MAL AUX YEUX - See Beyond What's Wrong ! (France - Punk-Rock/HardCore-Punk - Interview with Alex, Youri, Eric, Victor).
- Hi ! Can you introduce yourselves and tell us how it all started for you - how you discovered this musical universe, what attracted you to it, what fascinated you, and what made you want to make music?
Alex : Hello! We're called MAL AUX YEUX, and we play punk rock/hardcore punk. We're from northern France. Victor and I started the band in 2018 after our first project ended. Personally, I was listening to a lot of French punk rock at the time, I really liked DIY bands and their raw sound, it made me want to make music that plays fast and screams loud.
Youri : Hi, for me it all started when I was 12, at a friend's house we came across a CD of Smash by The Offspring that belonged to his older sister. We went crazy, we ended up taking his older sister's guitar to mess around with it, until little by little we started playing for real. From there, we formed our first band with him and my brother when we were still kids, called BUCK. We left the adventure after our studies, but we're still proud of what we did. Our recordings are still available on the Internet. Since then, I've continued playing music in the north, until I came across Mal Aux Yeux and that bunch of guys !
Eric : I was introduced to rock music through my father's record collection. As a teenager, I discovered neo-metal and punk, and I was completely fascinated. A friend of my older sister's offered to give me guitar lessons when I was 15, and from then on it became an all-consuming passion that has never left me! I think that, like my fellow bandmates, music takes on its full meaning when it's shared, which is why I want and need to play in a band!
Victor : Hi! I've always needed to play in a band since I started in middle school. For me, it's inseparable from playing the drums. When you try to put on good concerts and the audience is thrilled, it's so motivating, it always makes us want to develop the project further, create new sets, albums, and concerts.
- Tell me about the band... How you met - the current lineup - past experiences - and above all - WHY you felt the need to form THIS band ?
Youri: Personally, I discovered Mal aux yeux during a concert with the lineup already formed, and I really liked it. Our former singer Charles decided to leave the band, so I contacted Alex and took over on vocals.
Alex: Victor and I met in high school when we were 16. The initial idea was to play punk rock without setting strict boundaries on the style. We wanted to play a bunch of different stuff, so why not?
Eric: I joined the band in September 2024; Youri and I play in another band called Billsnatch. I knew they had some gigs coming up with Mal aux yeux but that they didn't have a bass player anymore. I offered to fill in at first, and as I discovered and learned the songs, I really enjoyed it... and in the end, I never left!
- Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all costs?
Alex: We describe ourselves as a punk-hardcore band, but in reality we like to mix most of the styles that revolve around punk. So if you're tired of bands that play the same song 30 times in their set, for better or worse, there's Mal Aux Yeux.
- What are your lyrical and musical inspirations/influences? How important are lyrics to you? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics?
Youri: For the lyrics, there are quite a few different inspirations, which don't necessarily always come from rock or punk in general, we'll take from pop culture in general. We try to approach the lyrics from our point of view, on our own small scale, talking about social issues and focusing on their physical and mental effects on us. A lot of socially conscious lyrics can be “boring” because they're too general and, in my opinion, always position themselves as “above the fray.” Rap is actually pretty good at this. We try to talk about everything, but especially what comes to mind. It often starts with a phrase we think is cool, and then we build around it.
Eric: Mal aux Yeux is a band that, in my opinion, has already found its signature sound, and it's very distinctive. Curiously, it's a mix of many things. We can have very different styles from one song to the next, but the whole still maintains a coherence. That's what I like about Mal au Yeux, it's a roller coaster! Curiously, between the lyrics and the instrumentals, we can have both a brutal atmosphere and a gentle melancholy. We still have a lot of ideas and influences to explore, and we can't wait to see what the future holds!
Victor: For the drums, I'm influenced by metal and especially progressive metal/rock. Mal Aux Yeux allows me to express the most brutal part of my playing, I can try out fast parts and test my endurance. For me, Mal Aux Yeux is an outlet for our lyrics and for creating dynamic music.
Alex: Musically, we've been influenced by quite a few French bands from the 2000s, but also North American bands like Lost Sounds, Vulgaires Machins, GLOSS, and Bomb The Music Industry, to varying degrees. The lyrics, when there are any, are just as important as the music in my opinion. I really like the lyrics of Vulgaires Machins, AJJ, and Intenable. We have a lot of introspective lyrics, which we sometimes try to associate with social issues.
- What about your latest album?
Alex: “Docufiction” was mostly recorded in our rehearsal space in the spring/summer of 2024. Like all our records, it was recorded, mixed, and mastered DIY. It's a 6-track EP (+2 acoustic versions); we needed to do something shorter after our last album. The cover art was created by the incredible @tournebouluche (Instagram). It's available for streaming everywhere, as a free download on Bandcamp, and on vinyl!
- What are your plans?
Alex: To compose the sequel! And try to play in new cities.
Eric: To continue creating, exploring, and seeking new influences. That's the beauty of a creative project like this! It evolves according to our own life experiences. Everything that revolves around it too, the studio, live shows, videos, etc.
Victor: Always trying to push the technology, the recording quality and the cleanliness, trying to get closer to a professional level for both live performances and studio recordings, while still using DIY methods.
- What would be your wildest dream with the band?
Youri: To be able to collaborate with artists I've always loved listening to.
Eric: To have the time and resources to produce and tour with the band!
Victor: A month-long residency to record a studio album.
Alex: To record a live album!
- What was your BEST & WORST concert as a band, and why?
Victor: At Barabao in Bailleul, when we met Ben from Vu par Ben. Alex and I joined him shortly after for his project!
Alex: The best would probably be the first time we played with Los Fastidios in Lille in 2022, the first concert with Youri on vocals, or our concert at the Raspoutine Social Club last spring. It's a really cool place tucked away in French Flanders, we played with some great bands, and once they were in the audience, they went wild. The worst was a punk-hardcore festival a few years ago. The welcome and the venue were great, but we've never played so badly!
- Any upcoming live shows?
Alex: September 27 at the Taverne Elektrik in Amiens (80) - (See You There ! Ed.), October 24 at the Bôbek in Steenwerck (59), and October 25 at the Petit Troquet in Fargniers (02)!
- A few words about your local scene—the bands you're friends with and would like to mention?
Alex: We're lucky to have a scene full of talent. We invite you to check out FL Crew, Jupeaters, Flashin' News, We Are Plomb—too many to mention them all!
We also play in other bands that allow us to explore new horizons: Billsnatch, Soul-X, Sobriété Subie, Vu Par Ben...
- The last word is yours...
Support your local bands and keep an open mind!
Thanks, Rough Times! (You're welcome guys ! Ed.)
Credits :
Live photo (B & W) : Vivien Desloges.
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