Indrama is a young band from Lorient, whose style mixes power and melody in the best possible way. Have a look at this interview of Gwen, the singer of the band. You can read it in English here

Phone interview conducted by Doc’ on Thursday, June 28th, 2007.

Could you introduce your band, Indrama, to us?

I started working on my personal project, Indrama, after having played in many bands. Following these experiences, I’ve decided to record my first demo on my own. During the recording, my brother Gweltaz joined me, and three weeks after that, we were on a stage. Everything happened very quickly, because soon afterwards, we recruited the Le Bellec brothers on bass and guitar.


The band is indeed composed of the Le Bellec brothers as well as you and your brother. Isn’t it complicated for these two set of brothers to coexist?

No, it isn’t. We have the good luck to be united and very homogeneous as a band. We all have our say within the band and everything goes well. I must say I’m very pleased with the way things are going. I understand your question in the sense that ego problems can be likely to unsettle some bands, but luckily this phenomenon has spared us so far.


Why did you recruit the Le Bellec brothers only after you recorded the ‘Telling A New Truth’ maxi-CD, which was released in October 2006?

I didn’t want to wait for Indrama to have a complete line-up to start doing things. By doing things this way, I didn’t waste any time. I had to do things quickly, so I decided to record the demo on my own to speed things up a bit. We auditioned people only after my brother recorded the drum parts. Actually, we started auditioning musicians when we had to get on stage. It clicked immediately with the Le Bellec brothers.


You did everything yourself on ‘Telling A New Truth’: you sang, played bass and guitar, wrote the lyrics and even produced the CD. My question will be fairly simple: do you ever sleep at night?!

Not much! I really believe one has to be able to do several things. You know, I’ve been consigned for a long time as a mere performer with my former bands. But I quickly had the urge to compose, and it’s probably from then on that I developed a kind of flexibility. I think it’s quite positive to do things like this rather than waste time. So yeah, I’d rather work on my own!


Indrama is your first experience as a singer, and I must say that, for a first, the result is more than satisfactory! Actually, all the reviews I’ve read are rather positive…

Thanks for the compliments ! Yeah, the reactions are rather positive, for the composition as well as for the general music or the singing, and it’s really cool! It encourages me to go on, to persevere in Indrama. There were some trials and errors when I decided to create the band in 2005, but our investment bore fruit. I quickly recorded two four-song demos that allowed me to meet people and to lay good foundations for the future.


When I listen to your maxi-CD, I come to the conclusion that you manage to keep your own personality and a real identity; however, I’m tempted to draw a parallel with some Scandinavian bands like In Flames or Dark Tranquillity because of this combination of melodiousness and aggressiveness. What do you have to say about that?

It’s very difficult to judge oneself, but as you quite rightly said, the influence of the Scandinavian scene is indeed noticeable in the music of Indrama. I won’t deny it. But I tend to think that ours is closer to pop music in the harmony as well as in the melodies or the singing. A lot of webzines, for example, classify us in the ‘Power Death Melodic’ category, but I think we manage to maintain this more civilized pop-ish aspect – while keeping in mind the metal aspect, of course!


When can we expect your first album?

Actually we’re working pretty hard on it! We’ve composed 90% of the album so far. If everything goes well, it should be completely wrapped up at the end of this year. I’m thinking about producing it, but you’ll know more about the release date in a few months! But one thing is certain, it will rock big time! (laughs)


Why don’t you want to find a label and a producer?

Simply because I want to work in total freedom. If I deem it necessary and beneficial to Indrama to go a week over the fixed deadline, then we’ll do it. Actually, the fact that we don’t have a producer allows us to keep a real freedom of expression and of decision in our artistic choices. We don’t need any barriers or conditions of contract. We’ll do without this kind of pressure.


Did you discover production rather late or did you know the field already?

Well, no. In engineering as well as in singing or playing the guitar, I’m completely self-educated. I work a lot, and with time I managed to master my equipment. My ear is evolving, and experiences are growing in number. When you really are motivated by something, you should give yourself the means to achieve it and never give up. I think that this will have to be applied to every possible field: when you have something precise in mind, just go for it!


Well, congratulations, because it’s not something easy!!

Thank you!


What are your current projects? Should Indrama aim for the national sphere or rather consolidate their local recognition?

We don’t want to be seen as a pretentious band, but we are ambitious. You see, my goal is to see to it that Indrama is exported in all Europe, if not in the whole world. From this perspective, we want to consolidate our national network in France, and maybe in a couple of nearby countries. That alone would be nice for us. If things evolve positively, we will set our sights higher.


I notice something very professional in everything you say and do. Do you agree with this analysis?

Absolutely. From the very beginning, seriousness and professionalism were our guidelines. We have to be realistic: we don’t know what the future holds, we don’t know whether Indrama will meet with any success. But if we don’t want to have any regrets, we’ll have to give the best of ourselves. The more we work, the bigger the chance to reach what we really wish for.

Indrama’s website: www.indrama.net