stage with bands that we love, like Cult of Luna or Brutus.
- Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ?
Marine: The best - At Supersonic in Paris, for the band's 100th gig, for the crazy atmosphere and the friends/family who came to support us / or "Du Brin dans l'jardin" in Rivarennes, for the bucolic setting, the attentive and funny volunteers, the costume designer who dressed us up as Donkey Skin and a dragon, the laughter, the moonshine cart, the local products made by the volunteers... / The anniversary of "Le P'tit Café" in Rezé, the great welcome, the wild audience that went so far as to rip the ceiling light out, the "Celtic pub" in Tarbes with the famous Jean-Louis and his sausages, and his concert Polaroids, the audience wanting to take you to an after-party, flyers everywhere on the ceiling, the knowledgeable audience / "number 31" in Ubeda for the great welcome and the fantastic atmosphere, the flamenco after-party and the visit to the gems of Andalusia, the bond created with our hosts.
Clément : I’ll add one of our final shows for the "Declines are long gone tour", at the “Berry Social Club”, where the audience was incredibly attentive, and whom we spent a great deal of time talking with.
Marine : The worse - The last concert of the Spain-Portugal tour we did in November 2024. Only two people and two dogs in the audience, because of the soccer game, on a Monday night. We earned €20 and ate a horrible Pizza.
Clément : The worse - the one at the American Tours Festival where we played in front of the French fry food truck in the afternoon at the opening of the festival. It was under a 35 degree heat and we played in front of 10 people max. Add to that technical problems and live video scheduled for that day that we were never able to use, and then to see people fighting at the Scorpion concert to get closer and closer.
- Next live-appearance(s) ?
19/10/2025 : Le Temps Machine - Joué les Tours
30/10/2025 : Black Shelter - Carquefou
31/10/2025 : Cap Caval - Penmarch
19/11/2025 : Le Darius Club - Lons le Saunier
20/11/2025 : La Cave à Musique - Macon
24/01/2026 : Paul B, Massy
- Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
Marine : The local scene in Tours and the Centre region is very rich and varied. I'm particularly fond of my friend Monsieur Sable, who is an incredible songwriter (French-language songs), and La Ciguë, who perfectly blends traditional Berry music with contemporary sounds. Back & Forth for their gentle folk music, and closer to our musical world, our friends from Aro Ora (whose bassist is Clément!), Mathem & Tricks, Rank-O, Birdstone, Meule, and Double Vitrage, and many more !
- Last word is yours..
Marine : “no rest for simmering souls”
Clément : From one of our songs “A Tyrant’s Heaven” :
"Heed how our endeavors are battle cries
When former enemies are friends in arms
Hear this outfit of misfits – an army’s choir
A tyrant’s poison
So I’ll open my arms to the coming riot"
Credits :
Band photo : Judith Lapara
Live photo : Moland Fengkov
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