20/07/2020

10 Questions with… Super Besse

With our interview series »10 Questions With…,« we would like to introduce you to a number of bands and artists from this year’s Pop-Kultur programme who definitely deserve a place in your playlists and hearts. After SADO OPERA, MADANII & LLUCID, Mueran Humanos and Eat Lipstick, it’s now the turn of Super Besse.

  1. How did you get to know each other and how was Super Besse started?

Alex and I played in another band together, we got bored so he proposed to practice something new. We asked one our friend to join and play keys. And on first practice we created two songs, it was very fast and smooth so we created a band.

  1. You named your band after a famous winter sports resort in France. Why?

Alex watches Tour de France and other racing tournaments, so he knew this resort because it was a Tour de France stop. Also in Russian it sounds like »Super Demons,« which is funny, so we decided to take it.

  1. After your debut album »63610« took its title from Super Besse’s zip code, the following two records bear French titles. Where does this affinity for the French language come from?

We were inspired by a lot of French electronic and wave music as well as post-punk, so we decided to continue this line. We love France, what can we say!




  1. Despite using French titles, you write your lyrics in Russian. What role does using this language play in your work?

A pretty huge one, actually. We started to use Russian at our first rehearsal because English was too soft for the post-punk music that we wanted to hear. And we didn’t know French enough. So Russian was actually the only choice and it’s much easier for us to create something that is emotionally moving.

  1. »Un Rêve,« your most recent album, is more dancefloor-oriented than its predecessors. What inspired the LP?

We started working on the new album around two years ago. We created several drafts, but we were making something that we had already done, recreating the classic »Super Besse sound« from the two previous albums. But we were actually bored with this. We wanted something fresh. Besides that, we got more deeply into electronic music and techno. So we decided to combine our brand of post-punk with techno beats. It was really fun to work on the songs for »Un Rêve,« we created more songs than ended up on the LP, and picked each song according to the theme of the album – »A Dream.«

  1. Even though you work as a duo, your music brings together traditional rock instruments with electronic equipment. What gear is most important in your work?

We used analogue synths and drum machines, even on stage when playing live. But it was way too difficult to work with them live, so we switched to a backing track. Our last album we recorded with plug-ins and a MIDI keyboard as well as the pre-recorded sounds of the Roland TR-606 drum machine. And guitars, of course.




  1. From the very beginning, your music videos have played with the viewers’ expectations: »Mne Vse Odno« for example showed the band doing absolutely nothing throughout the song. What’s important for you when working on music videos?

Our main goal is to have fun. If weren’t not enjoying the process of making songs or videos or touring, we would just stop and have no regrets about it. We recorded »Mne Vse Odno« (»I Don’t Care«) by ourselves in our practice space. We decided that it would be just funny and we did it without long thinking too much about it.

  1. Also, what’s the deal with you strictly posting upside down pictures on your social media channels?

That was another thing we did for fun. It’s quite boring to post regular pictures, so we are doing it always upside down. This way, the viewers see that it’s our stuff immediately.

  1. You will perform live for your contribution to Pop-Kultur – but from two different countries! How did you prepare for such a gig?

We recorded Alex and his parts in Minsk and afterwards sent the video to our friend, the artist Daria Sazanovich, who created a dreamy glitch effect. Then we projected the video on me in Berlin, so this is a super digital performance. Quite unique for us and a special gig experience!

  1. What do you wish for the future of this world?

Less violence. More love.
Super Besse
Super Besse

With our interview series »10 Questions With…,« we would like to introduce you to a number of bands and artists from this year’s Pop-Kultur programme who definitely deserve a place in your playlists and hearts. After SADO OPERA, MADANII & LLUCID, Mueran Humanos and Eat Lipstick, it’s now the turn of Super Besse.

  1. How did you get to know each other and how was Super Besse started?

Alex and I played in another band together, we got bored so he proposed to practice something new. We asked one our friend to join and play keys. And on first practice we created two songs, it was very fast and smooth so we created a band.

  1. You named your band after a famous winter sports resort in France. Why?

Alex watches Tour de France and other racing tournaments, so he knew this resort because it was a Tour de France stop. Also in Russian it sounds like »Super Demons,« which is funny, so we decided to take it.

  1. After your debut album »63610« took its title from Super Besse’s zip code, the following two records bear French titles. Where does this affinity for the French language come from?

We were inspired by a lot of French electronic and wave music as well as post-punk, so we decided to continue this line. We love France, what can we say!




  1. Despite using French titles, you write your lyrics in Russian. What role does using this language play in your work?

A pretty huge one, actually. We started to use Russian at our first rehearsal because English was too soft for the post-punk music that we wanted to hear. And we didn’t know French enough. So Russian was actually the only choice and it’s much easier for us to create something that is emotionally moving.

  1. »Un Rêve,« your most recent album, is more dancefloor-oriented than its predecessors. What inspired the LP?

We started working on the new album around two years ago. We created several drafts, but we were making something that we had already done, recreating the classic »Super Besse sound« from the two previous albums. But we were actually bored with this. We wanted something fresh. Besides that, we got more deeply into electronic music and techno. So we decided to combine our brand of post-punk with techno beats. It was really fun to work on the songs for »Un Rêve,« we created more songs than ended up on the LP, and picked each song according to the theme of the album – »A Dream.«

  1. Even though you work as a duo, your music brings together traditional rock instruments with electronic equipment. What gear is most important in your work?

We used analogue synths and drum machines, even on stage when playing live. But it was way too difficult to work with them live, so we switched to a backing track. Our last album we recorded with plug-ins and a MIDI keyboard as well as the pre-recorded sounds of the Roland TR-606 drum machine. And guitars, of course.




  1. From the very beginning, your music videos have played with the viewers’ expectations: »Mne Vse Odno« for example showed the band doing absolutely nothing throughout the song. What’s important for you when working on music videos?

Our main goal is to have fun. If weren’t not enjoying the process of making songs or videos or touring, we would just stop and have no regrets about it. We recorded »Mne Vse Odno« (»I Don’t Care«) by ourselves in our practice space. We decided that it would be just funny and we did it without long thinking too much about it.

  1. Also, what’s the deal with you strictly posting upside down pictures on your social media channels?

That was another thing we did for fun. It’s quite boring to post regular pictures, so we are doing it always upside down. This way, the viewers see that it’s our stuff immediately.

  1. You will perform live for your contribution to Pop-Kultur – but from two different countries! How did you prepare for such a gig?

We recorded Alex and his parts in Minsk and afterwards sent the video to our friend, the artist Daria Sazanovich, who created a dreamy glitch effect. Then we projected the video on me in Berlin, so this is a super digital performance. Quite unique for us and a special gig experience!

  1. What do you wish for the future of this world?

Less violence. More love.