Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?
Jérôme: I compose synth music since the late 90s. Four years ago, for the first time I decided to publish my new compos on social medias. This is when FrazyL is born.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Jérôme: I never asked myself this question. I want to create a music of my own without belonging to a particular style. But to give an idea to someone who didn’t hear my music, I would say this is a mixture of Dungeon Synth, Dark Ambient and Neoclassical styles.
Crimson Moon: How has the fan response been?
Jérôme: My project remains marginal, but I receive great comments on the quality and originality of my music. And originality is my principal goal so I appreciate.
Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?
Jérôme: The name FrazyL comes from the French word « frasil », or « frazil ice » in English, which is the ice crystals formed in the streams and lakes in the north when the water gets cold. We often see it here in Québec. It’s the first stage before the surface of the sea gets completely frozen. I wanted a French word that represents the place I live and refers to a winter ambiance.
Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members.
Jérôme: I am the only member. Even if it’s not impossible that I collaborate with other artists in the future, FrazyL will stay a solo project.
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Jérôme: I released some cd’s when I was drummer in a death metal band. I quit the scene in 2008 and don’t play in groups anymore. I released a limited edition with Vril-Ya, my goth metal solo project. But with FrazyL, Mon Odyssée is the first album.
Crimson Moon: Tell me about some of the songs on the latest CD?
Jérôme: Even if the concept comes from Homer’s poem Odyssey, I wanted to personalize this great work and transpose it in my Nordic living environment. The stopovers on different Greek islands become an exploration of different European myths through the ages until the arrival of my ancestors in Nouvelle-France, the actual Québec, 400 years ago.
Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Jérôme: I write all the music and my compositions are instrumental.
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Jérôme: For now, there are no lyrics. Maybe I would add some on a future album if the occasion is there. Otherwise, the themes are inspired by Greek, Nordic and Celtic mythology, the history of my forebears, mysticism, and nature.
Crimson Moon: Has the Covid Pandemic impacted the band at all?
Jérôme: No. Even on my personal life, the impact is minimal. I live with my family in the woods. We try to develop our self-sufficiency by growing our own food, having hens, among other things. We also home school our children. Therefore, we are less dependent from the system and the curfews and lock-downs, and other rules don’t change many things in our life.
Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?
Jérôme: I have ideas for an exclusively Dark Ambient project, but FrazyL is and will stay my principal project.
Crimson Moon: What is the music scene like where you guys are from?
Jérôme: I am not up to date with the scene here in Québec. In the kind of music I do, I don’t know any other project. On the other hand, there are some excellent groups of Black Metal I like to hear like Forteresse and Neige & Noirceur.
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Jérôme: I try to have as less influences as possible on my creation process, but I listen to a lot of different styles of music. I like for example King Diamond, Wardruna, Midnight Syndicate, Jean-Michel Jarre and classical composers like Wagner and Liszt. Maybe it colors my music in some way. But when I write, I don’t think of that, I just go with the inspiration I have.
Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?
Jérôme: I don’t make shows and it’s not in my plans. I made a few dozen shows in Death Metal scene in Québec but I never quite liked that. I prefer the calm ambiance of composing alone instead of agitation, noise and being in public. My way of doing is more comparable to the work of an author than a musician performer.
Crimson Moon: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Jérôme: No.
Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band?
Jérôme: I created FrazyL to fill the need to create. I read daily and like to learn on various subjects like history, philosophy, mythology and spirituality. I think it’s important to seek for balance. So musical composition is one of my ways to exteriorize some ideas, moods and inspirations that comes from the works I read.
Crimson Moon: If you weren’t in this band, would you still be involved in the music industry?
Jérôme: I don’t think so. I would probably be a writer. I am a lonely kind of person and I like to do what I want at my pace. FrazyL gives me the space to express myself without compromises.
Crimson Moon: As a musician what advice can you give to fellow musicians just starting out?
Jérôme: I don’t like to give advice in life in general, but I can share my way of doing. I would say that the way I create is based on trying to do my own music instead of trying to reproduce the music I like to hear. If I like an artist, I listen and appreciate it, but I don’t try to sound alike when I sit to compose. I try to separate the music lover from the composer.
Also, working alone gives a lot of freedom but it takes on the other hand a lot of discipline. Without any deadlines or band sessions, I usually work on my music according to a schedule. Inspired or not when I start, there is always something that comes out of this time allowed to music and make it progress. Otherwise, sometimes I just freely play an instrument I have, like guitar, drums, merlin or synth, and note the ideas I find interesting.
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band?
Jérôme: In the short term, I plan to get back to work on my second album. I already have the concept chosen and many musical ideas to start with. In the medium term, I also want to review some old songs I wrote through the years, those I think have the potential to be achieved and released.
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/Frazyl
https://www.youtube.com/user/123645463103a523
https://frazyl.bandcamp.com/?fbclid=IwAR1L34NvVo8pkrOZcdO2h_9zb3TupQobX2K-LlH_FslZ7NghE9x9ECWObVU