6:33 are a very interesting French band that borders on the avant-garde really mixes everything under the sun, in an eclectic and explosive way, that’s however highly melodious and ordered at the same time. Their music blend is quite peculiar, but rather irresistible, like the finest tea, with some LSD drops thrown in for good measure, giving you the funkiest trip you ever thought possible on a concept album about the 7 deadly sins. Just about the entire band of these masked sonic aesthetes, joins into answering Grande Rock’s questions... read on and be amazed!
Hey guys… Please give us a bit of a brief story of the band…
Nicko: In 2010, we decided to create a side-project next to our other bands where we could enjoy playing songs with no musical boundaries. We quickly released a first album, “Orphan of Good Manners”, which set the basics of what 6:33 will become. After the departure of the former singer, we contacted Arno Strobl (Carnival in Coal) to collaborate for a free downloadable EP (whilst looking for its new official singer), 6:33 & Arno Strobl’s “Giggles, Garlands & Gallows” (released in 2012) which pushed the band to a whole new level. Both Arno & 6:33 decided the adventure couldn’t end that way and so we wrote and recorded a few more songs to complete the EP and release a proper full-length album together, which happens with “The Stench From The Swelling (a true story)”, in 2013. Our third album, “The Deadly Scenes” marks the end of our collaboration with Arno Strobl, and the first of a new era with Rorschach, our new singer.
6:33, is as weird a name for a band as any? How did you come to choose it? Does it signify something?
Howahkan: Some whisper that it refers to the verse of the gospel of Matthew (“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you”). Some others think this may be some obscure numerology mindfuck. Others simply tell the band was created at 6:33 AM after a very long night. Who knows?!
“Deadly Scenes”, sounds very close to “Deadly Sins”, is that a word play intentional, I mean the cover also has a quite twisted vibe and there’s a bizarre slightly sinister quality in almost all of the songs, even the gleeful moments, sound kinda perverse...
Rorschach: Yes it’s an intentional word play. Actually “Deadly Scenes” is a concept album written like a sarcastic (freaky) theatre piece. It deals with the Seven Deadly Sins, one song (that we call “act”) per sin, plus a prologue and an epilogue. There’s a big second degree sense of humor on the lyrics of this album.
I understand that while you were doing this album with vocalist Arno Strobl (on loan from Carnival In Coal) you were looking for a steady vocalist and now you have found a permanent member in Rorschach, who’s also on it? Will that change introduce any major changes in your music?
Nikco: There’s a little misunderstanding here and it’s normal because the story is quite complicated (laughs). Arno Strobl was featured on our previous album “The Stench from the Swelling”, and while the recording of it we found Rorschach, who wrote “Burn-in” and a part of “M.I.D.G.E.T.S” on that album. On “Deadly Scenes” Rorschach is the only frontman, Arno is not on it. In order to answer the other part of your question I would say that the changing has been on the fact that with Arno, 6:33 wrote the whole music and Arno the lyrics all from apart, and with Rorschach we worked and developed the thing the 3 of us together.
Which are your influences?
Rorschach: They come from all the different kinds of music we all listen to, from Mickael Jackson to Devin Townsend, through Mike Patton, Toto, Dillinger escape plan, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Franck Zappa, Queen… there’s too many!
How do you come up with your songs? Do you come up with a concept, patch of lyrics and try to write the music around them, or do you jam and try to fit lyrics to the music?
Howahkan: Due to the huge amount of electronic elements, our music is unfortunately quite “unjamable”. It is written in a way that leaves almost nothing for interpretation. For “Deadly Scenes”, our first goal was to find a global concept. The music came up after that, with that idea of “one song / one sin” kept in mind, and the lyrics were the last element to be taken care of.
Do tell us a couple of things about each track…
Rorschach: “Hellalujah”: This track introduces the whole concept of the album. It talks about belief, religions and the reasons why the human kind tends to believe in God.
“Ego Fandango”: This second act is inspired by the movie “American Psycho”. It tells the story of a guy who feels very proud of what he is (maybe a bit too much?), and so he considers everyone miserable compared to him. He thinks half of the people of the world don’t even deserve to exist, and no one is good enough to earn his respect or consideration.
“The Walking Fed”: There we have someone who decides to say “fuck off” to the word “diet” and to the physical and social codes of our society, a person who just wishes to enjoy what the world can provide as “pleasures of the table” without any limits... This is the only track created with the percussions first and not the music, that’s why it sounds a bit tribal.
“I’m a Nerd”: This one is a tribute to the geek who lives inside (quite all) of us. It is about a guy who suffers from a serious double personality syndrome, and who had a hard childhood coz he was a nerd and his school friends’ scapegoat. Today wrath has become the engine of his life, and revenge is his only plan. But the animal voice inside of him reclaims physical violence, while the other one pushes for a different way of destruction, by using the “nerd special technique”...
“Modus Operandi”: This fifth act shows us a brothel boss who believes she has been sent on Earth by God to punish those who are guilty of lust. She organizes huge and depraved orgies in her “Maison de le Plaisir”, pushing people to the dark side of lechery... But when comes the time, when all the guests are empty (or full) and asleep, then she applies her dirty punishment... We used a choir on this one like on Hellalujah, this is the most theatrical track.
“Black Widow”: The title says, here is the story of “Cyco Psylo” the black widow, a girl only leaded by Envy. She always gets what she wants (and she always wants more), using not only her charming weapons but also death to reach her goals. But why is she so mean?... Because!
“Last Bullet for a Gold Rattle”: Here there is almost no lyrics coz the music tells the story by itself. It is about someone who is so selfish and greedy that he has no one around him. But one night, while he’s taking a walk on the beach, he finds a guitar next to a fire, and starts to play. Soon after he suddenly hears other instruments joining him, one after another, and so he realizes that he’s not alone anymore... Then a voice comes to his head (saying the only sentence of this song), and without warning everything stops. It was only a dream... (or was it a nightmare?)…
“Lazy Boy”: The first character here is a so lazy that he totally wastes his chances to get a life... The second one, someone who still cares for this loser (a father, a girlfriend...) is trying to make him react, as a last shot to save him... But the thing is: does he want to be saved?...
“Deadly Scenes”: This three-scenes-act which closes the album talks about the concept of free will, with a focus on the battle between the good and the evil parts of our conscience. In each scene, the central character is about to make an important decision, with consequences on his (or her) entire life. Actually, each story is about the fight between each part of his (or her) conscience trying to convince him (or her) to follow its suggestions. The last scene is the prequel of the EP “G.G.G.” (that you can also find on the previous album “The Stench from the Swelling”) explaining what happened between the bearded woman and the dwarf before “G.G.G.”’s tracks “Order of the Red Nose” and “M.I.D.G.E.T.S.”.
Your album comes out of a traditionally “Black Metal” company, how come?
Howahkan: Well, Kaotoxin Records are known for extreme metal generally speaking, not only black metal... But I guess your question stays relevant! (laughs) Kaotoxin are trying to open their musical borders these days, and I think they are now looking for artists they found musically challenging and interesting, whether they are “extreme” or not. I really like their philosophy and seriously think a lot of record companies should try to think this way: working as music lovers looking for something special, not as salary men checking how many Facebook fans you have before listening just a minute of your album!
What’s with the masks (concealing several of the members’ faces)?
Rorschach: It is like kabuki and ancient Greek theatre, we put masks to play our roles on stage, and then when the show’s over we take them off. Personally I feel like Bruce Wayne taking his Batman costume, we play weird superhero games for 30 years old twisted children! (laughs). We don’t hide behind them; we just have fun using them.
Have you ever thought, to record/remix, some of your songs in a completely different style?
Howahkan: We haven’t, and I think this would not be us. We do mix different styles in our songs, but in a way that is (at least for us!) coherent, fluid, natural. Re-record some of our songs in, let’s say, Bossa Nova, would be too much of an exercise of style, and quite the opposite of what 6:33 tries to do.
Does 6:33 perform live often? Is it easy to replicate the relative “craziness” of the albums live?
Rorschach: We play as often as we can; this is the funniest part of the job! It is not very hard for us to replicate the “craziness” of our music coz we have a weird visual and we make funny things on stage, we have fun playing together and the public feels it. But it’s a lot of work to replicate the complexity of our music to make it as efficient on stage as on the albums.
How would you define your music style? Do you follow any kind of principles or is it about the mood and the inspiration you have at the certain moment?
Rorschach: It’s difficult to answer because it’s like a cinema soundtrack it’s very visual. I would call it fusion in the whole sense of this term, even if today this name sounds reducing. We put everything we want in our music without any limits, as soon as it sounds natural to us. Our 3 albums are quite different because they reflect how we were at these different periods of our lives emotionally speaking.
What are your immediate plans?
Rorschach: We spent a lot of time in a studio, so now we want to play on stage for at least the next two years.
Weird Questions!!! What would you do if you were gods for a week?
Rorschach: I can’t answer this question seriously cuz I’ve got my own representation of God and it doesn’t fit with this kind of question. So I’ll say that I would give all living forms the power to communicate all together, so they can try to find a way to save what’s left of the world. And I would kill Justin Bieber (laughs)… (i.n.: Hehehe)
Best 3 prog rock/metal albums of all time?
Nikco: Hard question! “Dark Side of the Moon” by the Pink Floyd, “A Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” by Genesis & “Fear of the Blank Planet” by Porcupine tree.
Which one of the seven deadly sins describes you the best?
Howahkan: Ahem. Gluttony, of course…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
Rorschach: I’ve been singing in rock bands since I was 15 years old… I never needed any pick-up lines (laughs)…
Is music art? Or it used to be? How can those mainstream hit songs we repeatedly hear on the internet, radio & TV be taken as music art?
Rorschach: For me music is definitely an art, and we can only try to make the best we can to deserve to work on this art. But in each kind of art you have real artists and fakes. I consider tattooing as an art: some tattooists have learned the job and worked for a while before they’re considered as artists, and some others consider themselves artists because it’s cool, before they even learned the subtle art of tattoing. This is about the same in music, people today want to be a star before to be an artist, and I think this word (“artist”) need to be received from the others, not claimed by yourself. And so that leads to those mainstream hit songs that you’re talking about, because it’s easier (and more efficient if you want to earn quick money on a one shot) to make an easy listening shit with naked cheeks dancing on the floor on the video, than to make a real research about what you want to express and where you want to drive the public.
Which is the most overrated band of all time?
Howahkan: I’m not gonna make a lot of friends here but… The Rolling Stones?
Which is that band that has influenced most of the bands & musicians since rock music began…?
Nikco: Not easy to answer that question. I would say the Pink Floyd, because they have taken Rock to a whole new level, not only about the sound but also the composition of the music itself. They showed the world that you could sell millions of albums by doing Prog.
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
Howahkan: I don’t like the fact that quite everyone sounds exactly the same. Same melodies, same riffs, same structures, same production. In metal, or in hip hop for example, this is really obvious. As Trent Reznor wrote: “I am just a copy of a copy of a copy”...
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
Rorschach: It’s part of how it works today, tomorrow there will be something else… We have to get used to every new way of spreading our music. Today a concert’s booking agency watch how many “likes” you have on Facebook before they consider you. So I think it’s better to use this system than to fight against it.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
Howahkan: If I wanted to avoid an alien invasion, I would give them David Guetta’s full discography.
If your other half, sold all your record collections, in order to buy something expensive for them, how would you react?
Nicko: I would kill her, cut her, eat her, sell the organs to make money and get my stuff back!!! (laughs) (i.n.: A brutal but quite effective way to get your stuff back! Hehehe…)
That’s all for now dude! Thx for talking to Grande Rock! Close this interview in your own words. Take care!
Howahkan: Thank you, Grande Rock, and thank you all for reading! Peace.
Nicko: In 2010, we decided to create a side-project next to our other bands where we could enjoy playing songs with no musical boundaries. We quickly released a first album, “Orphan of Good Manners”, which set the basics of what 6:33 will become. After the departure of the former singer, we contacted Arno Strobl (Carnival in Coal) to collaborate for a free downloadable EP (whilst looking for its new official singer), 6:33 & Arno Strobl’s “Giggles, Garlands & Gallows” (released in 2012) which pushed the band to a whole new level. Both Arno & 6:33 decided the adventure couldn’t end that way and so we wrote and recorded a few more songs to complete the EP and release a proper full-length album together, which happens with “The Stench From The Swelling (a true story)”, in 2013. Our third album, “The Deadly Scenes” marks the end of our collaboration with Arno Strobl, and the first of a new era with Rorschach, our new singer.
6:33, is as weird a name for a band as any? How did you come to choose it? Does it signify something?
Howahkan: Some whisper that it refers to the verse of the gospel of Matthew (“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you”). Some others think this may be some obscure numerology mindfuck. Others simply tell the band was created at 6:33 AM after a very long night. Who knows?!
“Deadly Scenes”, sounds very close to “Deadly Sins”, is that a word play intentional, I mean the cover also has a quite twisted vibe and there’s a bizarre slightly sinister quality in almost all of the songs, even the gleeful moments, sound kinda perverse...
Rorschach: Yes it’s an intentional word play. Actually “Deadly Scenes” is a concept album written like a sarcastic (freaky) theatre piece. It deals with the Seven Deadly Sins, one song (that we call “act”) per sin, plus a prologue and an epilogue. There’s a big second degree sense of humor on the lyrics of this album.
I understand that while you were doing this album with vocalist Arno Strobl (on loan from Carnival In Coal) you were looking for a steady vocalist and now you have found a permanent member in Rorschach, who’s also on it? Will that change introduce any major changes in your music?
Nikco: There’s a little misunderstanding here and it’s normal because the story is quite complicated (laughs). Arno Strobl was featured on our previous album “The Stench from the Swelling”, and while the recording of it we found Rorschach, who wrote “Burn-in” and a part of “M.I.D.G.E.T.S” on that album. On “Deadly Scenes” Rorschach is the only frontman, Arno is not on it. In order to answer the other part of your question I would say that the changing has been on the fact that with Arno, 6:33 wrote the whole music and Arno the lyrics all from apart, and with Rorschach we worked and developed the thing the 3 of us together.
Which are your influences?
Rorschach: They come from all the different kinds of music we all listen to, from Mickael Jackson to Devin Townsend, through Mike Patton, Toto, Dillinger escape plan, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Franck Zappa, Queen… there’s too many!
How do you come up with your songs? Do you come up with a concept, patch of lyrics and try to write the music around them, or do you jam and try to fit lyrics to the music?
Howahkan: Due to the huge amount of electronic elements, our music is unfortunately quite “unjamable”. It is written in a way that leaves almost nothing for interpretation. For “Deadly Scenes”, our first goal was to find a global concept. The music came up after that, with that idea of “one song / one sin” kept in mind, and the lyrics were the last element to be taken care of.
Do tell us a couple of things about each track…
Rorschach: “Hellalujah”: This track introduces the whole concept of the album. It talks about belief, religions and the reasons why the human kind tends to believe in God.
“Ego Fandango”: This second act is inspired by the movie “American Psycho”. It tells the story of a guy who feels very proud of what he is (maybe a bit too much?), and so he considers everyone miserable compared to him. He thinks half of the people of the world don’t even deserve to exist, and no one is good enough to earn his respect or consideration.
“The Walking Fed”: There we have someone who decides to say “fuck off” to the word “diet” and to the physical and social codes of our society, a person who just wishes to enjoy what the world can provide as “pleasures of the table” without any limits... This is the only track created with the percussions first and not the music, that’s why it sounds a bit tribal.
“I’m a Nerd”: This one is a tribute to the geek who lives inside (quite all) of us. It is about a guy who suffers from a serious double personality syndrome, and who had a hard childhood coz he was a nerd and his school friends’ scapegoat. Today wrath has become the engine of his life, and revenge is his only plan. But the animal voice inside of him reclaims physical violence, while the other one pushes for a different way of destruction, by using the “nerd special technique”...
“Modus Operandi”: This fifth act shows us a brothel boss who believes she has been sent on Earth by God to punish those who are guilty of lust. She organizes huge and depraved orgies in her “Maison de le Plaisir”, pushing people to the dark side of lechery... But when comes the time, when all the guests are empty (or full) and asleep, then she applies her dirty punishment... We used a choir on this one like on Hellalujah, this is the most theatrical track.
“Black Widow”: The title says, here is the story of “Cyco Psylo” the black widow, a girl only leaded by Envy. She always gets what she wants (and she always wants more), using not only her charming weapons but also death to reach her goals. But why is she so mean?... Because!
“Last Bullet for a Gold Rattle”: Here there is almost no lyrics coz the music tells the story by itself. It is about someone who is so selfish and greedy that he has no one around him. But one night, while he’s taking a walk on the beach, he finds a guitar next to a fire, and starts to play. Soon after he suddenly hears other instruments joining him, one after another, and so he realizes that he’s not alone anymore... Then a voice comes to his head (saying the only sentence of this song), and without warning everything stops. It was only a dream... (or was it a nightmare?)…
“Lazy Boy”: The first character here is a so lazy that he totally wastes his chances to get a life... The second one, someone who still cares for this loser (a father, a girlfriend...) is trying to make him react, as a last shot to save him... But the thing is: does he want to be saved?...
“Deadly Scenes”: This three-scenes-act which closes the album talks about the concept of free will, with a focus on the battle between the good and the evil parts of our conscience. In each scene, the central character is about to make an important decision, with consequences on his (or her) entire life. Actually, each story is about the fight between each part of his (or her) conscience trying to convince him (or her) to follow its suggestions. The last scene is the prequel of the EP “G.G.G.” (that you can also find on the previous album “The Stench from the Swelling”) explaining what happened between the bearded woman and the dwarf before “G.G.G.”’s tracks “Order of the Red Nose” and “M.I.D.G.E.T.S.”.
Your album comes out of a traditionally “Black Metal” company, how come?
Howahkan: Well, Kaotoxin Records are known for extreme metal generally speaking, not only black metal... But I guess your question stays relevant! (laughs) Kaotoxin are trying to open their musical borders these days, and I think they are now looking for artists they found musically challenging and interesting, whether they are “extreme” or not. I really like their philosophy and seriously think a lot of record companies should try to think this way: working as music lovers looking for something special, not as salary men checking how many Facebook fans you have before listening just a minute of your album!
What’s with the masks (concealing several of the members’ faces)?
Rorschach: It is like kabuki and ancient Greek theatre, we put masks to play our roles on stage, and then when the show’s over we take them off. Personally I feel like Bruce Wayne taking his Batman costume, we play weird superhero games for 30 years old twisted children! (laughs). We don’t hide behind them; we just have fun using them.
Have you ever thought, to record/remix, some of your songs in a completely different style?
Howahkan: We haven’t, and I think this would not be us. We do mix different styles in our songs, but in a way that is (at least for us!) coherent, fluid, natural. Re-record some of our songs in, let’s say, Bossa Nova, would be too much of an exercise of style, and quite the opposite of what 6:33 tries to do.
Does 6:33 perform live often? Is it easy to replicate the relative “craziness” of the albums live?
Rorschach: We play as often as we can; this is the funniest part of the job! It is not very hard for us to replicate the “craziness” of our music coz we have a weird visual and we make funny things on stage, we have fun playing together and the public feels it. But it’s a lot of work to replicate the complexity of our music to make it as efficient on stage as on the albums.
How would you define your music style? Do you follow any kind of principles or is it about the mood and the inspiration you have at the certain moment?
Rorschach: It’s difficult to answer because it’s like a cinema soundtrack it’s very visual. I would call it fusion in the whole sense of this term, even if today this name sounds reducing. We put everything we want in our music without any limits, as soon as it sounds natural to us. Our 3 albums are quite different because they reflect how we were at these different periods of our lives emotionally speaking.
What are your immediate plans?
Rorschach: We spent a lot of time in a studio, so now we want to play on stage for at least the next two years.
Weird Questions!!! What would you do if you were gods for a week?
Rorschach: I can’t answer this question seriously cuz I’ve got my own representation of God and it doesn’t fit with this kind of question. So I’ll say that I would give all living forms the power to communicate all together, so they can try to find a way to save what’s left of the world. And I would kill Justin Bieber (laughs)… (i.n.: Hehehe)
Best 3 prog rock/metal albums of all time?
Nikco: Hard question! “Dark Side of the Moon” by the Pink Floyd, “A Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” by Genesis & “Fear of the Blank Planet” by Porcupine tree.
Which one of the seven deadly sins describes you the best?
Howahkan: Ahem. Gluttony, of course…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
Rorschach: I’ve been singing in rock bands since I was 15 years old… I never needed any pick-up lines (laughs)…
Is music art? Or it used to be? How can those mainstream hit songs we repeatedly hear on the internet, radio & TV be taken as music art?
Rorschach: For me music is definitely an art, and we can only try to make the best we can to deserve to work on this art. But in each kind of art you have real artists and fakes. I consider tattooing as an art: some tattooists have learned the job and worked for a while before they’re considered as artists, and some others consider themselves artists because it’s cool, before they even learned the subtle art of tattoing. This is about the same in music, people today want to be a star before to be an artist, and I think this word (“artist”) need to be received from the others, not claimed by yourself. And so that leads to those mainstream hit songs that you’re talking about, because it’s easier (and more efficient if you want to earn quick money on a one shot) to make an easy listening shit with naked cheeks dancing on the floor on the video, than to make a real research about what you want to express and where you want to drive the public.
Which is the most overrated band of all time?
Howahkan: I’m not gonna make a lot of friends here but… The Rolling Stones?
Which is that band that has influenced most of the bands & musicians since rock music began…?
Nikco: Not easy to answer that question. I would say the Pink Floyd, because they have taken Rock to a whole new level, not only about the sound but also the composition of the music itself. They showed the world that you could sell millions of albums by doing Prog.
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
Howahkan: I don’t like the fact that quite everyone sounds exactly the same. Same melodies, same riffs, same structures, same production. In metal, or in hip hop for example, this is really obvious. As Trent Reznor wrote: “I am just a copy of a copy of a copy”...
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
Rorschach: It’s part of how it works today, tomorrow there will be something else… We have to get used to every new way of spreading our music. Today a concert’s booking agency watch how many “likes” you have on Facebook before they consider you. So I think it’s better to use this system than to fight against it.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
Howahkan: If I wanted to avoid an alien invasion, I would give them David Guetta’s full discography.
If your other half, sold all your record collections, in order to buy something expensive for them, how would you react?
Nicko: I would kill her, cut her, eat her, sell the organs to make money and get my stuff back!!! (laughs) (i.n.: A brutal but quite effective way to get your stuff back! Hehehe…)
That’s all for now dude! Thx for talking to Grande Rock! Close this interview in your own words. Take care!
Howahkan: Thank you, Grande Rock, and thank you all for reading! Peace.