The Black Noodle Project (May 2010)

The Black Noodle Project may not be the most recognized name in the scene. But they have carved out a good niche for them selves by playing music which reminds me about early Pink Floyd and today's Coldplay and Radiohead. I got in touch with the band for an update. It turns out they are ready to release their new album these days. More about that later.......

Jeremie answered my questions.

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When was The Black Noodle Project set up, by whom and how was your formative years ?

Jeremie : Well, The Black Noodle Project was created in 2001 and I used to be alone in the project at the very first beginning. It did became a band in 2003, during the "And Life Goes On..." production when I found some musician to work with me on my compositions. Since then, some people left the band, some others came in, some are there from the early years, but we have always worked as a team regarding compositions, arrangements etc. 

Just to start with, I want your thoughts and opinions on your three albums, starting with....

"And Life Goes On..." from 2004

This album was the very first one, if we don't consider "Dark Smiles...", which was the very first demo, as a "real" album. I am very proud of this album. We produced it all alone and we didn't have so much experience, so much money, but we surely had a very strong motivation. The songs are beautiful, we worked very hard to make them sound good. And as years are passing by, I think this album didn't get too old. Unfortunaly, the lack of experience may be heard regarding the production. But if you keep in mind that this album was done with almost no money and in absolute DIY, it is a great album.

"Play Again" from 2006

Many people do love this album. I am always astonished of its success. Of course I do love this album too and maybe it has a particular sound and composition quality that make people loving it. It was the first album in which every musician composed a song. It was a great collective composition work. All of the compositions were re-arranged by the band and I guess "Play Again" is a reflection of all of the personnalities that did work on it. And in the same time, all the songs have the same mood. I guess all of us did worked in total phase and it brought a very good sound to the album. 

"Eleonore" from 2008

I consider "Eleonore" as a great album. I am so proud of it. It was a dream to compose a concept album and the result was worth the time we worked on it. It is the album where we worked on every detail, every chord, every single word of the lyrics more than ever. I worked for a long time on the tale you can read on the cd-rom part on the disc, and which is the basis of the album. We also worked hard with Sandrine Replat on the Artwork. And I am so proud of the result. Unfortunate, this album didn't work so well. I think people did stop to listen to it when they discovered it was more metal oriented than our former albums. It is a pity because if you go through it, it is an album you can listen a thousand of time, reading the tale and watching the art without being bored with it. It is funny because most of the people who listened to it more than 3 times are absolute in love with it. But it is a fact that this album is less "easy listening" than the others. You must work a little bit to enter in it. But once you do, the pleasure is absolute.

"And Live Goes On... in Poland" from 2009

This live album was recorded during our "Eleonore in Poland" tour. There is a CD plus a DVD in it. It is a beautiful and great item for fans and I'm glad OSKAR label did proposed us to release it. It shows another side of The Black Noodle Project. The live side, which is actually a big part of our work. This live is full of energy and it shows songs in a different angle comparing to the albums. It is more powerful and heavy, as this tour was (the next tour will sound more "progressive"). I like that and I'm happy our live, since today indeed, present something different comparing to our studio works.

What is the latest update on your band ?

We are about to release our fourth studio album on june 7th 2010, on OSKAR label. It is called "READY TO GO" and I am very happy with this new stuff. We are back with an eclectic album, maybe like Play Again used to be. I think it represent a synthesis of all we did untill now. You have some heavy pieces, next to melancolic songs and you will even find our longest song ever (more than 15 mn), which is totaly in a progressive mode. Many people worked on it and there are many surprises in it. I am looking foward to have some feedback about this new work but I'm sure our fans will love it.

How would you describe your music and who would you compare yourself to ?

I really don't compare our music to some other's music. Our music is 100% us. If people want to compare our music to someone else, they are the best people able to do it. I can't. Sometimes, some people are sure to hear a certain band's influence but the truth is that half of the time, I don't even know the band people are talking about. The truth is that I listen many metal bands, many 70's rock bands, but not many progressive bands. Of course, we have some band we love and they influenced us deeply, like Pink Floyd. But most of these influences are 90% of the time buried in our subconscience.

How is the general situation for you in the music business at the moment, regarding distribution and international recognition of your band ?

Music business is so hard. We are almost as poor as in the early years. We have many difficulties to organize tours, to record and sell our albums, to make the band exists. Money is not the goal at all, especially when you are playing such a music as ours. But without some minimal profits, a band can not record discs, promotes itself and goes on tour. And then it dies. And money has never been harder to earn. 99% of the bands are not able to live on their own, and we are a part of it. It is depressing, hard, and it requires a non human motivation to run a band today, beleive me.

What is your plans for this year and where do you want to take this band ?

This year, we'll release our new album with OSKAR, which is a very good Polish label. I definitely hope that it will be noticed by some serious partners, like tour managers, or festivals, for example. We need to move a step forward by working with professional partners who will help us to promote the band. We must communicate because I'm sure our music can please to many people. But to reach these people, we need help. We can't do it alone. Anyway, we'll try also to organize a tour in Poland with OSKAR. I hope it will be possible because our main fan-base is in Poland. 

Just to wrap this interview up; do you have any regrets in your music career ?

I sincerely don't have any regrets. We managed to record 4 albums, 1 live, we have fans, everything is fine. But maybe I'd like the band to have more success and most of all, to have the tools to spread our music to a larger audience. I'm so sure there are many people who don't know us but who would be very pleased to listen to our music. It is very frustrating but we will go on working on it and I know it will work one day.

What is your five alltime favourite albums ?

Difficult question, indeed. This list can change twice a day. But if I must choose right now, I would say : Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"; Death "Symbolic"; Enslaved "Isa"; Guns'n Roses "Appetite for Destruction" and The Beatles "White album".

Anything you want to add to this interview ?

Keep on supporting your favourite bands. Buy their cds, especially when they produced their work themselves. Keep on going to their shows. If you love a band, the band needs you to keep on composing and bringing you some good songs. Don't let them down because they need you more than ever.

Thanx to Jeremie for this interview. Their PA profile can be found here and their homepage is here