When French quintet One-Way Mirror formed 10 years ago they had one aim – to create the ultimate rock metal band. Now, a decade later they are armed with their third and most impressive album to date in Capture, set to drop January 27th. On the eve of this game-changing record hitting the shelves I caught up with guitarist Franck Potvin to discuss history, riffs, Metallica, and… Bruno Mars???
Not long now until your new album Capture drops! How do you feel this time round?
Hi! We’re really excited about this release as we worked so much on this record. We had a lot of good time composing and recording Capture and now we’re on the finishing line.
Was the writing process any different on this record compared to the last two?
Not really! We kept going on the writing process; one song has to be written in one day, but this time we had separated the composing sessions. It took us about 4 months from the very first song to the last one. I think we made 4 sessions of 4 days to compose Capture. It’s always important to write a song quickly, because you can keep the spontaneity.
Capture is absolutely packed full of great riffs, but who’s idea was it to spice things up and cover the more light-hearted “Lady Marmalade”!?
Thanks! Regarding the riffs we just play what we like to play. It comes really naturally depending of the mood we’re in.
I had the idea of covering “Lady Marmalade”. I really like the original version of Labelle. It still sounded fresh to me. I listen to many kinds of music; I enjoy soul music a lot, like Stevie Wonder, Edwin Starr and so on. I remember I was in a club waiting for a band to perform and the DJ played Lady Marmalade. All of us were headbanging and singing on the chorus… that’s how the idea came out.
Let’s talk history. You were all close friends before One-Way Mirror. Was it an easy decision to start a band together?
More than that… it was natural. When Guillaume called us to say, “Hey guys let’s make a band together!” we all said “yes” directly. We met up in our rehearsal room and started playing music. 12 days after we had 12 songs. We hadn’t even talked about the music style before.
What would you say your favorite live performance has been over the years and why?
To me, I think it was the SummerBreeze Festival in 2009. People were really waiting for us and we didn’t know that we had so many fans in Germany. We also saw some French fans with the French flag in the air; it was awesome to see all these guys singing and moshing in the pit!
Speaking of which, are you planning a tour any time soon?
Oh Yes! We’re now working on the promotion and on our new video. It takes us a lot of time but we’re also working on some possible gigs of course. We would love to come to the U.S. and tour everywhere.
Which bands would be your dream touring partners and why?
Metallica of course! Have you got their phone numbers? (laughs) Guillaume our singer had the chance to open for Metallica several times when he was playing in Mnemic! Damned, I’m fucking jealous! We also saw SOiL and Hed(P.E.) a few months ago in France and they really kick ass live. We’re on the same label and I think we could fit!
What bands have influenced your style, and how would you describe your sound for those who haven’t heard you before?
We’ve got a lot of different influences. Starting with Metallica of course and more recently Papa Roach, Alter Bridge, Faith No More etc… It’s always complicated to describe our sound for those who haven’t heard us before, but our friends and some other guys say that we have a powerful Rock/Metal sound which is a good mix between the European and the U.S. productions.
Do any of you have any guilty pleasures music-wise or is it all about the metal?
I know that Guillaume listens to a lot of 80’s pop music (laughs) In this moment I really like Bruno Mars, and I’m not ashamed about it! I was a big fan of Michael Jackson, and I can hear a lot of his influences in Bruno Mars’ music. Also I have to say that his production is massive!
Finally, why should people check you out and buy the new album!?
If you just want to have fun and feel good in your car, in a pub, or in a party, just play Capture and you’ll be the coolest guy in your town!
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