Dear readers, we have the pleasure and honor to offer you in this article an interview with one of the main bands of modern Progressive, we welcome the French Némo.
Hi, how are you?
I’m fine, thanks! I hope you’re doing well too.
The band was born between the 90s and the 00s, how was the project formed?
At the end of the 90s, I was looking for musicians to form a progressive band. I had discovered new bands like Spock’s Beard and The Flower Kings and it seemed that the style was coming back into fashion. I had been listening to prog since the 80’s and was frustrated as a musician that I wasn’t playing my favourite style! It was at this time that I met Pascal Bertrand, Nemo’s first drummer, who introduced me to Guillaume Fontaine who I still work with. We started working on demos I had made, and little by little we were able to make what was to be our first album, “les nouveaux mondes”, released in 2002.
You were from 2002 until 2015 one of the main French Prog bands, appreciated all over the world, what are your memories of of that period?
This period was very intense on all levels. We composed 9 albums, released 3 live albums and a DVD, and played concerts most of the time far from home! We were invited to foreign countries to share the stage with bands much bigger than us, it will remain a unique period. We almost had the life of a professional band, but it was never the case. It wore us out and in 2015 it was high time to take a break, even if this break was more suffered than chosen!
Your sounds are a blend of Symphonic Prog and Heavy traits, where did your passion for this music come from and what were your sources of inspiration?
Lionel (bass) and I come from hard rock. In the 80’s we played together in bands inspired by Iron Maiden or Metallica. At the same time, we always liked Yes or Genesis and this was reflected in our music from that time. We can say that our music is a kind of Progressive Hard Rock, with incursions in many other styles like Funk, Jazz or Classical music.
“Les Nouveaux Mondes” is an excellent album that presented your musical style to the public, how would you describe this record?
It’s a fresh and original record, full of energy and surprising things. Even though we’ve always had our role models, I think it’s hard to relate this record to any other band’s music. It’s got the Nemo trademark in it that’s hard to explain. From the beginning of the band, we made sure to offer original music and not to repeat ourselves too much.
Your debut album was re-played in full and re-released on August 29, 2022 what are the differences between the two editions?
When we recorded the songs on the album in 2001, there were no plans to release an album.
The aim was to record demos to find gigs. Then it became clear that we had enough musical material to go ahead with a first CD release. The recordings, however, had been made quickly, with rudimentary equipment, the lyrics written the day before and recorded in almost one take! Needless to say, recording techniques have evolved since then, and we are much better musicians now. So it was interesting to come up with a new version of the album that does justice to the songs and shows them in their best light! Moreover, Lionel and JB (drums) were not in the band at the time, so it was possible to offer a version with
the most classical formation of the band!
In addition to the very intense and elaborate music, the lyrics are also sought after, what themes do they deal with?
I finished writing the lyrics the day before we went into the studio, so that’s not what we were most interested in at the time! We had chosen the name of the band as a tribute to the hero of Jules Verne, so we could explore the concept a little further and write each song in relation to a work of the writer. That’s what we did! “Abysses” could be the soundtrack to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, “Au dessus des toits” could be the soundtrack to “Around the World in 80 Days” etc…
The album also contains two previous unreleased bonus tracks, what can you tell us about these songs?
The first bonus track, “Africa”, is a re-recording of one of my 1997 demos, one of the themes of which was included in the track “Luna”. It’s quite different and it was worth it in my opinion to let the fans hear this version. The second one is just as interesting: it’s a live version recorded at Nemo’s first concert in 2002 of a song that was never recorded before but most of the themes were later used on the first three albums. The drummer and the bass player playing on this track are the original ones.
This new edition came out on the occasion of the album’s anniversary, are you planning to propose the other re-recorded albums as well?
In 2018, for its 15th anniversary, we proposed a re-recorded version of our second album, “Présages”. With “New Worlds”, our first two albums were re-released. I don’t think we will re-release the following ones because the original versions are of good enough quality. In 2014 we released a remixed version of our third album ‘Prelude to Ruin’, and maybe we’ll do that for the following ones, some of which are out of print!
The most classic lineup of the band got together to re-record the album, do you have any plans for new releases or to reform the project?
We didn’t really meet, because everything was done from a distance. It’s impossible for us to get together at the moment because the geographical distance between us is too great. So there probably won’t be any concerts or a new album as long as this state of affairs continues, unfortunately.
Many Prog lovers, myself included, ask themselves if there will be the possibility to listen to your live music, do you have any plans about it?
Maybe one day, but as I said above: it is not possible at the moment.
The band has been on hiatus for some years, have you created or participated in other musical projects?
Personally I continue to compose and release my music under the name of JPL, and JB the drummer of Nemo intervenes to record most of the drum parts, as well as Guillaume to a lesser extent.
Music and Prog in particular are constantly evolving, how do you see the future of this genre?
In my opinion, Prog is more a state of mind than a genre of music, and it can take totally different forms depending on the composers and the bands. It will survive as long as there are musicians willing to propose original and audacious music and music lovers who are used to strange music. It will probably be in a new form!
What advice would you give to a young band approaching the musical world by offering more refined sounds like yours?
Be yourself, don’t try to fit into a mould, find your own way and there will always be someone to appreciate your sincerity. After that, you don’t necessarily have to try to make a fortune out of it!
I thank Némo for the interview and for the opportunity to listen and review the new edition
of their debut album, wishing him the best for the continuation of their artistic career.
Read our review of “Les Nouveaux Mondes (2022 Edition)“
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