I N T E R V I E W

Interview Dorian Sorriaux (face to face)

Hello Dorian, can you present the band for some of our readers who don’t know you yet?

Sure, we are a four pieces band: a drummer, Corry, a singer, Elin, a guitar player, me, and a bass player, Zack. We live in Sweden but I am from France and the bass player is American. We play blues rocks, a kind of psychedelic music.

So you are a very international band, two of you are from the US, one from France and one from Sweden, how did you meet in the first place?

I first met Corry and Zack in France, it was about three years ago , I was playing with another band and we had a gig opening for that band called Radio Moscow and that’s Zack and Cory’s ex-band. The show went really well, they were super nice to me and after the show, we started talking on Facebook. And six months after that show they left Radio Moscow and founded Blues Pills with Elin on vocals and at first they sent me demos and asked me: what do you think about these? And then they asked me to join the band for real.

So do you all live in the same location nowadays? Or are you one of these internet based bands?

They met Elin in the US, in California, while she was travelling. Then they moved to Sweden, because it is easier for American people to move to Sweden than for European people to move to the US. Now we all live in Sweden in Örebro

Your set on the mainstage of the Hellfest this afternoon was really great. How was it from the stage?

It was really good actually, I did not know what to expect because we played so early and some people told me that the third day is not the best one... But there was a lot of people, much more than what I expected and the sound was really good. It was not our gear, but it sounded great and the crowd was into it, so it was a great show.

Are you happy about your set, the attendance, the response from the crowd?

Yes, really happy, we did not expect as much so it was a good surprise yeah.

You are quite a new band, without even an album out yet, how did it feel to be invited to Hellfest?

It was a big thing for me because it is at a few hours from where I lived: Quimper. I was great, I remember we were in Australia on tour and that’s when we got the offer to play for the Hellfest. It is great, we play in a lot of festivals and it is truly amazing and as you said we don't even have an album out, it is really incredible.

Were you scared to be not metal enough?

Yesterday we played at the MetalFest in Germany and 80% of the festivals where we play have the word Metal or Hell in their name, so they are mostly metal festivals. It is kind of surprising because we are more a blues rock band but we signed with Nuclear Blast which is a metal bands label so we have a metal booking agent and so that ‘s why we are associated with metal music and metal magazines. But it is great we have a great response from people who like metal music.

Did you build a special setlist for the event?

Not really, we played some songs from our new album and some older ones, nothing really special.

How was the organization of the Hellfest?

It was great, really professional, which is nice actually...

Is it your first time in this area? In France?

Zack played a lot in France because he went on a lot of European tours with his ex-band.

I guess for you Dorian, it’s a little different. Are you proud to play here in Hellfest?

Yes, I am happy to be here, I recognized a few people, some I was in high school or middle school with.

Dorian, you have a pretty predestinated first name, to become a musician. Can you tell us quickly how it all started for you and your guitar, and how you became at 19 the guitarist of Blues Pills?

I was actually 16 when I joined the band, I am 18 now. I started to play guitar when I was 9 years old. I had a few teachers then I practiced a lot on my own and I played with other people, other musicians, it helped me a lot. When I was about 13 years old I used to jam with a 50 years old guitar player that I met in my city. I told him I could play guitar so he came in my house to play with me. We jammed and he told me that I played too fast; he told me that the feelings and emotions are as important as the technique.

Your name is quite famous already, and often associated with the term maestro, can you tell us, your major influences?

When I was really young, like about 4 years old I was a big fan of ZZ TOP, Billy Gibbons had a real influence on me, I wanted to play guitar because of him. And later I really liked Rory Gallagher, because he was Irish and had a kind of Celtic vibe. I am from Brittany and my dad plays bagpipes so I grew up with this Celtic music and I really feel connected to Rory Gallagher. There is also Peter Green, Paul Kossof from Free, mostly blues guitar players.

Ok back to the band, you guys have your first album coming out late July. Tell us a bit about it?

Yeah, it will come out July 25th it is produced by Don Estenberg, it was recorded in Sweden in Gothenburg, in Don’s studio. Don works with bands such as Graveyard; he produced all of their albums. He is a big part in the album, he brought a lot of ideas, about the sound, and he told us what the songs needed.

So do we have tracks from the EPs or is this new material?

We re-recorded a lot of the EPs songs, pretty much half of the album songs are songs from our 2 EPs. We re-arranged the songs that were already released because we thought it would be a good idea to make other versions so people can choose their favorite ones.

How do you guys work when it comes to composing music? And Lyrics?

On the album, Elin and Zack wrote most of the music and most of the lyrics but we arranged it together.

I have reviewed the EPs for our webzine, and have to admit I felt in love with your music when I heard Elin’s voice on Devil Man. What a shock! It’s hard not to talk about Janis Joplin in this context. Would Elin be mad at me for saying this?

She likes Janis Joplin so it is a compliment.

Now on the same subject the rhythmic section reminds most of us of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Reading. Do you think Zak would agree with that?

Yeah!

So you understand that a lot of people like your music because it reminds them of Jimi Hendrix Experience with Janis on vocals. Brings back memories...

We are big fans of Jimi Hendrix so yeah definitely.

Now not only you musical style reminds of this period, but your logo, your first album cover, your clothing, hair, you are pretty much in the hippie trip, although you were not born at that time. And most likely your parents were also too young to really know this. What’s your view on this?

Everybody has his own opinion, but for me, it is really the music I grew up with. So that’s my influence and that’s what comes out when we play music, but we just play the music that we like so if people don’t like it, it is just too bad.

Ok, Dorian, it looks like we are going to be interrupted, so thanks a lot for your time...

Thank you for your support

Venez donc discuter de cette interview, sur notre forum !