In-depth Interview With Mars Red Sky

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Bordeaux, France, psychedelic stoner rock band Mars Red Sky was started when the trio of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras, bassist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Benoit Busser, all from different musical backgrounds, came together in 2007. The result of their combined creative force was the fuzzy, dreamy but still crushingly heavy style that represents Mars Red Sky’s music. The band released a 7-inch vinyl called ‘Curse’ in 2010 and followed it up with their self-titled debut full-length in 2011. I came across this album on one of my BandCamp explorations, and the music made an instant impression on me. It’s psychedelic but by no means random, and the songs have solid structures on which they are based. Mars Red Sky, joined by drummer Matgaz in place of Benoit Busser, have now released a new EP. Recently, I caught up with Julien, Jimmy and Mat to talk about all things MRS. Check it out below.

Upon reading the band’s biography, I’ve learnt that all three members come from musical backgrounds that are very different from the psychedelic rock of Mars Red Sky. What inspired you to play this musical style and form the band?

Julien: We’ve all been into all kinds of music, and we’ve all played in different kinds of bands, but it’s not a huge turn over,  we’ve always been big fans of bands like Electric Wizard, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, etc. I’ve been in a pop/folk band for over 15 years (Calc) and I nowadays have a solo project, more folky. Matt plays in several bands, pretty out there, far from what we do with MRS. We’re just music maniacs, whatever gets us off is good.

Did any of you carry over the musical elements from your previous bands, or was this a completely new thing for all of you?

Mat : It was not totally new for me to play low tempos, my natural feeling when playing the drums is more to be laid back than sped over. But when I joined the band last year, I remember the first practice session we had together and I was a bit afraid when we started to play “Falls” and the guys told me things like, “It’s too fast!” and “Are you serious??” What was new for me is to slow down the tempo all together on precise part of the song, and since that I’m addicted to this.

When did you start working on the songs for the debut album and how much effort and time did it take to complete that album?

Julien: We started as a duo, Benoit (the original drummer) and I. We didn’t know where we were going then, but we eventually found a sound, something special, loud and heavy and my voice hovering on top of it all. I then offered Jimmy to join in and that’s when it all went south… sorry, that’s when it all started.

That album was released in 2011. Since then have you written any new songs for the next release?

Julien: A bunch indeed. We’ve just released a brand new EP called ‘Be My Guide’, with three new original songs and a cover, and we’ve been working on a lot of new songs. We’re planning on recording the second album over the summer, we have enough material for a new complete album.

I was glad to see that your album was put out on vinyl LP. But was it just meant as a collectors’ edition or does it have a more organic sound as compared to the CD version?

Julien: First of all, there’s a bonus track on the LP. We’re vinyl junkies. It’s not a collector’s item according to us. We’ve had the album reprinted over and over! And the mastering is a little different for the vinyl, a little more bassy. All in all I would recommend the vinyl over the CD.

How is the local scene in Bordeaux and in other French cities? Are you able to get gigs on a regular basis?

Mat: I live in a little town an hour drive from Bordeaux up north called Angoulême, and there’s a few clubs where you can play and see bands live. It’s not a lot but still some good shows sometimes. I think the musical scene in France is pretty good, you can play in at least 20 cities in the country in front of good crowd, there’re many different scenes which sometimes mixed each other. And the funny thing is some bands can be big acts in France and nobody outside of the border, even American bands like Chokebore who are kind of big here but almost unknown in the USA. For us we can say Germany and generally Eastern Europe is great for playing, even if we play in France a lot as well.  

Jimmy : We have good local scene in Bordeaux, specially composed by good young garage/psychedelic bands as JC Satan and Crane Angels. There are also many good bands we like in France such as Yeti Lane from Paris, Glowsun from Lille, and even Electric Electric.

You played Roadburn last year. How was that experience?

Julien: It was incredible. We played right before Sleep (they were playing in the larger room obviously), a lot of people showed up, and we all agreed it was a good concert. Being there, being invited to play this festival was an honor. Sleep were awesome, incredibly loud and great, and there was Jesu and billions of great bands. We are grateful.

You’ve also played at SXSW in the past. I’ve never been to that event. What’s it like?

Mat : It’s funny I was at SXSW last year in the same time when MRS played but I wasn’t in the band yet. I was drumming with Reverend James Leg. He’s a Fender Rhodes player and singer, he was in this band Black Diamond Heavies. Now he’s doing solo stuff and I play the drums on tour with him when I can.

Julien: With MRS we played 6 concerts over the week. Our official “showcase” was packed, and the rest were real fun. So that was a great experience, we got to meet really nice and interesting people, walked around, met up with friends (Emily Jane White for instance). Right after that we flew to the west coast and did a week’s tour with a band from Seattle called Ancient Warlocks.

As you just said, the SXSW appearance last year was followed by a short US West Coast tour. How did the American audiences respond to your performances?

Julien: Very well actually, we were pretty amazed. Apparently people over there aren’t as harsh as in France. We’ve mostly met lovely people over there.

Talking of live performances, how much does it change as compared to the studio versions of the music? Do you improvise on stage and keep it spontaneous, or is it exactly like the album?

Mat : The main thing is the tempos get way slower than on the album. When I listen to the record today it seems so fast to me because I learnt to play those songs mostly on stage and we’re used to playing them at the bottom of the beat! We keep some part kind of free and I think it can be different depending on the crowd, the ambiance, what we’ve eaten, etc.

Julien: And we do improvise more and more, especially in between the songs, recording loops, toying with feedback and all.

There’s quite a lot of fuzz and reverb in your music, which creates the psychedelic vibe. What kind of gear and effects do you use in order to achieve that?

Julien: It’s pretty simple actually, the mighty Big Muff being the core of our sound. I use the wah pedal lot (Cry Baby), reverbs (Electro Harmonics’ Cathedral), and all kinds of pedals here and there.

What touring plans do you have for the remainder of 2013?