Interviews: Buy Jupiter

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Sci-fi Metal/Djent/Progressive Metal band Buy Jupiter from France. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it, or did it just come out like that?

Buy Jupiter: The band name comes from a short story by Isaac Asimov in which humanity sells Jupiter to an alien race. The concept was fun, and the wordplay in the name was cool. When we thought about this name, our concept of the sci-fi story came naturally.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Buy Jupiter: When we started playing together, “djent” was the new genre happening, bands like Meshuggah, Textures, or Periphery were some of the bands each member was well aware of back then. And we were also very into Between the Buried and Me and wanted well developed songs structures like they are used to writing.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Manu (guitars): Vince and I knew each other from high school. We formed a band together with other friends back in 2008 and played together for a few years. Then we were just the two of us at the end and were willing to push our music further and more complicated technically, more like the kinds of progressive metal bands we were listening to at the time. We then met Lucas (drummer), and suddenly, a lot of the things we wanted to play became possible. What we started composing and playing from that point later became Buy Jupiter.

Vince (guitars): It happened that Lucas and I were living on the same block, and we met in the elevator! The other members were found through networks.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Vince: Actually, I would say Vildjharta.

Lucas: Meshuggah.

Py (vocals): Dillinger Escape Plan

Arthur (bass): Gorod

Manu: It’s a very difficult question because I listen to so many different artists from various genres, even outside metal music. But if I had to pick one band, I’d choose Between the Buried and Me for the richness and the variety of their music. 

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Manu: The songs tell the story we started on our very first EP, Departure, and which we have continued to tell on every record. The starting point is the short story, Buy Jupiter! written by Isaac Asimov in 1958. We chose the point of view of a community of Jovians and then invented our own science-fiction « saga » which follows their journey and evolution. The sci- fi genre gives us the freedom to tackle various situations and subjects.

Vince: The lyrics' thematics were mainly inspired by great writers like Asimov, Herbert, Lovecraft, and Bordage.

6. Where was your last gig?

Buy Jupiter: Our last concert was the release party of our album on May 16 at the Rock n’ Eat in our hometown, Lyon. It was a great moment, we played with two other bands of friends, Shotgun Logic and Dukkha. We had the opportunity to play the last song of our album with the two guests on stage, Julien (the singer of Dukkha) and Seb (guitarist of From Sand to Stardust), who played his wonderful solo. Check out their bands, it could be your stuff!

7. Where would you like to act? 

Lucas: Everywhere, people will be kind enough to welcome us!

Manu: It would be great for us to be able to play abroad, starting with the neighboring European countries, for instance.

Vince: Festivals like Euroblast, Arctangent, or French cool ones would also be a nice accomplishment for us. Also, Lucas is a Chinese speaker in the band, and we know he would love to bring us to Taiwan!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Buy Jupiter: If one day we consider having clean singing in one of our songs, we would love to have Mikael Åkerfeldt sing it.

Manu: I’ve always dreamt of playing with Michael Jackson, but I heard he’s not available at the moment.

9. Whom not?

Manu: My downstairs neighbor, her singing is awful. She’s an awful person overall.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Lucas: Of course, every show will be more or less stressful, as non-professionals, we would probably recommend rehearsing a lot before a show (at least 2 times a week) and perform proper warm-up just before getting on stage. Then, if you like what you play, everything will just come right naturally.

Manu: I always get through stage fright, and I don’t know if it’s possible to avoid it, at least for me. However, what helps me the most is when we had time to rehearse a lot before the concert. The more you rehearse, the better it sounds and the better your muscles know the songs. All that gives you more confidence and allows you to get more pleasure from playing.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Lucas & Vince: Meshuggah for their power of innovation and their smashing live performances, Opeth for the melodies, Textures for the groove, Vildhjarta for making people want to bang their head, and Between the Buried and Me for the creativity and the incredible storytelling their songs carry throughout the whole discography.

Manu: A lot of bands have inspired me and continue to. I’d say at least Textures, Meshuggah, Between the Buried and Me, The Alan Parsons Project, Opeth…

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Manu: I remember that time when a married couple asked me to sign their wedding photo; it was unusual but fun. But then they asked me to be their sperm donor for their future child. I was quite surprised to say the least, but accepted anyway, as we only live once. They send me photos of the boy regularly. He has my nose.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Manu: People who come to see us are quite different. It’s not a definite social or age group, and I love that.

14. What do you think of our site?

Manu: I checked the source code, looks fine to me.

15. Something to add?

To the people who will discover us and those who already have: I hope you enjoy the journey!

Support independent metal journalism — Visit the official BTC store