By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Known for their self-production and modernity and described as the melodic metalcore lovechild of August Burns Red and Killswitch Engage, Brittany, France’s Call From Distant Earth premiered their first music video “Forlorn Hope,” which was released on May 15, 2020.
The video follows up their previous two singles “Anywhere But Here” and “Out Of The Sun,” which will all be featured in the novel entitled “The Fall Of Desmeda” written by their singer Theo Poussard and will also serve as the name of their five-song EP slated for a Summer 2020 release.
The Music Bugle had the chance to chat with Poussard about the new video and more.
Music Bugle – What inspired the band name?
Theo Poussard – I have always been a huge fan of science-fiction novels and movies, especially of Arthur C. Clarke’s work. I really enjoyed one of his books, ‘’Songs Of Distant Earth’’ and that’s how I came up with the name of the band. I proposed it to the other members of the band and they liked it. That’s how we became Call From Distant Earth.
Music Bugle – What was your experience like shooting the music video for “Forlorn Hope”?
Theo Poussard – We all had other bands in the past, but no one did a proper music video before. Our guitarist Benoit and I are sound engineers for films, so we knew how a set works, but this was the first time we weren’t technicians, just observers. This was fun. We shot the entire video within two days, which was really challenging. It rained all day long, strong wind, everybody was cold, but we knew we were doing something important. At the end, it was a really good experience, we are really proud of what has been done and we are very thankful for the work which has been done by Pauline and the entire crew. I personally really enjoyed seeing characters I created, becoming real.
Music Bugle – How would you describe Brittany, France to someone who has never been there before?
Theo Poussard – Brittany is just the most beautiful place in France! The landscapes are just magnificent, very diverse. Brittany is the most western part of France, surrounded by the sea. We have big, wide beaches, but also very wild and steep beaches. Brittany has its own language ‘’Breton,’’ which is spoken differently in the north than in the south, making it very rich and complex. It is also a ‘’Celtic land’’ and is recognized as a Celtic nation.
Music Bugle – Who were some of your musical influences?
Theo Poussard – We have many musical influences, mostly metal. Personally, I learned how to scream listening to bands like It Dies Today and I Killed The Prom Queen. Our main influences are mostly Metalcore/Djent bands like Trivium, August Burns Red, Periphery, Northlane, Oh Sleeper, Oceans Ate Alaska, Novelists FR, but we also like bands like Mgla, Katatonia, Klone and Cattle Decapitation.
Music Bugle – How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected the band?
Theo Poussard – We stopped rehearsals. We used to rehearse in our drummer Lelio’s basement. We took this opportunity to focus on the EP and the songs which are not recorded yet. We all can record ourselves from home, so the production of the EP is still going, we only have two song to mix left. It’s is also a complicated and uncertain period for us and all musicians. It is pretty worrying to see all the clubs and concert venues closed for an indefinite time. Some places may never reopen again in Brittany due to the economic situation. That’s pretty sad and we don’t know yet when our next show will be. It also permitted us to work our instruments. I personally focused on my clean singing and my writing skills. A lot of new ideas came up during the lockdown, which is really positive for the future of the band.
Music Bugle – What else do you hope to accomplish with the band?
Theo Poussard – Our next goal is to release as soon as possible our EP ‘The Fall Of Desmeda.’ It’s almost finished, we worked really hard to came up with songs and we are really proud of what has been done. We can’t wait to release it. The next step for us would be to go on tour in France, but also in Europe and even in the United States. Our dream would be to go on tour with bands we worship like Oceans Ate Alaska, Novelists FR and Landmvrks.
Music Bugle – What is your favorite set of lyrics from the group?
Theo Poussard – Hard to say, but I think my favorite lyrics are in a song not yet released. If you wanna know, you’ll have to make another interview. (Laughs) More seriously, I speak a lot about space travel in my lyrics, especially about the consequences on the mind of the lone traveler, who’s trapped in a ship, into dark and silence.
Music Bugle – What do you feel people should know about the band?
Theo Poussard – Also hard to say. I don’t want people to know who we are as people, but I want them to know our style, our values. It would be great if some people would like to analyze our music and lyrics and go deeper to understand what we want to tell through music.
Music Bugle – Which moment would you call your proudest while with this group?
Theo Poussard – I think I’m proud of what we are doing right now, we are all focused on finishing the EP even if we can’t see each other. We just released our first music video. This is kind of huge when it’s the first time you go this far with a band. This is just the beginning, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of moments to be proud of in the future.
Music Bugle – Have you guys been working on any new music?
Theo Poussard – Of course, our guitarists Benoit and Colin are always composing new stuff. Our EP ‘’The Fall Of Desmeda’ is 100 percent written and will be released this summer and we are already focusing on the next. On my side, I’m currently searching and focusing on which themes I will talk about in my future lyrics.
