Candice: Yes unfortunately it started with tendonitis which didn’t improve and with weight loss, which was diagnosed as diabetes in the end. The hardest thing for Staif was that he had to stop playing guitar for a while and it meant that Eths had to play some shows as a four-piece but he insisted going on stage in London. Me, I was hospitalized due to a kidney infection and I had to rest for a month. We therefore had to cancel the end of the tour. I believe that we played and gave so much this year and sometimes it is necessary to know how to listen to our own bodies when they complain.

PW: Obviously the group’s previous name What The Fuck was never going to stick. Eths on the other hand is a simple word which is memorable and rolls of the tongue, does it have an actual meaning?

Candice: Yes the word Eths is easier to remember but it doesn’t mean anything, in fact it’s simple letters which sound good together and we had already gigs planned at the time thus it was necessary to get a name quickly for us.

PW: Musically hearing Tératologie I was reminded of a nu-metal kind of sound, one perhaps that might be associated with the sound of Korn, Deftones, Coal Chamber etc a decade ago; however it is compelling unique and modern slant on this. How would you describe yourselves musically if you were put on the spot?

Candice: We are all fans of music in general, we are related to extreme metal music and we like to play it but we don’t really listen to it, we just appreciate this violent feeling therefore there are some aggressive parts in our music, however we won’t force to intensify this side. We really like the change and to include many influences in our songs (traditional, electro, blues, world music….) this extreme facet belongs to our identity but we don’t only want to do that.

We like playing live and delivering our ambivalence with a dark, violent side and with an innocent and soft side.

All we want to do is make the music we’d like to listen to with our different influences, we like to mix every kind of style according to our feelings, we like to be open to new instruments, new ways to create, we perceive the music as a freedom space we love to learn in fact. When we play a show we try to be as coordinated as possible to our visual album with dark tones, shady lights and express our melancholic sinister and oppressive side, we play with moods like I love playing with my voice and alternate male and female voice.

PW: You have released four CD’s, how would you say you have progressed as a band stylistically and personally? I believe you have had some line up changes so I guess new players have brought new sounds and ideas into your music?

Candice: We have been making music since we were 13 years old, in 3 years we will be 30 and we thus passed by several styles by always listening to new things which have enabled us to be musically open. We don’t only satisfy ourselves making metal music and that has always been our will seeing our various influences. We had grown thanks to the last years in contact with other groups and by touring a lot. The more you play the more you trust in all that you do, in the way you speak the way you play and the way you sing. The line up changes also helped so much to become stronger with this will to create and to forge ahead, this could prove to ourselves that we are able to carry out our project whatever may happen.

PW: I am assuming as on the current album you have always sung in French. Have you ever considered using English and do you thing that by singing in your native tongue could have hampered your progress outside of France?

Candice: French language is my mother tongue and when I do some research in dictionaries I do it in French and what I want to express is in French, I feel my words like poetry and it’s difficult to think in English when I’m writing. On the other hand I’m translating my lyrics in English for a good understanding and I have to say it’s a good work I’m very interested in it

Even if singing in French can be an obstacle, we don’t make music to sell billions, what we want is to try to do is show our universe to the countries who wish to discover it, who appreciate our music first of all. I recognize that my lyrics are very important in the Eths atmosphere there are very personal subjects underlined by plays with words, that why I translated Tératologie.

PW: Yes the lyrics have been put on your homepage and translated into English. They really are deeply dark and poetic. I believe they caught the attention of Jarboe, how did this come about?

Candice: When I decided to translate my words, our promoter Gunnar Sauermann suggested helping me out and providing a good understanding of my lyrics and to correct my mistakes and my vocabulary. After the reading of each song, he believed in my poetry and asked me whether it would bother me if he showed my lyrics to Jarboe. Even if I did not know her path exactly I knew that she is a great person thus my reply was automatically “yes of course”. Her view intensified my desire for writing, continuing to give a power to my words.

PW: I guess it could be a popular misconception and one that twigged when I saw the band live, you have no male singer. Perhaps again Jarboe is a good comparison but I was wondering if you had any formal training in singing, some of those growls are downright bestial?

Candice: I have sung since I was 13 years and when I listened to the first album of Korn I knew that I wanted to sing this way with power but also with sensitivity and intimate words. I always had male references by listening to the voices of Phil Anselmo or Max Cavalera, actually I learned very late that other girls sang like me and I felt a little like an UFO at that time. Rehearsing every day made my voice like this today, it broke in deep sounds, I often pushed my limits in the studio or on stage, I was never satisfied with my texture voice and then I also learned how to accept it for working best. Breathing is a very important part in the control of the texture and taking singing lessons to alternate clear voice and saturated voice helped me so much.

PW: Lyrically the music is very important. I read that these are inspired by your painful childhood. Obviously the message behind ‘Bulimiarexia’ is evident even for those of us that do not speak French. Can you elaborate on things a bit?

Candice: Indeed the Bulimiarexia title is very evocative and quite simply it speaks about self-destruction, nevertheless I wish to remain reserved with my words and some subjects because I give all my heart in it and I often expose myself thus it is hard to speak about it, I often let the listeners have their own reflection and report on my writings, it’s also a good alternative to keep a bit the mystery.

PW: I can imagine there is a lot of pain yet also a feeling of catharsis in singing about such personal matters. It certainly struck me like this watching the group on stage. Would you agree with this, at times you sing rather like you are exorcising demons?

Candice: Indeed we need to create and play our music for a better pleasant daily life. We need to evacuate these tensions and our demons; I think exposing yourself and expressing in every way is very good for each person.

Each time we get on scene we are different people with another identity without blocking and usual reserve. We don’t live in cemeteries and give glory to Satan as some of our fans might think it’s quite simply grotesque and ridiculous, we belong to the show!

PW: Is there an overall concept for the latest album and what the hell is the cover all about? For some reason it really makes me cringe and is quite disturbing, so if that was the desired effect, well done!

Candice: We worked in collaboration with a photographer and a graphic designer, they read my texts and listened to the album’s mood, we wanted for each song to have an appropriate atmosphere and to tell a story between pictures and lyrics.

Since Tératologie became the title of the album, the fitting picture has to be this young girl playing with this dead rabbit as if it were a doll, it evokes obviously the title which is the science of monsters, playing between innocence and the ugliness, manipulation and torture of the weakest without really thinking of vice. We privilege art and not the shocking dimension of an image, all must be in correlation.

PW: I really like the way you pepper the music with in-between effects, electronics and sampling. I guess these emphasise the meaning and moods of the music and lyrics? Who is responsible for this?

Candice: Staif the guitarist deals with all the samples and piano on stage he manages so many things in order to give a more enigmatic dimension to the show. When we play in France, we have a whole show of lights which are totally adapted with our musical universe; we try to think of everything, all that could be blown up.

PW: It was unfortunate there were not more people at the London show, I believe it was your second visit and you played the Uxfest in the past, I hope we have not put you off visiting in the future? I am guessing you still put your all into the performance, there was a huge energy behind it and I bet you go down a storm live in France. What are the best shows you have done?

Candice: Of course we hope to come back to England, obviously if people would like to see us another time, you have to give the desire even if there are not many people you must always do your utmost to attract people who are there.

We did many festivals this summer like the Sziget and we played in front of a lot of people in particular with Metallica in Madrid or Machine Head. The pressure is different even more intense when you play in a venue filled of your fans who came to see your band, this feeling is magic and very intense when the all the audience sings your song.

PW: Are any of you involved in any other projects at all. I keep seeing MySpace bulletins from a band called Kells who I believe you have been working with?

Candice: I try to work with people whom I appreciate, the more you love people the more you like their music by discovering their nuances. I like working with groups who make completely different music from mine, to learn how to work differently is a good exercise and a discovery of oneself. I have a project of a girls band in the style of Motorhead, I would like to sing on electro stuff like Goldfrapp, I would to do so many things, but Eths takes a big part of my time.

PW: What other French bands that we may not know about over in the UK would rate at the moment?

Candice: Look at Gojira, Tripod, Headcharger they are all good and friends.

PW: What are the plans for the future, are you thinking of a follow up album to Tératologie and perhaps playing further afield?

Candice: We’ve got a European Tour in March, we plan to go to Germany, to Italy and Spain. This summer we have a good chance to perform at the Graspop festival and in Wacken. We’re really excited and keep our fingers crossed that it will happen. After all these things we are going to compose another record.

PW: That’s about it, anything you would like to add?

Candice: Just thank you to have been there at the Underworld and I really want to come back!!!

For more on the band check out http://www.eths.net
http://www.myspace.com/eths

Interviewed by Pete Woods

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