FEATURE INTERVIEW
Introducing the incredibly talented French duo, WYVE. I discovered this duo a little while back and let me tell you I am so happy that I did as I have been listening to their songs repeatedly. With influences such as Woodkid, AaRON and my all time favorite The XX, this duo consisting of Michaël Dietrich (guitar, drums and backing vocals) and Maxime Toussaint (guitar, pad and lead vocals), will take you on an immersive journey to a land with no gravity and where time stops. Their captivating melodies echo the striking and minimal guitar notes heard. WYVE's universe is a subtle mix of electro pop sounds where they offer aerial and light music just like their visual atmosphere. I thankfully got the opportunity to interview them where I got to learn more about them and their music which you can read about below:
MHB: How did the two of you first come together/meet? How was WYVE formed?
Mike: I was looking for a singer in my previous band, we were doing pop/rock funk music at the time, and Max auditioned to become the new singer and it worked out instantly! Unfortunately, after a few months the band split up so we ended-up working on something new together, something that really sounded like us, and WYVE was born.
MHB: Growing up did you both always want to be musicians? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?
Mike: I’ve always wanted to become a musician, since I was young. A very close friend of mine showed me my first guitar riffs and then I worked a lot on my own, and I always chose my jobs according to the time I had left for music. If a certain job meant “no time for gigs and rehearsal” I’d turn down the offer and look for something else. Regarding the earliest musical memory…I was about 4, and I had a plastic guitar in the hands, jumping on my bed with my cousin!
Max: My passion for music started when I was a teenager, mostly with Metal bands like System of a Down, or Slipknot, and I wanted to be a Metal singer/guitar player at the time…well it changed after a few years and I kept on writing songs, acoustic stuff, though it took me a lot of time, more than ten years, to drop everything else in order to focus only on music. And my earliest musical memory…I guess I was around 5 or 6, my brother was teaching me how to sing The ballad of Jesse James in French, on the living room couch, with my mom peeking through the door!
MHB: How would you describe the music scene where you are from?
Max: It’s a very diverse scene, that adapts and changes quickly, full of talented people, and it’s getting bigger and bigger! And in a more general way, there are lots of bands in Paris, we usually share the stage with rock, pop and electro bands.
MHB: Who are some of your favourite artists & musical influences? What bands continue to inspire you and your music?
Mike: Eminem, Limp Bizkit, AaRON, The XX, Macklemore, Electro Deluxe, Trombone Shorty, to name a few, but I’m also a big fan of Hanz Zimmer and John Williams, all of these people and bands inspired me and keep inspiring me all the time.
Max: I admire a lot Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, these people inspire me, just like many others that touched me with their words, their work and music. I guess I’m influenced by all the things I listen to, it can go from Archive, Woodkid, The XX, Trentemoller, Sohn to The Black Keys, Linkin Park, Led Zeppelin, Justice, M83, Half Moon Run…
MHB: How would you describe YOUR sound to a new listener? What would you say makes your music unique?
Mike: I’d say it’s light, aerial, just like when you enter a dream and it’s unique because when you listen to several tracks it’s pretty hard to classify it and put it in a genre, due to the different influences.
Max: I agree with Mike, It’s hard to say but I usually present it as an electro pop sound, with a bit of orchestra.
MHB: Let's talk about your album... How did it come together? What was the inspiration behind it?
Max: We wanted to release an EP when we started to record the songs at home, but we quickly realized it was hard to choose among 15 tracks approximately. It’s not an easy decision to make but we ended-up with a crowd funding on Ulule and the results were amazing. This allowed us to make this 8 tracks album that will be out at the start of 2017. The inspiration behind it comes from different things, from personal experience, love, from personal achievement or goals, and I guess a big inspiration for us comes from the fact that we drop everything to concentrate on music and therefore on this lifestyle.
Mike: Yes, we worked a lot for it, for months, often during nights, and it came from our lives, from what we have deep inside, from our doubts and our dreams.
MHB: What's on the horizon for you? What can we expect to see from you in the coming months? Where do you see this project in a year from now?
Mike: We’ll release 4 video clips we recorded live in a Theater in the North of Paris with amazing lights on stage thanks to our Light Engineer! Another clip is being prepared for our single, and then of course several concerts and the album release.
Max: In a year from now, I hope we’ll have played in nice places, met amazing artists, made new friends, and we might be impatient but I hope we can start working on a second record!
MHB: If you had the chance, who would you love to work with?
Mike: Definitely The XX, I love their sound and the way they write music. It’s very charismatic and efficient. They actually changed me and the way I listen to music.
Max: I guess if Josh Homme was to call me to sing on the next QOTSA album, I wouldn’t say no!
MHB: For each one of you, if you were stuck on an island with only one record forever, what would it be?
Mike: No way! I burn a CD with as many tracks as I can!
Max: Tough choice! Let me think. I can’t. I can’t. It’s a horrible question! Ok that’d be Queen Greatest Hits Number 1.
MHB: At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Max: I hope we can bring them a few melodies, appeasement, a bit of dream, or a few shivers. If we do them good that’s all that matters.
Mike: I just want them to escape a bit.
MHB: What does music mean to you?
Mike: Hard to say! I can give you a different answer every day.
Max: Music is a friend to me, it brings me so many feelings, it’s always here. I see life as a movie, and it just can’t go without music.
MHB: Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself & your music?
Max: Our goal is really to move people with our music, if we can do that and keep sharing and meeting new people then we’re very happy.
WYVE will be releasing their first album in the beginning of 2017 and I personally cannot wait to hear what else they have in store. Check out the song that caught my attention "I Wanna Go" as well as their first homemade video for their song "Home" below:
To hear more from WYVE, visit their Soundcloud page at