Interview - The new saturated diiv era - Rolling Stone

Three years ago, is the is there brought the consecration to Diiv.Things take a new turning point with Deceiver, a third albumvrombing, animated by the darkness and the haunt of everyone.But in chaos lies a form of development.Maintenance

In early 2010, Brooklyn.A certain Zachary Cole Smith wants to do battle.His hours spent on stage with groups like Soft Black or Beach Fossils push him to emancipate himself elsewhere, solo or in group - in any case with his own project, his own direction.He then formed a group, the aptly named Dive-it is said that this scene name was directly inspired by Nirvana-, calling on his friend Andrewbailey to accompany him on the guitar, the Bassist Devin Ruben Perez and the former drummer ofSmith Westerns Colby Hewitt.But it was after discovering the existence of a Belgian group of the same name dating from the 90’s, that Smith "personalized" (so to speak) the label of his band.Thus was born DIIV, which signed in 2011 with the fruitful labelcaped tracks and released its first album a year later, the quasi-instrumental and celestoshin.

"Everything happened very quickly, I keep scraps of memories of this period because we were all taken in an unprecedented process: that of incorporating music in a lasting way.After the final clap, there was no going back, "says Zachary Cole Smith.

À l’origine

The group first forges a reputation in the United States, especially in concert, accelerating the tempos of its pieces, extending them like infinite curls of riffs, sometimes embellished with the aerial voice of Cole, whose words were alreadyAt the time, enigmatic.Cataloged as a new crew of the Shoegaze ship, the group also hides its influences for grunge and My Bloody Valentine by causing the symbiosis of the genres.The result was explosive to the public, but without ever smoking the underground.Between 2012 and 2015, it was difficult to perceive a real direction for Diiv, disappeared from radars.Exit Hewitt, the group welcomes the multi-instrumentalist Colin Caulfield and embarks on its greatest adventure: is the is Are (which is released in the bins in 2016), this time inspired by the Cole bedside group, Sonic Youth (The Halloween-Esquebad Moon rising album in mind)."It marked a real turning point in Diiv's career, comments Caulfield, this second album contained both more heavy songs, like 'embodied Devil', but also real tubes that worked on the classic verse/chorus scheme, IObviously thinks of 'dopamine', or 'under the sun'.»»»»

Le temps aura fait son boulot : trois ans plus tard, DIIV semble avoir laissé de côté cette envie de ""complaire»»»» et de rendre sa musique plus ""accessible»»»» : ""On s’est réinventé dans le travail structurel de la musique, jusqu’à rendre floue la barrière entre les couplets et les refrains, explique Cole.We wanted the titles to work as simply as possible, like units.We take a guitar, we play a riff and we start from there, we experience.A start and an end.We wanted to come back to the heart of a song, his melody.""

For once, the bet is held.This third album, Deceiver, is as its name suggests a deception, a trompe l'oeil on the music industry, as the songs there are mostly slow progressions, often melancholy, which all lead toimplosion, without borrowing ease. On pense à ""Taker»»»», second single, qui, sur un riff continuel, fait miroiter l’auditeur jusqu’à un final cathartique. Ou encore l’ouverture ""Horsehead»»»», et ""Lorelei»»»», deux titres au tempo lents, inhabituels, tâtant le slow core du bout des doigts. ""La musique requiert beaucoup de patience chez nous, s’accordent les musiciens.You have to know how to install an atmosphere, have indulgence.»»"We can call this a risk taking, for DiV, whose music is (and will remain) the only means of expression.

To carry out this company, Cole and Caulfield - two of the writing - called producer Sonny Diperi (My Bloody Valentine - yours - but also Protomartyr, The Drums, These New Puritans, Nine Inch Nails, from theBeautiful people what). Un besoin de soutien extérieur, même si l’entièreté de Deceiver a été conçue dans la discrétion : ""J’en ai que très peu parlé autour de moi, confie Cole.This is why it was essential to surround yourself with someone of confidence, who could guide us on what we needed, and above all should not be done, do.»»"Hours of discussion later, the group and Diperri agree on a more serious, saturated, sharp sound.The guys will even go so far as to feel the field, during a small tour in 2018 in support of their comrades Deafheaven.

""Le groupe n’avaitpas vraiment de raison de tourner à ce moment là, mais c’était une experience essentielle, puisqu’on jouait les titres de ce nouvel album mais sans les paroles. Au fil des soirées, on a pu alors piocher les parties qu’on préférait, virer celles qui nous ennuyaient»»»»continue Cole. Son collègue enchérit : ""Etpuis, on voulait un album plus heavy, donc tourner avec un groupe de metal nous a forcément aidé.We understood what the public was waiting for, Deafheaven abounds to go even further. On aurait même pu devenir un groupe de metal à ce rythme-là !""

The return to the studio was therefore studious. ""Sonnyest revenu et était là pour nous aider à prendre toutes les meilleures décisions par rapport au mastering.He was really the only one who could understand us. C’est la première fois qu’on se laisse diriger comme ça et je dois dire que le plaisir fut décuplé»»»»explique Cole. Cet album, conçu dans l’optique ""a band in a room»»»», descend tout droit des plus beaux moments d’Elliott Smith et, bien sûr, de Nirvana – l’ambiance cotonneuse en plus. ""Oh ça oui, c’est un album très saturé, commente Caulfield.The sound of the guitar was our biggest challenge, it had to cause chaos while remaining audible.This is why we also added acoustics, to bring a little heat.""De la douceur dans la dureté, s’accordent les deux musiciens, qui mentionnent les morceaux ""Between Tides»»»» et le final ""Acheron»»»», pivots du disque. ""Je suis persuadé que la guitare acoustique est ce qu’il y a de plus naturel en musique, si on enlevait toutes les parties, laissant la guitare et la voix, la chanson resterait la même»»»»dit Cole, l’air pensif.

At the end of the previous tour, DIIV was exhausted, physically and morally. Outre les soucis personnels de chacun, qu’il n’est ici pas nécessaire de raconter, chaque musicien est rentré du trek comme un marathonien revient de sa course : ""Même si on a énormément appris de nous-mêmes, on a enduré beaucoup de changements dans nos vies, des trucs durs à surmonter.There are a lot of experience in there.Which leads us directly to proof of authenticity.Our music has never been so honest.When we were all in the studio for this new album, everything seemed real, you see? Confides Cole.My God what it feels good.We had grown up!These songs are like news and they form a whole which, I believe, remains coherent.»»»»

Exorcise his demons, defeat evil by facing him: the themes of the album revolve around the same monster, nemesis of the group since its beginnings. ""I’m just waiting for the storm to die»»»», chante Cole dans ""Between Tides»»»».A truth that has pursued musicians from the start. ""Toutes ces choses qui te viennent à l’esprit et qui t’envahissent, comme des visages qui te fixent sans arrêt et qui scrutent le moindre de tes défauts… C’est aussi de là que vient la pochette, explique Caulfield.The color palette is important, there are cold, icy colors, but also warmer shades.»»»» Une dichotomie qui se confirme avec ""The Spark»»»», véritable moment plein d’oxygène, ""peut-être la chanson la plus importante de la tracklist, non pas que parce que c’est la meilleure, mais parce qu’elle procure une sensation d’air frais qui n’est pas de refus»»»»termine le musicien.

""Je ne dirais pas que la musique est thérapeutique, non»»»»souffle Cole. ""On a traversé des épreuves dans la vie, comme tout le monde, mais ça ne veut pas non plus dire qu’on parlera que de ça.As a group, we like, we also need to remember happy moments, otherwise everything would be torture, even to chat with you.»»»» Sur ces belles paroles, il conclue : ""Même si elles a toujours été au cœur de DIIV, les paroles ne nous révèlent pas tant que ça.Listen instead of the instruments, the arrangements they build.This is the most important, how music sounds.This is what best crystallizes our emotions.Regarding words, between the public and us, everything remains to be written, or to say in a way.""

Deceiver, the new DIIV album, available in bins from October 4, 2019, via Captured Tracks.

Interview by Samuel Regnard

Thanks to Marion Seury and Ground Zero.