Since 2012, the artist behind Carpenter Brut has made a name for himself beyond the French borders, doing 100+ concerts after a first trilogy completed in 2015. Already a follower
of his ultra-referenced electro music, I’ve discovered moreover that he is a big fan of Tool. In that case, how not getting closer to him in order to do an interview?
I'm not fond of Justice or French Touch in general, but I can’t help talking about Big John, whom I love. So, sorry to come
back to him once again, but what does he evoke for you to the point that you wanted to use his name?
Frank B. Carpenter : First, Carpenter Brut comes from the Charpentier Brut champagne. One day, I was with some friends in a bar, and there was a slate on the wall near our table
where drinks of the moment were displayed, including this brand of champagne. With my mates, we just translated and that gave Carpenter Brut. Indeed, it can be seen as a nod to John
Carpenter, otherwise the 'joke' wouldn’t have been funny. Then to answer you, what I’ve always admired with him is the way he made his films, that is to say that without tens of
millions of budget (that he didn’t have anyway), he was able to make high quality movies by tinkering here and there. And he composed himself the soundtracks. In short, such
involvement from the beginning to the end inspires respect.
Did you get a sign from him on what you do, he who speaks in introduction to the title "Tech Noir" by Gunship that you
remixed? Perturbator had the opportunity to be his opening act, but the format of screening with live music didn’t suit him; he was even embarrassed to play in front of the audience.
Would you have been OK with that?
No, I had no feedback from him; I don’t think he knows that I exist. [laughing]
If playing in front of his audience would have pleased me? Good question; I think so. But frankly, you can be sure that the audience is there all commited to John Carpenter, and as
opening act it is necessary to multiply by ten efforts to make their head move.
I was surprised that basically you didn’t know anything about electro music, and that you learned everything on the
job! (even if you had already acted as an autodidact to work in studio and live sound)
Yes, let's say that my 'scene' isn’t electro. I discovered it with Justice, Sebastian, and Gesaffelstein a little. I liked some tracks by Justice, because their sound was more 'rock',
and unlike other electro artists, they don’t just repeat loops. This is also what bores me the most in this genre of music: loops. At the beginning, when you listen to a sound, you
say "Yeah, it starts great, it's going to be good...", but after 2 mins you become disillusioned because it’s repeating over and over again, and on top of that it lasts 7-8 mins...
It’s a pain! That's also why I chose to compose my pieces as songs: to avoid these repetitions.
Then to resume your question, I "took classes" on the net via tutorials, and I started fiddling with it on my side, I bought banks of sounds, samples, etc. Being a producer/engineer
actually helped me as I’ve always liked discovering new stuff and finding out information on forums.
You are -or were- inspired by cinema and TV series, especially -from your words- "serial killers, femme fatales and
zombies". What are your references on this subject?
Like many kids who grew up in the 80’s, I developed a passion for gore / slasher movies like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Street Trash, Evil Dead,
Maniac Cop and so on.
I loved special effects and makeup; as a teenager, I subscribed to Mad Movies [a French magazine about genre films] and I tried to reproduce what I saw inside. I had a real
fascination for all that could be scary. So I think that's also what made the link with metal music: the imagery was -and still remains- quite related to bloody things and the
occult.
I also really like the remixes you made for Scattle or others, and it allowed me to extend my musical horizon in this
genre. Who contacted whom? Is it a small circle in which you communicate between you?
For the remix of Scattle, it was done through the soundtrack of Hotline Miami 2. It was a request the creators of the game made: that everyone remixes each other. As for
the communication between the artists, I can’t speak for others, but I’m quite lonely on my side. Not that I don’t want to, but as I’m often on the road or meddling with sounds at
home, I don’t have much time to communicate with anyone, from the same environment or otherwise.
You may be more solicited now, maybe less for video games but for remixes or soundtracks?
I did receive proposals for remixes or collaborations, but I declined a lot of them for lack of time. Being busy with shows and also composition, I don’t have time to work for others.
Actually, I focus on the Blood Machines soundtrack, which is my priority for months to come.
And don’t you listen to electro music because you want to get away from it like some metal musicians who listen to
something else, or did you never get into it? By the way, what are the bands and/or albums that you’ve liked lately?
Electro music is a genre whose composition is quickly running out of steam with the loops repetition. I prefer the song structures with verse-chorus-verse. I listen to very little of
it, if at all. I dontt listen much metal music either, I'm rather like stuck on a 80's glam rock radio that I listen to when I'm at home. Recently, I listened to the last Ghost
record a lot, and now I listen to the last Night Flight Orchestra album. You see, nothing very extreme in there.
What has changed for you since your own identity was revealed? Did you talk about that with Tobias Forge when you met
him? (even if it was a much bigger thing for him)
In the end, nothing changed for me. And no, I didn’t discuss about it with anyone except my team. Regarding Tobias, we didn’t talk so much, so I didn’t have the opportunity to talk
with him about it, but I guess he suffered from his identity being revealed, even if it was an open secret. I’m especially angry with 'journalists' who, for a second of glory, have
fun to snitch on your real name and break the concept that you created. Respect and journalism, I don’t have the impression that these two words can still coexist. Anyway, I know
the people who informed on me and I will remember it.
Didn’t you want to reveal your origins not to distort the reception of what you had to offer? Anyway, a leopard can’t
change its spots, so don’t you think that the fact that many metalheads have hooked to your universe is because of your visuals, the musicians who play with you, etc.?
I already knew Adrien Grousset and Florent Marcadet from the bands Hacride and Klone. It must have been obvious to
call on their services after working together for so long?
Yes, it was obvious indeed, first because they are excellent musicians and I know them very well, but also because we all live in the same corner.
Now, when I came across a video interview of you published in April 2016, I was happy to hear that you would have
liked to work with Maynard James Keenan? When did you discover him and do you like all his projects?
Yes, I'm a fan (and I think I'm not the only one) of his voice. I think he's one of the best singers in the world and far ahead of the others. He is also a very charismatic
character, scary sometimes. [laughing] So yes, I dream of him doing a featuring on one of my songs, but I know it won’t happen because he is unreachable. [laughing]
I follow him since the first Tool albums, and then A Perfect Circle. But I confess that I don’t know his other projects; I really never listened to them, but what I’ve heard didn’t
make an impression on me.
If I’m right, Tool is also a reference for you in terms of production, especially the work done by David Bottrill with
them.
I love Tool overall: their approach, their technique, their musicality and the production... this remains unique in the genre, and few bands go that far. In a similar category, Pink
Floyd is also a reference. They pushed everything they could to the maximum. I love this kind of bands that respect Art and their audience by trying to push things right to the end.
So regarding Tool, it’s difficult for me to make a selection of the best songs from their albums. This is something to consider as a whole, but I think Lateralus has a production
that will survive years (and possible zombie invasions).
I’ve noted other things in common between you and Tool, like putting the music forward instead of the musician (even
if you didn’t multiply the disguises for that) or keeping artistic control at all costs.
Yes, you can talk about artistic control as far as I'm concerned, since I am the one who manages it 100%.
Having set up my own label, I manage everything from A to Z as artistically as on the choice of partners (distributor, booking agent, etc.).
Like them, you also were well surrounded visually, with Seth Ickerman, Førtifem, etc. Are there other artists you’d
like to collaborate with or simply admire?
Yes, there are artists I appreciate like Derek Riggs for his work with Iron Maiden, or the artworks of Cannibal Corpse; and in another style, I really like the work of Jean-Luc
Navette.
Since the beginning of Carpenter Brut, I’ve chosen to work only with Førtifem, with whom I have a special relationship that goes beyond the artistic domain, a real complicity. The
exchanges between us are very easy, and artistically we are really on the same wavelength. They developed the visual identity of Carpenter Brut (like the logo), and they contributed
to its identification. And I'm faithful, I work mostly with the same people since the beginning, so I can’t imagine why I’d change that.
You stood out of the synthwave with the dark synth (or "metal dance"...). Was Leather Teeth also in reaction to
that, in order not to end up locked in a category and to thwart expectations?
I didn’t want to do another "Roller Mobster" or "The Perv". I already made them, so why do a remake? I wanted to offer something new, to leave my comfort zone. In addition to that,
I’ve started a new trilogy and I had to put my story in place, the story of Bret Halford aka Leather Teeth, a shy student in love with a girl who ignores him. Bret is a fan of glam
rock, and little by little his mental and physical transformation is going to take place. So this first opus had to be softer, gentle and also a little nervous, because we can see
in this young man's head that everything is tumbling out emotion-wise: naivety, love emotion, hormones boiling, frustration...
I’ve never been into glam, and despite the fact that I appreciate your last album, it won’t be enough to reconcile me
with this genre of music. What do you like in it to the point that you used some of its codes? And did you notice a change of reception with people giving up or new fans?
When I was a teenager and listened to metal, glam was a shameful genre, way too fun and decadent to be taken seriously. Metal is for though guys, it's violent and scary... In short,
between the two of them, everything was opposed. Growing older and listening to the old 80's rock standards, I gradually fell into glam rock / FM rock with bands like Quiet Riot,
Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, etc., and I loved it!
It's so extravagant, and in bad taste sometimes, that obviously these bands didn’t take themselves seriously. So that's what I liked in this genre, and I wanted to include this
frivolity and this extravagance in my next album.
Regarding the reception of the album, yes, some people were disappointed because they expected a repetition of EP I, EP II and EP III, as if an artist constantly
has to make the same pieces for his fans -and maybe himself- remain in their comfort zone.
In my case, I wanted to see elsewhere, to explore new horizons, and this more rock and a little less electro turnaround surprised quite a few. Yes, some people were disappointed, but
overall the new album was appreciated, and I have also won fans because they enjoyed its atmosphere.
From the interviews that you’ve made, you generally seem to favor this fun side in what you do, both for you and those
who listen to you. Of course, I don’t mean that you don’t do things seriously, but it seems without the headache.
It only happens when I’m composing, as I try to make cool songs people will take pleasure to listen, even dance on them.
I'm not there to scare people, nor to sell them lousy street cred. I won’t come up with an image of bad boy as I’m not one, nor a false identity claiming that I’m the son of Satan in
order to gain a so-called credibility with my audience... I’m too old for this shit.
So no, I don’t worry too much about what I do, I try to do it in a funny way. The most important for me, and also for the team around me, is to work in the best possible conditions:
staying professional while keeping the trick ready to be played.
However, between the opening act for Ghost, Coachella, Hellfest, Olympia... (I also loved the video by Arte) you could
take yourself seriously, no? (and you must have seen many people who acted that way for less) What do you finally keep in mind from those experiences?
In fact, people who take themselves too seriously bother me, especially if it's a position completely made up just to have a style. I take things as they come; opportunities show
themselves, and I seize them. As I have no artistic pressure and as I decide myself what I want to do, I feel relieved of a lot of frustration that could make me go crazy. Every
experience that I live, I live it 100%, and then I go to the next step extremely focused. As long as everyone -my audience as well as the team I work with- is happy, then I’m
satisfied. It may sound completely demagogic, but what I keep in the end from all those experiences is the simplicity in which things were done.
For my last question, do you think that you’ll come back to something darker? Some time ago, you even mentioned the
possibility of doing something nearby Nine Inch Nails! Why not electro-rock or industrial music?
The next opus (the second one of the trilogy) will actually be darker and industrial in the style of In Slaughter Native. The protagonist of my story will go from rejected lover to
serial killer. We will therefore be in more twisted atmospheres.
