English version : Bastonne! meets Blackrain: a deep dive into “Orphans of the Light”

- Swan: Yes, I’m doing great! Lots of interviews ; it keeps me busy!

 You’re still living in Sweden?
- Yes, absolutely. I’ve been living here for ten years now, and I don’t plan on coming back!

We’re here to talk about Blackrain’s eighth studio album, “Orphans of the Light”, after already twenty years of career! Bastonne! absolutely loved it. It opens with “Dreams” like the soundtrack of a film.
- That’s very kind of you, and it really makes me happy to hear such compliments. I won’t lie, “Dreams” is the favorite song of all four band members! So I guess we’ve written a pretty good song. It’s also the track for the video we’re releasing on January 16; we’re really looking forward to it! We can’t wait to unveil it to the fans, and to those who will discover us. It’s a song that’s different from what we’ve been used to doing in the past… For us, it will be a surprise to see people’s reactions. So far, judging from the feedback we’ve had during interviews, it’s the track everyone agrees on.

 I’m not surprised, and at the same time it’s quite flattering ; it proves that our ears aren’t completely off!
- (Laughs) Well, you know, you never know! It often happens to us that we release singles we’ve chosen because we love them, and in the end they’re not the ones people prefer!

For me, this track has everything in it! It’s a Proustian madeleine, taking us back to the 1980s, when we had Guns in their golden era, pure hard rock, with guitar solos, bridges, breaks. It’s fascinating! It makes you dream, like the storyline of a film… You could almost get stuck on that opening track !

- If we’d had a bigger budget, we would have made a Guns N’ Roses-style video, something like November Rain. But we’re neither in America nor in the 1980s, so we can’t afford that. Still, we managed to make a really beautiful video! It will be released on January 16, and I think people will enjoy watching it and listening to it. It’s true that the structure is different from what we’re used to doing. We didn’t set ourselves any limits; we really built a song with a fairly unique dynamic, which indeed, as you pointed out, recalls the 1980s, or even the 1970s. I often refer to Meat Loaf or Queen, among others…

 It’s not the only track that takes us on such a journey and brings back other references. When listening to “Unleash the Fury”, I clearly hear AC/DC right from the opening. Do certain riffs still spontaneously connect you to the energy of those great classics?
- Ah, that’s surprising! Personally, I would have referred to the AC/DC style on “Crack the Sky.” With “Unleash the Fury”, my idea was to do something like an 80s movie soundtrack, and I wasn’t thinking about them at all when I wrote that song ; but those are references that are always a pleasure to hear!

 As the album unfolds, we discover many fascinating elements… One can imagine that the “BlackRain touch” has evolved with the fairly recent arrival of Jerem G and Franky (ex-Dagoba), especially in the way you work?
- Yes, it’s quite recent. For Franky, it’s even the first album he’s been involved in 100%. We really have the pleasure of having 100% Franky Costanza on this record.

On the other hand, Jerem joined during the process, so his solos and ideas aren’t on every song. He contributed to about half of the album. But that’s not an issue, because we’re also very happy to have Max 2’s final solos on this record,  especially on “Dreams,” which we mentioned earlier, and which contains the very last guitar solo he recorded with us. The next album, however, will be written 100% by the current line-up.

What’s interesting, when listening to the album as a whole, is that the drums and the guitar don’t clash; they play alongside each other, which creates a really nice balance overall.

 When we reach track 5, “Méandres de l’Instinct”, we’re surprised to hear the chorus in French! Don’t you miss expressing yourselves in your own language at all?
- No, not at all. Let’s say we’d had the idea for a few years of doing a song in French, or partially in French… but within the Blackrain style, meaning a very 1980s hard rock DNA. Singing in French is complicated. Not every song lends itself to it, and it can quickly fall into a Sortilège, Manigance or ADX kind of register, those cult bands from the 1980s. Even though we love those bands, that’s not what we’re looking for with Blackrain. It’s not our musical identity. French is a very difficult language to handle intelligently. So it took us time to find the right song, the right melody, and above all lyrics that wouldn’t sound “silly.” I found the exercise quite difficult, and that’s why it took us many years to make it happen. This time, we felt that all the conditions were finally there, so we gave it a try,  and we’re quite satisfied with the result! Surprisingly, fans seem to be very positive about this track. And it was my intention that the song wouldn’t be entirely in French. We mustn’t forget that we have a fanbase spread all over the world, and I don’t want to disrupt our international fans!

 When you say you’re afraid French lyrics might sound a bit “silly,” is it also because, for you, the meaning of words is essential? Yet one could argue the opposite: when translating from English to French, the result isn’t always successful either.
- That’s exactly why I say that. They are two different languages that don’t translate literally. French has more nuances, and therefore often a deeper meaning. It requires much more work to handle the text properly, whereas we think and write our lyrics directly in English.

 You’re also running a rather original promotional strategy for this album: since June, you’ve been releasing a new track every month, each one systematically accompanied by a music video. We’re already at the eighth single, with “Dreams,” on an album that contains fourteen tracks. Why this strategy? Is it difficult nowadays to release a full album straight away?

Absolutely! That’s exactly the reason. Releasing singles isn’t new for us ; we’ve always done it, even if back then we talked more about 45s.
What’s new is that we’ve done it for seven tracks here, which is huge, especially since each one comes with a video! We do it to adapt to the way people consume music today, especially through streaming platforms, which have made this possible. The downside is that people pay less attention to the music, or spend less time listening to it. They focus on the first track, the second one, and then move on. There aren’t many people left who listen to an album from start to finish, and for us, that would be like throwing away half of our album. So with a new single every month, people stay attentive and we remain visible.

 At the same time, it’s very productive — and brave — to release an album with so many tracks! As “Mouss” from Mass Hysteria once said: “It’s better to release two sets of seven tracks than an album with 12 or 13 songs that people will skip halfway through” (which is what they did with Part I and Part II).
- (Laughs) Yes, it’s the same reasoning. I also consider myself lucky to have experienced the pre-internet era, going to record stores, waiting for release day to buy my vinyl or cassette with my pocket money. It was a time when you really took the time to devour everything. I miss that era a bit, the time when people truly listened to music.

You clearly have things to say. What themes and emotions guide your creative process?
- They’re always our main themes, rooted in our personal lives and in the society we live in; sometimes they’re anecdotes connected to cinema. With Blackrain, we’re very influenced by David Lynch ; he’s one of our references. I’m a huge fan of Twin Peaks; I can’t get away from that series… It transcends our music.

Twenty years of career, to remind everyone, eight studio albums, and lyrics that are increasingly direct and sharp. How do you make use of this musical maturity?
- That maturity affects our self-criticism. We’re demanding, going over everything point by point, changing anything that can be improved. We do that with everything: our individual performances, recording, songwriting… We’re constantly searching for the perfect melody, the one that will move the most people and give us emotions. We’re always in that search.

 But when you compose, do you think about yourselves first, or about the audience?
- First and foremost, about what moves us personally. When I find a melody and try to build a song around it, it’s because it touches me. Then there are certain songs that are thought out specifically for the stage. We always think about which songs will really come alive live, like “Crack the Sky.”

 I hope I’ll get to see “Dreams” live!
- That’s planned!

 The artist persona “Swan” that you’ve created ; was that a necessity, and does it bring added value to Blackrain?
- That’s a rather difficult question. I’m the band’s main songwriter; without me, there wouldn’t be “Dreams,” for example. As you said, Blackrain is a band with twenty years of career, and if we’ve lasted this long, it’s because we’ve found a balance and everyone has found their place within the group. At their own level, everyone contributes to making the whole thing work. My role, since I’m the root of the band, is to create the melodies ; the ones around which we develop the whole process to end up with a song.

 On stage, you go from an explosive Blackrain to a more immersive Swan. How do you manage the transition between the two?
- On stage, I have obligations. If it were up to me, I’d be jumping from left to right across the stage the whole time! But I can’t, because Blackrain’s vocals are too intense and don’t allow me to run around everywhere. I need to maintain a certain level of focus from the beginning to the end of the show. So on stage, I don’t really do what I’d like to do! Physically, I have to pace myself and manage all that.

One could say you’re not athletic enough?

- That’s a reason I won’t deny (laughs), but I just don’t have the time in my life to go to the gym. Between music and family… But I admit it, that’s on me.

You’re honest! At this point, are you actually able to make a living from your music?
- No, not at all! We all have jobs on the side. Franky and Jerem work in music, and for Matt and myself, that’s not something we’re interested in ; being professional intermittent performers. We earn a bit of money, but it’s reinvested into the band’s projects. That’s what allows the band to grow.

So you couldn’t really express yourself without what you do alongside the band?
Swan: I can’t imagine living a life without that creative outlet that music gives me ; and that I also find in my daily work: tattooing. I also do a bit of painting, and that’s another place where I express creativity. But creating melodies is something very special, and very addictive! I can’t imagine doing without it; sometimes it’s an obsession.

 You mentioned painting, are you involved in creating the album artworks?
- Technically, I don’t have the required level to create album cover visuals; I’m not good enough for that. I sometimes handle simpler artworks, especially for certain Blackrain singles. But for more complex things, skeletons, detailed scenes, and so on ; that’s handled by an Indonesian artist. Clearly, that’s not my field.

 After twenty years on stage, is it still just as enjoyable to meet your audience, whatever the venue or festival?
- We’ve always loved fooling around on stage! We genuinely look forward to those kinds of shows. For Le Trianon in Paris, I won’t lie ; it’s bigger than us: the real challenge is filling a venue like that. I sincerely hope people will show up. We’ll be sharing the stage with Overdrivers, and we want to make it a truly special show.

The issue in Paris is that we’re often very limited technically, because of increasingly strict regulations. This time, it will be the first time in several years that we’ll be able to present a show exactly the way we want, with everything we want to put on stage. As for Hellfest, it will be our second appearance, and we’re very happy to be playing on Mainstage 2, right before iconic bands like Iron Maiden, Helloween, or legendary acts like Sortilège and Ultra Vomit. We’re proud, and we’ll do everything we can to live up to this incredible festival. We’re also preparing quite a few surprises, both live and in terms of projects, for 2026. The stage has always been essential for Blackrain: with the means we have, we always try to offer something strong, sincere, and as spectacular as possible.

 Bastonne! was there in June 2024 at Le Bikini in Toulouse for your concert ; we even published a report on our site. And we wanted to tell you that “Orphans of the Light” is an album that really gives you energy; we had an incredible time listening to it and can’t wait to experience it live! It’s a great success, a fascinating record. We wish you a lot of success with it, both with the album and on stage.
-Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me. And regarding the live aspect, releasing singles early also allowed us to work on and test the songs in concert. So far, everything we’ve tried has worked really well. At this point, this album is a real success on stage!

 And speaking of live shows, how important is the visual and staging aspect ; the way you present yourselves to the audience?
- With Blackrain, we’ve always tried not to look like the guy next door on stage! We make an effort so that the audience comes to see a real show, not just another rock concert. We work with excellent sound and lighting engineers, and we try to add elements on stage that elevate the performance. We’re very attentive to that, yes.

 This is where we’ll conclude our conversation, Swan. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer Bastonne!’s questions! We wish this eighth album, “Orphans of the Light,” the success it deserves. We can’t wait to discover the final “Dreams” music video on January 16!
- Thank you ! and hopefully see you soon in the Toulon area!
 It’ll be the Southwest for us!