The Galibots were the children of poor families who had to work in the mines for apittance. Where does the name choice come from? And what sparked your fascination with that period?
Absolutely, we chose this name with the idea that we are children of Northern France. Even if we don’t have the hard-working lives of those children sent to the mines at a young age, we are descendants of this regional history. The mining atmosphere is part of our daily lives,as all three of us come from the Wallers-Arenberg, a city that wears the stigmatas of this era.
Sharing this heritage was important to us, coupled with our shared passion for black metal. We believe this musical genre is particularly effective at conveying the cold, fear, and misery experienced during that era. Black metal also combines brutality, nostalgia, and emotion, particularly through melodic riffs combined with a rhythm that can be industrial.
In 2022, you released your first demo, Wallers-Arenberg. How was the response to this release at the time?
The feedback on Wallers-Arenberg has been numerous and positive. We didn’t imagine this since the demo was recorded in my room on a simple Line-6 card with rudimentary means.I think that beyond the music, people were sensitive to the concept and the message that we were conveying.Why we quickly wanted to move to the next level, that is to say, record in a professional studio with someone who could have a perspective on our sounds and our music.
Northern France has endured hardships throughout the centuries, something you have brilliantly translated into music on your new album. Are the traces and scars of wars and exploitation still very present in your region?
Writing these lines I can see the “Chevalet” by my window, those metal structures which overlook the sky. They were used to lower miners at high speed into the depths of the earth. I’m leaving my house. You can find “terrils” on the way, these artificial mountains created from unwanted materials. The north of France is punctuated by all these abandoned industrial area, but also artificially modified landscapes where nature tries to reclaim its rights.
You released Euch’Mau Noir independently. Was there any interest from labels for your release? How have CD sales been?
Our album was never intended to be a live experience but to remain a studio thing.That’s why after completing the recording we decided to offer it online. The band had no ambition or pretension other than to make music that we liked.But it was when we started getting feedback that we thought it would be interesting to offer a physical version of our music but also a live experience. Needless to say, finding a label was not a priority.However, we have been contacted by several labels and with the new ambitions of the band, we will have to resolve to find a good label that fits us.
Almost every review I’ve read about your album has been highly positive. What was the overall reaction to the album?
It would be pretentious of us to say that all our reviews are positive.For example, improvements to be made in the mixing or perhaps finding slightly slower tempos sometimes.But it’s true that the album was very well received and generated a certain amount of enthusiasm.That’s all you can hope for when producing music ; To experience strong feelings and intense thoughts.
How is the scene in Northern France?
The scene in the north of France is very prolific, particularly in alternative music and extrememetal subgenres with many bands that present an authentic approach; SUP, Nornes, Queenares, Korsakov or Sinistre Rose. But it is also a region with very special musical events ; In Theatrum Denonium (within a theater), Tyrant Fest within an old mining building, Rock In Bourlon within a traditional northern city…
It seems that more industrialized regions often have a stronger connection to extreme music—does this hold true for your area as well?
This is an interesting thought that deserves to be explored further. When you look at American history, for example, with industrial post-war towns like Detroit , we do notice an emergence of musical styles and artists. I think there is probably something like that in the north of France.I think this will be an interesting sociological case study.
Galibot just debuted as a live band, how did the gig go and how where the reactions?
We performed our first live performance in the city of Cambrai. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the room was full and that the audience was here. We received a lot of feedback after our performance and it was quite positive, which encouraged us to push the live experience even further on the stage, and anywhere in France and Europe
What are your plans now? Are there any labels interested in your next release, or do you prefer to keep full control yourselves?
We now need to promote the album on stage through various concerts and then have the support of a label to be able to start composing the next Galibot.
Any last words for our readers?
Continue being curious about music and going to listen to the little obscure projects on bandcamp and in record stores. There are always musical nuggets where we least expect them.
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