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The french quartet behind Sunbeam Overdrive is still young and discrete, but it already more than deserve your curiosity. Lodged deep within prog metal, with a strong mix of ethereal and abrasive touches and a generous sprinkle of djent, they deploy multiple stories through ever-evolving rhythms and atmospheres… The results making us very hopeful for their future ! Let’s tackle this very first outing with Tom Abrigan, guitarist and one of the singers behind the project.
Cult of Metal : Congrats on your first outing guys ! Everything in that album made me travel… from your artwork to your tracks, including the very first one called “Ascending”, which seems to begin with orient-flavored beats (and my apologies if I’m totally missing the mark there!) Was “travel” or « voyage » a keyword making this album ? The songs’ names are often puzzling or surprising too… Tom : Thanks for your positive feedback ! Indeed, the goal was to give it a “trip feeling”, at least we wanted to tell our own voyage. But we weren’t exactly expecting that it would be so noticeable… I think there are two possible ways to engage with this album. The first one, which is more simple, is about simply listening to the songs, with their rhythmic signatures, their harmonies, their lyrics and so on. It’s a passive listen, like you could do with any rock album. If you like what you’re hearing, you might even sing the chorus or simply enjoy the trip ! And honestly, we weren’t expecting anything more. But then, there’s this second way to appreciate the album, which is much deeper and personal. It was our OWN way of making and listening to our album, first and foremost. That’s how we presented the album to various communication agencies. But we would have fully understood if people didn’t realize how personal it is. In the end, we’re quite pleasantly surprised, because this second very personal take on the album is the one people seems to notice more !
It’s hard not to speak directly about "Out Of Plato’s Cave”, as I mentioned strange names for your songs! It gets your imagination working, but the track itself is also generous, powerful, and melodic. Was it obvious to make it a single? It is one of the tracks you’re the proudest of, or maybe an easier way to get into your universe? The idea came from our manager actually ! It wasn’t really obvious for us to showcase that song first, especially since it has a strong djent touch, and even if that genre is part of what characterizes our music, it’s never as apparent as within “Out Of Plato’s Cave”. I know it’s Karim’s (our singer) favorite track. In my opinion though, since I perceive the album as a journey, I cannot really pinpoint a favorite song. Everything works along everything else. It would be like saying that my favorite Lord of the Rings movie is “Return of the King”… it’s a story-based trilogy, so the last one cannot exist without the others. It’s the same with Diama in my opinion.
I realize that your music is quite chatty! Even if you aren’t categorized within the post-rock/post-metal genres, I felt some influences (which might me entirely subjectives). And it surprised me, because said genres are often fully instrumental. How do you write great lyrics when instruments are already so prevalent and imposing? For us, instruments should suffice to enjoy our music. Each of them needs to have a very specific place, a specific role. Each element needs to blend smoothly. So our voices have an equal part in that balance as well, and it works that way for all of our songs. I got a little anecdote about it : when I wrote Diamond Shape, I took the instrumental parts and based our vocals on our verses, knowing full-well what would happen next. When I showed everything to Karim, there were no vocals yet for the most crucial aspect of the song: the bridge. He told me it wouldn’t be necessary, as it was already rich and deep enough. I told him that we should have some vocals still… And when he heard the lyrics coursing through the bridge, he was deeply impressed! Obviously, we always need to strive for balance… But I’d like to quote my dear Karim on that one : “There’s never enough sauce in a good dish!”
“Slave To The Void” was another surprise. Yet again a mysterious name, for a song that’s super impactful and strong, up until it goes back to a more ethereal feel for the bridge and finale. I think my “post-rock” impression came from that one ! And that’s without mentioning the djent touch you mentioned earlier… What can you tell us about that song? "Slave To The Void""was OUR track to let the 90s come back. It starts off directly, as we wanted vocals to appear from the very first second. We then pondered the quite peculiar harmonies of that era, Mike Patton style. The beginning of the track is quite rich as a result, before reaching towards balance as it goes along. The ending is indeed more pure and “floaty”. I can’t tell you that everything works in a pure mathematical fashion… it’s more of a feeling really. “We talked enough… Let’s walk a little!”
Is there any track you’re super proud of? One track that you’d like to put into the spotlight, or maybe one that’s super fun to play? As I’ve said, I know that Karim likes “Out Of Plato’s Cave” a lot. For Bruno, our bass player, he loves “Slave To The Void”. And for Laurent, our drummer, he spoke to me about “Shen” lately. I would highlight that one as well. This track symbolizes a lot about myself, and many things I don’t explore elsewhere in the album.
I’ll come back to a few other tracks I really dig. “Crimson Stains” seems to be the angriest track of the album! With vocals which are screamed, even growled! Would you say it’s your “break stuff” song? Your “moshpit” track? For that one, I really didn’t feel that ethereal vibe… it’s pure aggression ! I wanted something a little more punk. You know, I really dig “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden, so I wanted to go down a similar path. Of course, it became very different as the song came alive, as I really hate the idea of following a single, “easy” path. But yes indeed: “Crimson” is a great catalyst! When we’re playing live, we tend to put it at the end of our setlist. Just so we can goof around just before saying goodbye (laughs).
Sorry to say so about a cover out of all things… but “Hard Sun” is maybe my favorite of them all. At least, it’s a brilliant way to end the album ! We obviously feel those grungy vibes from Eddie Vedder’s version, with that far-away voice, almost spoken instead of sung. It has a bittersweet, poetic feel, in my opinion. I love it ! But why did you choose that track in particular? How did you make it your own? No problem with the fact that Hard Sun might be the favorite of a bunch of people! The very first version from Gordo Peterson is already a classic. And Eddie Vedder made it something just as amazing when he sung it for “Into The Wild”’s original soundtrack. Diama was made during a very peculiar time of our lives. Notably for Karim and I. We were in a time of changes, in addition to Covid of course. We went through many feelings and emotions. It was positive as much as it was painful. “Into The Wild” represents fairly well how we felt back then. We were lost, but we also needed adventures and freedom. I was hiking by myself one day, and it was during that time that I thought about this cover. I proposed it to my bandmates, and they agreed straight up. It was produced in a few days. It had never been as easy to put my feelings into a song before. Karim went to sing, without thinking much. He sung with his emotions, his pain as well as his joy. It worked immediately. We had our last song.
Alright, last question about specific songs… The bonus track called “Fainted Core” stands out because it doesn’t feel like a mere bonus! It isn’t “just” an acoustic version of Diama’s tracks, it feels like a real, eleventh song. It’s almost an epilogue, the real “ending after the ending”. I imagine that it’s status as a “bonus” stem from the fact it was part of your previous EP… But it really does feel at home for Diama. Do you plan to release more acoustic songs later on?The acoustic version of “Fainted Core” dates back to 2021. Indeed, it was part of our first EP, and was “electric” back then. At the end of the lockdown, we wanted a simple phone video where Karim and I would be playing an acoustic version of our song. In the end, the idea bloomed into something bigger, and we decided to do it with everyone on board. We even thought of a music video, with Geoffrey Mindrider to direct. That’s how we got ourselves known; it got great feedback. We were a bit worried that people would think of us as a folk-rock band ! It was a great experience, and I believe there’s a huge chance we’ll write more acoustic tracks in the future.
As a transition, I want to pinpoint some contrasts between more dreamlike and melodic songs like “Shen” or “Hard Sun” and some explosive tracks like “Crimson Stains” or “Deaf and Blind”. Although we often end up having a bit of both within every song… slowly developing a link between all tracks. Like a trip, made of arduous obstacles and more relaxing stops! How do you come up with such balance within a single album? Was the creative process very smooth, or on the contrary: did you need to rework or remove some songs to achieve that balance? Balance, for us, for me, is a religion. In a sound, a riff, a verse, a chorus, a song, between a song and another… and obviously, within a whole album. That’s because our album’s composition had “balance” as a keyword, from the very beginning. And it became natural. All the songs on Diama are the only ones that were composed for that opus. They all had a specific role, a specific spot, even before they were fully written ! “I’ll go make the third song of the album, and it’s going to be fast. Then, I’ll write the fourth song, which will be slower. The first one must be a perfect synthesis of our work, and the last should be epic…” Obviously, we won’t always follow the same recipe ! But planning the album ahead seems to be a very good way to make it work.
I quickly spoke about your artwork at the beginning, and I’m always curious to find out about new artists to follow! Who did it? Did you have a specific idea in mind, or did the artist had a blank page to work out through? It's Christophe Dessaigne’s work, AKA Midnight Digital. I already worked with him for the release of my EP “Tom Abrigan And The Shrunken Heads”, which was the predecessor of Sunbeam Overdrive. I absolutely loved the picture he made for that EP, so it felt natural to reach back to him for Diama’s artwork. We simply investigated his portfolio for a picture we would like. Our album wasn’t called “Diama” just yet, and even if our themes of travels and mountains were already drawing near (without us realizing!), it was Bruno who stumbled upon our final choice. He showed the picture to us, and it was love at first sight. It also helped up finish up the album with a clearer view of its universe and thematic.
As I was looking for info about you guys to prepare this interview, I realized that you are rather… discrete! Even your EP seems to be gone from the internet. Do you want Diama to be seen as a new beginning? I suppose that, as you’ve said, the pandemic might have played a role as well… Yes indeed, Diama is a new beginning. As we were thinking about were we wanted to go as a band, we realized it wasn’t very smart to let it rest online, considering we don’t really find ourselves in those first tracks anymore. Diama has the sound we want to be known for, that’s how we truly want to start our journey. We worked a lot for it, and we made sure to include stuff we would remain proud of for our entire lives. Everything that came prior wasn’t really complete, or even understood… and this includes our own crew! We didn’t really know what we were doing, and I think we can hear it.
Lastly, a first album is always a tricky endeavor. It’s usually when you start showing your talents to the world, what you’re made of! So, what’s the plan for the coming weeks or months? Some touring? More music? Did the album’s release help you get new fans (or find back older ones) ? We want to go on tour for sure. We also need to expand our team to do so. Naturally, you guys can expect songs a bit more frequently now! We took time to release Diama, but we promised ourselves that once that first album would be released, we’d keep a higher workflow within the band. You can expect some new stuff yearly, at last for a little while. More and more people are getting in touch with Sunbeam Overdrive and finds themselves in our music. So we’re going to create our own little community to share more and more together… From live shows to new releases!
Thanks for your time, guys! Take care, good luck with your future, and let’s hopefully meet IRL sometimes soon! Thanks to you and Cult Of Metal for the support!