Hi guys, it’s a pleasure to have you here. We’ve just finished reviewing your new work, “We’re All Going to Be Fine,” and we were deeply struck by the depth of this new chapter. With the name change and the sonic evolution, it seems clear that this record marks the beginning of a new era for the band. Let’s dive straight into it!
You officially changed the spelling from “Kiev” to “Kyiv” with this record. How important is this symbolic change in the band’s identity for you today?
Dim:
We’ve been thinking about this name change for several years now. We received an overwhelming number of requests and comments about it. We waited for the release of this album to mark Jérémie’s arrival on drums. He joined the band several years ago, but this is the first time he has composed an album with us. This album is therefore something completely different from what came before. After the album Rupture – which didn’t get its name by accident – we are branching out toward new horizons.
“We’re All Going to Be Fine” sounds almost like a reassuring mantra. Is it a message of hope, or is there a subtle irony linked to the theme of inner collapse that you explore?
Dim:
Indeed, this title can be seen as a ‘Mantra,’ which echoes what I consider to be one of the most accomplished tracks on the album. It can also be interpreted with irony, much like the track title ‘Euphoria,’ which pretty quickly shifts into an atmosphere that is anything but euphoric… We wanted to leave plenty of room for different interpretations. Everyone can take ownership of the tracks and interpret them as they see fit. We’ve set a framework, and the listener is free to follow their own intuition.
This album is described as more “brutal” and Metal-oriented than in the past. What pushed you toward these more visceral and direct sounds?
Dim:
First of all, Maxime wanted to switch to a baritone guitar to explore lower tones, combined with a sharper new setup using the Quad Cortex and Victory Amps. Then, of course, there’s the arrival of Jérémie on drums. He’s an explosive player who brings a lot of heaviness and intensity to the big riffs, while still adding plenty of nuance to the quieter passages.
Max:
Yeah, Jérémie and I share a lot of common metal influences. With this album, we wanted to lean further into that direction and try to move away from the “post-rock” label often attached to our music. We’re still playing a form of post-rock mixed with various elements, but I see this album as the first step in a brand-new direction.
Jérémie Legrand’s arrival on drums has profoundly changed your rhythmic approach. How did his style influence the writing of the new tracks?
Dim:
The most significant change with Jérémie is his highly dynamic approach to drumming. Our previous drummer had a more pattern-based style, almost ‘drum machine-like’, relying on repeating loops typical of electronic music. Jérémie, on the other hand, focuses on nuance and the organic energy of each section. He introduced time signatures we weren’t accustomed to, which challenges us to explore melodies outside our usual framework.
In tracks like “Burst” or “Mantra,” the rhythm feels like the true backbone of the arrangement. Was it a conscious choice to prioritize the groove over classic Post-Rock melody?
Dim:
It’s completely intentional on our part. Very early in the songwriting phase, we dubbed the sequence ‘Burst – Mantra – Eclipse’ as ‘The Block.’ Putting this block right at the beginning of the album reflects our desire to showcase the band’s new energy without beating around the bush. It’s the chemistry that happened when we first clicked musically with Jérémie..
You’ve merged mechanical precision with emotional explosions. How do you maintain the balance between sequencers/synths and the energy of analog instruments?
Max:
We’ve been working with machines and synths for a long time now; it has truly become one of our trademarks, and the process feels very natural to us. It’s an element we’ve mastered more and more over the years. Today, we are able to define with much greater precision exactly what type of sound is needed at any given moment. Our goal is to only integrate electronics where they are essential to the song’s emotional core, without ever forcing it. We never want to say: “We absolutely need to squeeze a synth in here just because we haven’t used one in a while.
Dim:
We also tried to keep ourselves from overdoing it, melodically speaking. The idea was that if there’s already a lead guitar theme harmonized by a second guitar, we shouldn’t layer another synth melody on top of it. That was the only rule we set for ourselves… and we broke it immediately on the track ‘Liminality’, because we wanted to create a sort of melodic escalation to disorient the listener, echoing the overall theme of both the track and the album.
Why did you choose to focus specifically on the fragility of mental health and the labyrinths of the psyche at this particular historical moment?
Dim:
During the songwriting process, some of us lost loved ones, so the theme essentially forced itself upon us. We had already explored grief and its various stages with our album Nuit Noire. This time, we needed a theme that resonated with all of us, something everyone could pour their heart and soul into. For some of us, this album has even been a form of therapy. It’s a subject that affects every human being individually, but also, on a more global scale, our shared humanity.
Max:
Exactly. Our previous album dealt mostly with systemic themes like travel, robotics, AI, or environmental change. While mental health is a classic theme in music, it is the first time we’ve truly delved this deep into our own minds and the human psyche.
Jung‘s thought runs through the entire record, down to his voice at the end. Which aspects of his theories most inspired the narrative of tracks like « Eclipse“?
Max:
Jung’s ideas emerged quite early in the creative process. We found many of his reflections on mental health and human interaction to be incredibly accurate and thought-provoking. His words resonated with us deeply, helping us better grasp, and translate musically, what we wanted to convey. Ending the album with that Jung sample felt like the perfect conclusion; it’s not only emotionally powerful but also brings the whole record full circle. The track ’Eclipse’ acts as a transition. It represents the ‘dark passenger’ we all carry within us, a darkness we must pass through before finally finding the light again. This is why the song features such a violent, dark breakdown before reaching its melodic resolution at the end.
“Enlightened” acts as a ritual threshold. Can you tell us about the vocal sample at the beginning and how it introduces the listener to the journey?
Max:
We envisioned ‘Enlightened’ as an immersive threshold. The vocal sample is designed to pull the listener immediately into the psyche of a character, one who reappears later in ‘Burst’ and ‘Mantra.’ It captures that precise, raw moment of realizing one’s own condition: the beginning of an internal battle against oneself. It sets the stage for the rest of the album, launching a psychological quest that feels both intimate and infinite.
You recorded the album live at “The Apiary Studio.” What was the most memorable anecdote or the biggest challenge you faced during those sessions?
Dim:
With the ‘Amaury’ method, you know exactly what to expect—we showed up as ready as we could possibly be. However, we majorly restructured and changed a track the very night before recording it. Spoiler alert: that track didn’t make the album, so I’m probably not allowed to talk about it
“Becoming” features the beautiful voice of Rebecca Need-Menear. How did this collaboration come about, and what do you feel she added to the mood of the track?
Dim:
Rebecca completely caught the original vibe of the track but took it so much further. She wrote the lyrics and her own vocal melodies herself. She brought a lot of ideas and arrangements to the table, and we are incredibly proud of this collaboration
At 9 minutes, it’s the longest and most dramatic track, “Euphoria.” What was it like building that transition between the initial euphoria and the dark collapse described in the spoken female vocals? “Liminality” closes the conceptual circle. What does the concept of liminal space represent to you when applied to your music?
Dim:
For ‘Euphoria,’ we wanted to make a track that features two completely distinct phases. It doesn’t follow a standard structure because we merged two different worlds into this one song. We allowed ourselves to do that because, in the end, it actually feels quite natural. Euphoria can be a fleeting sensation, a letting go that cannot last forever. That descent into absolute calm in the middle of the track represents this transition—what we might call the aftermath, the comedown, and that’s the whole irony of choosing ‘Euphoria’ as the title.
The choice of the name ‘Liminality’ refers to that transitional state in which there is no turning back. You are heading inexorably toward something else, as if being sucked into the black hole of a revelation. But you’re not quite there yet; you’re somewhere in between, moving forward. We see it as an opening to close the album with a touch of hope
How is it working with Pelagic Records for this new incarnation of the band?
Max:
We’ve been working together for seven years now, and having recently signed for three more releases, it’s clearly a deep, long-term partnership. Pelagic is a benchmark label for bands like us in Europe, and we truly feel at home there. They were completely in sync with our decision to evolve our name and artistic direction. In fact, I think this new era of the band is an even better fit for the label’s identity.
Do you already have a tour planned to support the June 19th release? What should we expect from the new live set-up?
Dim:
We’re returning to ArcTangent in August and will be stopping by London the night before. We’ll be debuting our album at Pelagic Fest, and then we’re headed to a massive festival in China in September. Later on, in late November, we’ll be hitting the road for a three-week European tour.
Looking back at past tours, is there an anecdote or a city that stays in your heart and influenced how you experience concerts today?
Max:
I would have to say our first tour in China in 2024. It was our very first experience performing outside of Europe. Even though it involved a massive amount of work, organization, and stress, it was a truly transformative journey for us. It forced us to grow as a band and as individuals. That experience reshaped how we approach our live shows today, and it definitely gave us the hunger to tour more internationally and explore new territories beyond our borders.
How do you see the health of the Post-Rock/Post-Metal scene today? Are there any emerging bands that have particularly impressed you lately?
Max:
When it comes to emerging bands, it is impossible not to mention our friends and label mates in Bruit ≤. As many in the scene already know, they burst onto the stage only a few years ago and immediately pushed the boundaries of the genre. They’ve already become a reference point, and we’re incredibly proud to see a French band achieve that level of impact in this style. However, to be honest, we don’t exclusively follow the post-rock or post-metal scene. While many iconic bands have influenced us over the years, we aren’t necessarily ‘active listeners’ of the current scene. We tend to dig into very different musical horizons in our daily lives, and I think that’s actually what allows us to bring fresh influences into our own sound.
If this record is the start of a “new era,” where do you hope this stylistic trajectory takes you in the coming years?
Dim:
I hope this will take us somewhere we haven’t been before. Without pretending to reinvent the genre, I just hope we’ll have the freedom to lose ourselves in the process, to find a new energy, and to successfully elevate it with these future tracks.
Thank you so much for your time and for the incredible music you’ve given us with this album. We can’t wait to see you live and to dive even deeper into the secrets of “We’re All Going to Be Fine.”
Purchase “We’re All Going to Be Fine” on Bandcamp HERE
Read our Review of “We’re All Going to Be Fine” here: [Review] Lost In Kyiv – We’re All Going to Be Fine