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Interview with One-Way Mirror lead guitarist David Potvin and rhythm guitarist Franck Potvin

One-Way Mirror released their self-titled debut CD on Metal Blade Records on July 22nd of this year. Difficult to pin down to one genre of music, this record is a mix of Death Metal, Industrial, and straight up Rock and Roll.

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One-Way Mirror released their self-titled debut CD on Metal Blade Records on July 22nd of this year. Difficult to pin down to one genre of music, this record is a mix of Death Metal, Industrial, and straight up Rock and Roll. It is heavy, yet a full of hooks so catchy you will be unable to get them out of your head long after the player has stopped. Mixed by Tue Madsen (Sick of It All, Dark Tranquility) this record sounds great. Combining great songwriting and a brilliant production with big mesmerizing hooks and even bigger guitars and drums this is a must hear disc! Guitarists David and Franck Potvin were enthusiastic about the release and the subsequent tour and were more than happy to answer some questions about the band and their new record.

The name of the band One-Way Mirror is interesting to say the least and sounds as if there is a story behind it. Where did the name come from and what is the story?
David: It’s been hard to find the name of the band. We wanted all the members of One-Way Mirror to like it. When Alain Tréhard, our design guy, sent us the cover, I had this idea. I like the idea of the One-Way Mirror. You can see people without being seen. It’s pretty exciting.

Your brand new self-titled CD was released in the US on July 22nd. Now that it is complete and out how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
David: Yes, we were all very excited with the release of the album in the US. We love this country because American fans have been supporting all our other bands for many years and they’re so friendly and fucking cool to meet. So we’re all hoping that One-Way Mirror will come and tour the States ASAP. I actually have a lot of personal friends in the US. I’m sure that many fans and new fans will dig the album because we’re really happy with the record and very proud of it. This is a brand new sound for people who crave something fresh.

Frank: We can’t wait to see the album out and go on tour. Even if we had a lot of fun during the composing and the recording, we’ve done our best. So now we’re really happy with this album and we want to share it with people

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
David: It took about 15 days to compose this album. Guillaume, Franck and me worked together and usually it was Guillaume and me or Guillaume and Franck working on a song. Then we arranged the songs a bit with Dirk and Loic for the final recording. We were in the studio drinking beers and playing riffs, it all came very naturally! I mean we never asked ourselves questions about the musical direction. The only thing we wanted was to do something a bit different from our other bands.

You worked with Tue Madsen (Sick of It All, Dark Tranquility) a very well known well respected producer in the Metal world. How did you get in touch with him and what was it like working with him?
David: Guillaume and I produced this album in our studios, the Dome Studio and Dogs in the House studio, but we really wanted Tue Madsen to contribute so he mixed and mastered the album in his Antfarm studio in Denmark. Guillaume knew him because he worked with him for the mix of the latest Mnemic album, Passenger. It was really cool to meet him and work with him. He brought a lot of ideas during the mix. Actually he brought everything we missed, like some really cool sound effects. He finalized the sound, making it very massive.

The songs on your new record One-Way Mirror are not exactly what you would find on your typical hard music album. You offer a welcome range of musical sounds and abilities combining some Industrial sounds in with straight up metal. Do you think this is due in part to your varied influences and/or a desire to explore new realms of music?
David: Exactly man, thank you, you nailed it in your question. It’s pretty hard to define the style since we mix tons of influences we have. It can be pure Death Metal, Rock, Thrash, Industrial sounds, and melodic lines… I think this is due to the mix of the band members. We all have different influences, that’s why the songs are rich of ideas, melodies and riffs. We also wanted to explore new ways of playing and new sounds. It’s very important to us to go forward without limiting ourselves.

Frank: We wanted to play the music we want to hear! At the end of the day, it’s something really eclectic, melodic and powerful. After putting our musical views in the same bag the result is a very cool album!

Even though the songs on One-Way Mirror are packed to the gills with huge guitars, intricate rhythms, and complex arrangements, there are still strong songs at the core of it all. When you write do you start building from a simpler frame and then just stack up all of the individual parts and nuances?
David: I guess we have a traditional way of composing in the sense that we usually go through a song step by step like you said stacking up individual parts and nuances. For example, after coming up with a killer intro riff, we start working on the drums and then on the bass part. The next step is to create a good verse and so on. We try to work very deeply in each part of the song.

When you are on the road for a while I am sure you see and experience many different things you might not even have known existed. Are there any stories that stand out in your mind as being exceptionally strange or odd?
David: When we drove through Roswell, New Mexico, my mind was playing tricks on me and I think I saw Dave Mustaine taking a piss in the alien museum! Hahahaha! But for sure, what’s really odd to me is that in the European capital of sex, Hamburg, you have to pay 50 bucks for a hand job, what a fucking rip off! Hahaha!

Frank: Cause you had to pay, David? Hahaha!

When you are out on the road anything can happen and often does. Can you think of any disastrous events that happened while out on tour? How did you solve the problem?
David: From my personal experience that would be toying with wires under the tour bus at 4am to try and restore the fucking headlights to be allowed to cross the Canadian border. Touring is sometimes hard! Hahaha!

Frank: And I remember that we had to rent a fucking nice Cadillac because this fucking bus was totally fucked up at some point of the tour. We had to travel 5 States, including Texas, in five days and sleep in the car! That was rough! Hahaha. But when you’re on tour, you can visit a lot of great cities like Dallas, San Francisco, Prague, London where you can meet a lot of really cool or really weird people. It’s always interesting. When you come back home, you can’t wait for the next tour.

How do you maintain that level of energy and exuberance?
David: For sure beers help a lot! Hahaha! I do work out everyday and that’s it.

Frank: It’s a real pleasure to play music. That’s our job and we do that with friends, so the energy comes naturally!

All of that passion that you play with must be tough on you physically. How do you prepare for the physical demands of a tour?
David: Nothing particularly. We just rehearse 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks prior to the tour.

Frank: David and I practice sports and work out everyday so before a tour we push our limits more. We practiced Karate for more than 10 years, and now we practice boxing and we rehearse a lot!

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned while recording?
David: Try not to record an album in the summer time in France when there’s no AC in the studio because you’ll have to be naked and stinking for the whole time! I never want to see a hairy ass again! Haha!

Frank: Take a shower everyday when you’re in the studio!

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