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Fans will know Cede Dupont as a member of Symphorce and as a former member of Freedom Call. Now he presents a new band - Downspirit. The debut Point Of Origin is in stores already, time to learn a bit more about Downspirit and how everything got started. "I had the idea to combine blues and metal isn't new. Blues always had a huge influence on me as a guitarist. In 2008 I started and all songs were written before the line-up was completed. But everybody had some influence, especially Steffen Lauth had a huge influence as he's responsible for the vocal lines."
Form the outside it seems that 2 years is a long time, but it isn't... "No pain, no gain! Well, young bands think that if they have an album and a tour they made it. That the rest is easy. But first you need a good album and you need support, even Bon Jovi needs support. You have to give everything and it takes time. Actually Downspirit came to life pretty fast, but I'm very confident about it. So far everything worked out." explains Céderic. He continues "We developed our own sound and everybody add something. For me it was very important that everybody was involved! We rehearsed a lot and played some shows to see, if it works live. Before we entered the studio we rehearsed even more, tried to be prepared as good as possible." That shows perfectly that they are experienced and that they know what's important. But even with good songs you need a label... "We are happy to work with Metalville, coz they really belief in the band and support us. They were open for something new, coz they new that on the long run copycats won't last. All the big names offered something new, some fresh sounds - like Guns N'Roses with Appetite For Destruction. First the media thrashed them, but then they became successful with their sound."
The music business isn't always fair and many young bands struggle to survive in this minefield. "I hope that we all could keep a little naïvety alive, even after 10 years in the business." Cede told me. "Every musician needs a little naïvety, but I hope we found the right balance... And it's impossible to be prepared for everything, to plan everything in detail." One has to do what feels right, what's inside. And Downspirit delivered a strong debut album, that's for sure. And Cede confirms "It was important for us not to have a half-baked piece of music! And the fans know, if someone halfheartedly recorded an album. And live you can hear, if someone is heart and soul. I think, the fans who been at our club shows saw that we enjoyed being on stage. At the moment we try to get some more shows booked and we hope for a European tour this fall... winter. 2010 will be a busy year, but I don't want to complain!" Some shows are already confirmed, so check their website for details!
These days there are many CD releases and tours, almost too much is offered. "Fans have a lot to choose from - not just CD-wise!" Cede comments and continues "For us it was important to have songs which we can play live, on stage we are 5 guys and the songs should sound even better live!" Some bands work with playbacks, but it seems that Downspirit won't work that way... And that's cool!
At the moment they focus on Europe, but Cede told me that the album will be released in the US and that a Japanese release is on the way, too. These days many bands have their album for a certain as a stream on their MySpace to give the fans a chance to check it out. I wanted to know what Mon. Dupont thinks about it. "For the fans it's a great thing, but unfortunately there are already some guys who know how to save it to their HD by now. But hopefully people buy the CD, if they like it..." And he remembers "When I was a teenager I marked the day of a release I was looking forward to in my calendar, counting the days. At the release date I get my copy and listened to it for weeks. Studied every detail. I hope this won't get lost..." Nowadays many fans buy albums on iTunes or similar platforms, but it's not the same Cede confirms. "I bought some releases on iTunes, but if it wasn't a killer album I usually forgot about it. A CD you remember more easily, coz you can hold it, look at the cover, read the booklet..."
In the 80's a music video was very important, now it seems that videos get more important again with platforms like YouTube. And I wanted to know, if Downspirit plan to do a video clip. "It's true, a video clip was a must-have and we considered doing a video, but playing live has priority for us. We decided not to do a video clip and invest the money into live shows, a tour. And then there will be videos on YouTube, something the fans recorded." And perhaps there will be a chance to record some show in a better quality... But Downspirit just started and it sounds like there is a lot to expect from the Swiss-German cooperation!
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