Groupe:

White Miles

Date:

15 Mars 2016

Interviewer:

Didier et Evanessa

Interview Medina (via email)

Hello Medina, it was a great pleasure discovering your music in Marseille, last week. Can you quickly present the band to our readers? Why do we read that you are from Austria, and some other places talk about Madagascar?

Haha! we are from Austria, both of us! One day on stage I came up with it as a joke and since then we kept saying it for a while – and it got spread!

Why this name for a band?

We are constantly on the road. And while beeing on the road there is that white line on your side which guides you for miles and miles without stopping. In general white is a colour which leaves a lot of space for everything, for all thoughts and emotions, whatever you’re up to and greedy for.

Let’s start with the most difficult part of the interview, if you don’t mind. You were opening for The Eagles Of Death Metal in the Bataclan on the 13th of November. How did you live that horrible moment?

Music is like therapy, and in this very situation it’s been more than important for us to go on stage again and play shows, hang out with people, sharing a good time and go on with what we love.

Did you immediately realize that you were in danger?

No we did not. But pretty soon we knew what was going on.

Have you thought about it when coming up on stage since then? Isn’t that really hard?

No we don’t. Like we said, we wanna continue with what we did before, and how we felt before, so that means that if we go on stage, all we feel is the power and the will to play a kick ass show and spend some good time with people!

Enough about this sad moment, let’s talk about While Miles again. You operate as a duo, just a guitar and a drum. Why is that?

In the middle of the night, Lofi got the idea to call me and say "why don’t we play together?". Both of us didn’t have a band by that time since we had just quit them. So we wrote a couple of songs and played a show a week after our first jam – it was one of my acoustic show and I suggested we play together now – so we did and it’s been awesome, great fun and noise – this is when we decided to do it as a two piece.

What do you consider are the most important influences of White Miles music?

Actually there are a lot of different influences for the band. To name a few artist that we are big fans of – PJ Harvey, Peter Green, The Deadweather, John Bonham, Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones, Alice in Chains...

Did you adapt your style of playing to the fact that you guys are just two onstage? This is for you Medina but also for Lofi.

Of course both of us play different and write different riffs or beats that we would do if there were more of us. I tune down my guitars, play with my thumb the bass line, work with different pedals and amps to get my full and unique sound on stage. And also for the drums it’s really important to get a full and deep, attacky sound, therefore Lofi knows what shell sizes and wood he wants to have and works on the sound with drumheads and tunings.

So you are releasing your second album very soon, "The Duel", can you tell us a bit about it?

We got to record it on tape, no click, just both of us playing the songs live, standing in the same room. We captured our liveshow on this album.

How did you compose the music for this album?

Either it was Lofi coming up with a beat and lyrics for a song, so I added some guitars and tried to find an idea for his vision of the song. Also I came up with ideas, sometimes already with lyrics and we get to jam the song out of it. Sometimes we also capture some jam sessions and recall some ideas from there and let them come to it's end.

What are your sources of inspiration for the lyrics?

Both of us can say that it's about the deep brainfucks that lead you to scarred satisfaction.

Why this title, "The Duel"? And also the artwork, because we saw you onstage and you seem to get along very well together...

The cover shows our greedy lust for energy, clannishness and strong protection in one's opposite. It's our message behind the cover, if there should be any.

I really found you VERY connected while playing. Eye to eye contact, most of the time. This is important for the show?

It comes naturally. We are both lost in the songs and driven by the vibe that we get of it, with eye contact or without.

Do you always come down to the floor playing in the middle of us like you did in Marseille? That was really cool

Yeah, if I am in the mood, I escape the stage.

How was this tour with Blues Pills?

The tour with Blues Pills is great!! They are an awesome band. We are both huge fans of the band!

We noticed that you came back and took care of your equipment yourselves. No money for a roady, or you just want to handle it all?

It never came to our mind, having our own roadies for a support tour or in general. We love setting up our equipment and make the stage free for the upcoming band. Maybe there will be a time, where we get help doing all this.

BTW I saw a picture of you Medina with long hair, what happened to your hair since then?

I felt like I needed a change. There you go.

Anyways, I was impressed with your show. It’s pure rock ‘n’ roll, loud, sweaty with lots of energy. Is this really the dream life you wanted when you decided to quit your day jobs? What were those jobs by the way?

Lofi was at the university and worked at psychological assistant services, I was driving around in a van delivering medicine and car parts. We just wanna play music, travel, write lyrics, clear our mind and soak up what marks our path.

What’s next for the band? More touring for supporting the new release?

We are starting our tour on the 31st of March, so touring is gonna be the main thing for us to do. Spread our new record all over and glide from one city to the other. There is going to be a new music video in May and festival updates!!!

Are you participating in any summer festival this year?

Yeah, we will announce some more, so check out our homepage to keep up to date: www.white-miles.com

Anything else planned for your two?

Writing, touring, working on videos...

Thanks a lot, I leave you the last words for our readers

Bring your friends to concerts, because we are all greedy for a good time. Oh and check out PJ Harvey's song 'stone' - it's stuck in my head for a few days… I love it.