SOURCE – Over the years, has your songwriting process remained pretty consistent or does it change from album to album?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – No, it doesn’t change from album to album. Yann, the lead guitarist, brings a lot of riffs then all the band works together to create a song. Once the song is finished, we give it to a friend, Olivier, who adds samples and other strange sounds to it. This guy used to be our guitarist so he knows our feelings very well. And the best for the end…my lyrics! I’m joking because I’m always the last one who is always late and sometimes I drive the band crazy.
SOURCE – In my opinion, I think this is your best album to date. The songs are so strong, emotional and they tell such great stories. What were you focused on the most with this material and what was your mindset while writing it?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – According to me, you’re right. This opus is one of our best albums, maybe the best. The first thing is the experience. Eight albums in twenty years and over eight thousand gigs have made us create with confidence. And overall, we don’t give a shit about radios and TV so we think “live” during the creating process and only “live”.
For the mindset, we are inevitably hurt by the current events, it’s worse and worse! We have to endure the fucking foreign policy of the USA. A chaotic and psychotic policy made in hell! Zach of Rage Against The Machine used to introduce their song “Wake Up!” at their concerts by saying that the USA should be accused of crimes against humanity and justice had to put President Bush in jail. I agree with this. Even Barack Obama today deserves it! His Nobel Peace Prize is a joke! All terrorist attacks in Europe, and in Paris a few weeks ago, are the consequences of the catastrophic foreign policy of the White House. We lost friends in the attack at the Bataclan on Friday, November 13th, during the concert of Eagles Of Death Metal. And of course, European Union is an accomplice. I’m not proud of the French policy since the last fifteen years, since the day Jacques Chirac our president said “NO” to Iraq war. France was the only one to say “NO”. I was very proud. Diplomacy is the key, not war! Only barbarians love war. Look at Iraq, Libya and Syria now! Is war the solution? Are death and destruction? Mind will triumph over matter! Wake up!
So, to sum up our mindset in these tragic moments, I’d say only two words: refusal and hope. It’s all we got now…out of love for family and friends.
SOURCE – Did you or are there plans to shoot any videos for this album?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – No…To explain why, I’d say we didn’t really think about it. Because we were in trouble with our manager and just before recording the album we decided to let him go. So it wasn’t a priority to shoot videos, we were in a rush, focused on music only. But we’re working on a video for the song “L’Enfer des Dieux” (translation: “Gods’ Hell”) which talks about fanaticism in religion. We wrote this song and decided to make a video for it a few months before terrorist attacks in Paris…fucking reality sets in all too quickly!
SOURCE – With how much the music industry has changed over the past few years, where it’s now all about streaming and Spotify and downloads instead of actual sales, as an artist how do you even determine if an album is successful or not these days?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – One thing’s for sure : the number of albums sold doesn’t mean quality. Some shitty music has success and some genius one does not. The music business is in mutation. We have to deal with new technology. But I think the world of extreme music have fans who love the compact disc or more and more the vinyl. They don’t really like to download albums. They want the physical object with lyrics and a cover which are a part of the band’s artwork. Metal music is not the best seller of genre but the quantity is quite constant. Mass Hysteria, for instance, sells as many albums as the last three ones despite the music industry crisis.
SOURCE – How’s the heavy music scene in France, and are there any other up-and-coming bands from there we should know about?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – The Heavy music scene is pretty good. A lot of bands are well-known as Gojira which is a new sound a new level in this kind of music. Gojira opened for Mass Hysteria when the band started playing. And now, we would be honored to open for them! There always have been a Heavy scene in France and not only! As Brasil! Sepultura creates a style, a new sound but a lot of bands have existed and some always will. In France, we have Loudblast for Death Metal, Kickback for Hardcore style. And many others like The Arrs, Gorod, Dagoba, Trepalium, Hangman’s Chair…
SOURCE – You guys have kept going all this time, and that kind of longevity is inspiring to so many bands old and new alike. What keeps you and Mass Hysteria coming back to that creative well so to speak, and what keeps it alive for you to continue on for the foreseeable future?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – The only thing that gives us the strength and the longing to do music each other is COMPLICITY!
SOURCE – Are there any other side projects that you have in the pipeline or other people you’ve worked with that your fans might be unaware of?
Mouss : Not for me. I don’t have enough time for my children, my family and friends. Music doesn’t give us financially what we need so we have to work aside Mass Hysteria. I can’t afford having side project and I’m upset about this. Our bass player, Vincent, plays in a band called The Videos and our new guitarist, Fred, plays in a band called Bukowski.
SOURCE – In Brazil there’s much fans listening your kind of music. What do you know about the Brazil?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – We have many friends who have worked in Brazil, musicians and technicians. Every time they talked about the crazy people who come to concerts. Band’s friends from all kinds of musical genres, Pop, Heavy, Electro etc… so I know Brazilians love Music, all genres of music. You have an ancestral history, since the first tribal civilizations, you have music in your DNA. Your culture is full of treasures, dances, mix martial arts, capoeira, foods, sea, rum and sun! Oh! I know Gisele Marie too!
SOURCE – Do you have any plans of a South America and Brazil tour?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – There was a time when we had contacts in Colombia and Argentina… but only blah blah blah! We do hope coming and playing in South America someday. It’s an old wish!
SOURCE – Thank you so much for the interview. Before I let you go, would you like to add or say anything?
Moustapha Mouss Kelai (Vocals) – Support your local bands, love your family and your friends. And for the rest, as Sepultura used to say: Refuse/Resist!
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