Band Interview: Resolve

The 25th of May 2022 marked the final date of a mammoth tour that has seen Landmvrks, ten56., Resolve and Glassbone delight audiences all over Europe. Each, an example of young and modern bands creating an important connection with their fanbase, as well as delivering fantastic alternative, hardcore/deathcore/metalcore-infused heavy music.

It was a show that we loved (even if Glassbone were unable to get over to the UK due to logistical reasons), you can read our review here.

One of the reasons we loved it, Resolve, took the time to speak with us before they took to the stage and what follows is a transcript of our conversation with bassist Robin Mariat. You can also listen to the full thing below.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this last day of the tour. It is wrapping up in the capital city of England, following what looks to have been a pretty spectacular tour so far. How are you feeling?

I mean, it’s been really special for mostly two reasons. The first one being that it was like the first tour back since COVID for most of the people coming to the shows, like, especially the mainland part of Europe, because England had maybe a bit more shows. There’s been some breaks, like here and there that allowed you guys to have some local shows and stuff. We didn’t really get that much of it. So, one, it was really special because of it. Actually, there are three reasons. So, the second one, it was our first big tour for us, for Resolve. I mean, it was the first time ever in big venues than we are used to. And it was a French line-up, and we are all friends since, honestly, for years now. So, getting to do this incredible tour and seeing them (Landmvrks) have this much success, it was really amazing. And even for us, it was really good, way better than we expected.

So even though you’ve been such a major part, you’re still kind of reflecting on the fact that you’re looking at Landmark and thinking, wow, what wonderful success for them?

Oh, yeah. Especially for French people. Like seeing a band that’s coming from Marseilles, which is like, even for France, it’s not like one of the cool places. And seeing them, like, sell out venues, like, all across Germany and bringing I guess there’s over 500 tickets sold for London tonight, which is like, incredible. Not many bands, even bands from the UK, don’t manage to bring this much people into the shows, I guess so. It’s really amazing to see.

Following the COVID thing, live music seems like it’s on a high. That the kind of apathy that existed before, oh, you know, that band plays regularly and they play the same venue, so I won’t go see them has disappeared momentarily. Is that something you noticed in France as well?

Yeah, I think so. We did our own headliner in March in France, so. Right as things were opening back up, and yet you could definitely tell that there was a hype of some sort. People were so excited and so enthusiastic and so glad to just get together again. It’s like a big family reunion.

On this tour, it looks like every night has been a highlight for you.

Honestly, it has.

Is there anything stand out that you can think of?

Well, I mean, right now I’m thinking backstage in Munich because it was the biggest show of the tour, so obviously it stands out. But even like in smaller venues in Germany, I want to say every show was sold out. Honestly, I think on the whole European leg, 80% of the shows were sold out. Honestly, the whole show will be like one for the book.

I think I saw those pictures of Munich from the stage out.

That was quite frightening for us. It was definitely like Landmvrks played bigger venues than this, but for us it was definitely the first time in that big of a venue, even two nights. It’s actually like really big for us.

You’ve done Manchester and Birmingham. What does London have to do tonight to top those two?

I think just the amount of people tonight is topping both shows, so it should be fine. I don’t know. We have some friends coming. It’s very special for us tonight because our management team is from London, so they are bringing friends and PR people and stuff. So there is a bit of a pressure for us tonight, but now we will go all in any way, no matter the crowd reaction. One, because we always do, and two, because it’s the final show of the tour. So, we have to give you our all.

A big send off. Such a long time on the road. So many dates. It’s almost over the line. You can enjoy it in a different light compared to, say, the middle of the tour.

Oh, yeah. It’s really different for sure. It’s emotional, obviously, because we won’t see the guys. I mean, once again because we all live in France, so it’s not like we won’t see each other, but it’s definitely emotional. I mean, looking back at the past month and a half, what the fuck happened?

I think we’ve seen that for the last couple of years. Really, what the hell? You’re right.

This spring has been the last two years paying off for all these bands because we all tried to stay active during COVID. And we did an album and we did a live stream together with Landmvrks, and we did like lots of stuff. So getting to actually now meet people and just talk to them and discuss what happened and what we did and discuss the album and everything, it’s good. And we really needed that to get the energy boost to keep going too.

We have to go back the past couple of years and see how you survived and what got you through, what has been an incredibly difficult time for the music industry. What helped get you guys through it?

Well, for us, making the album basically because that’s almost like the first part of COVID. We were literally recording and mixing and producing and stuff. And the second half was more like doing so many videos and content and stuff, making sure that the album release would be smooth and just like we envisioned.

I don’t know what we would be doing these days, especially since it was our debut album, we sort of had this very weird feeling because it was just ourselves, the band. We sort of didn’t communicate that much on our social and stuff. During COVID because we thought people were having bigger problems to deal with. Hearing about struggling and stuff, people were losing loved ones. So, we just took a bit of a distance but knowing that we had this material that we were working on behind the scenes and just waiting for the right opportunity and maybe seeing, like, the light starting to shine again.

But that kept moving. That’s the thing that would seem to have been the hardest part for most people. How did you settle that in your head? Did it give you more time than you expected to work on the album?

Yeah, it did, absolutely. If COVID hadn’t happened, I think the album, we would have released the album, maybe like late 2020, and basically we got a whole year. It was all for the best because I think the album would be not as good as it is. Yeah, I think so. It was our first album, so there was a lot of stuff to figure out, lots of moving parts, of uncertainty. So, yeah, just being able to take our time has really been a blessing.

We don’t want to wait this long for the second one. We already started gathering ideas and working on some stuff because now that the machine is rolling, we know that we got to strike.

I don’t think I speak to any artist, whether it be on a tour event or an album cycle, who isn’t already thinking about what comes next.

Yeah, obviously, because there’s always a delay between what the audience gets and what the artist is working on. Because in this industry, you know how it is. You have to get the people all around you and just get the world around and have all the pieces aligned together. All right, something’s moving at the last minute and then push back for another six months and stuff. So, yeah, we always have our eyes set on what’s next.

Are you looking forward to taking a breather even if it’s only for a short amount of time?

There’s no breather. We all have very busy lives. Thankfully we are doing Resolve full time now. I mean we’re all unemployed basically because it just takes so much time. I want to do as much as possible but we will be home for a little while. I don’t know, like two or three days when we get home and then it’s back to the grind again.

Two or three days is more than most people get.

Yeah, it might be just one. We’ll see.

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