By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Notable for its emphatic music videos that paid tribute to the likes of Martin Creed (“Insomniac”) and Marina Abramovic (“Entertainment”), Good Morning TV dropped their debut album ‘Small Talk’ this past June via Géographie Recs (Marble Arch, Paper Tapes, Born Idiot).
Now a full-fledged band after being birthed as a solo project from vocalist/guitarist Bérénice Deloire in 2016, the French outfit – compared to acts like Broadcast, Deerhoof, The Olivia Tremor Control – also consists of bassist/keyboardist Barth Bouveret, guitarist/keyboardist Thibault Picot (Brace! Brace!) and drummer/keyboardist Hugo Dupuis.
The Music Bugle had the chance to talk with the band via email, where they collectively talked (pun half-intended) about ‘Small Talk’ and more.
Music Bugle – What inspired the “Good Morning TV” name?
Good Morning TV – The lyrics of a Blur song, “End Of A Century.” We both liked the simplicity of these words we use daily and the lethargic mood of this expression.
Music Bugle – What were your goals for your debut album ‘Small Talk’?
Good Morning TV – We just wanted to make music and fortunately, we got along so fine that everything fell into place without having to think about it. Doing something we would be proud of, but we never had to discuss it as a band. We never set up guidelines or boundaries. We all spontaneously loved working together!
Music Bugle – What inspired your artwork for ‘Small Talk’?
Good Morning TV – After doing the cover of our EP ourselves, we wanted something a bit different, maybe simpler. We searched for photographs and photographers that we liked and the work of Yann Stofer instantly seduced us. We loved his view on people and things, the kind of look that makes the most common scenes become intriguing. This one had the weirdest feeling of wanting to know the context to it and we really loved not knowing.
Music Bugle – How did you think people would react to your new songs?
Good Morning TV – We can never know for sure. Of course, we hoped that they will love them as much as we do! People that know us from back then surely noticed quite a difference in mood and ambition...
Music Bugle – Which of your new songs were the hardest to write?
Good Morning TV – The hardest thing during the process was to bring the album to an end. We are pretty perfectionists… and sometimes, excessively!
Music Bugle – Does a band need social media to be successful?
Good Morning TV – Being successful in the internet era is a complex matter. Social media does get you access to a lot of potential exposure, if you play that game well. Exposure can bring two forms of success, short term and long term. The first has a lot to do with media pushing one song or an album with promotion tools and stuff, getting your music a short burst of hype. The latter has more to do with getting the right people on board and interested in the project, having you going on tour, getting you the means to your end. Both can be helped by social media, but honestly, it has more to do with chance, doing things without compromise and of course, making spontaneous, true-to-self, enjoyable music.
Music Bugle – How would you compare the band’s earliest days to now?
Good Morning TV – In the beginning, and even if Barth produced the EP, the process of writing was way more self-centered, because it was Bérénice’s musical project. While most of the demos are still written by Béré, we work on them as a band and sometimes, one song takes a completely new form as we get new ideas, new parts in, sometimes rewrite almost everything around a small piece that serves as a source of inspiration. That and of course, getting a lot of external help to develop and putting our music out there.
Music Bugle – What excites you the most about your style of music?
Good Morning TV – Having no clue where it is going before having finished it. We never not wanted to experiment and there’s a primal joy in stumbling into a song that you instantly love as you write it. We always thought that we were very lucky to have that kind of synergy that we four have together, because it allows us to proceed blindly and rarely be disappointed of the process.
Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?
Good Morning TV – Our tastes in matter of music are very patchy, depending on the four of us…
Music Bugle – What makes you the most proud about where you come from?
Good Morning TV – Being responsible for where we are now. We’re in a place where things get moving for us, people get excited about our music and it means a lot. Having people around that believe in us, no questions asked, is both a considerable chance and a powerful pride.
*Photo credit – Antoine Magnien*
