INTERVIEW – Dreamy Guitar Pop/Rock Trio CMON CMON Explain What Their Debut Album Means Not What It Seems
21 July 2023
Belgian guitar pop/rock band CMON CMON started their second coming
about two years ago, driven by sheer love for music. Writing it, recording it,
sharing it, playing it live, and enjoying it along with their fans.
No masterplan whatsoever to conquer the world, no commercial pressure.
They restarted with one and only one goal. Making the best album their
experience and their hearts and souls could come up with.
Enter The Crack And The Light. The band’s very first longplayer.
A balanced mix of amplified guitar-infused dream pop tunes with a melancholic
and soothing touch. References? R.E.M, Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, Sparklehorse
and The Chills, to name a few. I’m sure you get the sonic picture.
To get deeper into CMON CMON and their firstborn, I thank Jorrit Hermans, vocalist/guitarist, for taking time to tell us about themselves and the record.
But first, as usual, we start an interview with a slice of music. Enjoy one of the
LP’s highlights, the sprightly looking-back-and-forth gem ‘The Summers We Missed’.
Hello Jorrit,
CMON CMON had a first life about 20 years ago.
What or who inspired you to come back?
“We wanted to get back together as musicians because we missed playing
together and writing the songs we love but couldn’t hear on the radio.
So, our first goal was to have fun and share a laugh as friends.
Our second goal was to be ruthlessly creative and make the best album
we could possibly write. Nothing more. If you expect anything from music,
you’re expecting too much.”
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
“If you watch R.E.M.’s music video for “Imitation of Life”, you should pay attention
to the first 10 seconds. You’ll see a neon sign that reads CMON CMON. That’s where
we got the name from. Steven came up with this while we got back from London
on the Eurostar after we decided to launch the band.
The story behind the name? Well, that’s all about the attitude to just go out there and get it. Nothing is impossible in our world, and we love to encourage our fans with that positive message.”
Which track would you play to the people who never heard of you?
“Love that question! I guess it would be our debut album’s closing track “New Orleans” because it really is the summary of what the band is about: a captivating story, cool melody, vocal harmonies, big, jangly guitars, Rickenbacker basslines, and drums to die for.”
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The debut album is out now. It’s titled THE CRACK AND THE LIGHT.
What does it mean?
“The Crack and The Light” reflects the nature of the songs, all of which are true stories. They’re quite dark and twisted with lots going wrong, but what connects them is hope. That’s the crack and the light.”
The LP’s image is quite intriguing. What or who do you want
express with it and how is it related to the album’s title?
“We wanted to create a mysterious cover with lots of stopping power and symbolize
the album title. Meanwhile, we wanted to tell a little story with the cover in its own right.
If you look at that girl, she seems frozen in the air, and you ask yourself, ‘Is she falling?
Or is she jumping up?’ What happened in the seconds before that shot? Is it a positive or
a negative story? It’s all in the eye of the beholder. That’s what we loved to trigger with
this cover.”
Were all three of you involved in the writing/recording process?.
“Oh yes, writing together is what we love the best. I come up with rough song ideas and demos and throw them in the group, Michel and Steven take them apart and together we make them better. Same with recording, it’s what we do together as a group that makes it work for us.”
Do all songs are in some way connected
or do they all stand on their own?
“They all have a crack and a light in them so I would say they are thematically connected but not on a storyline level. In that sense, it’s not a concept album. Every song can stand on its own. But if you listen back in hindsight, they all share the same intention. Must be the universe that was on our side there.
Were you listening to other music while writing the album?
“Well, I can’t really listen to other music when I’m writing songs. Obviously,
we build on our backgrounds and inspiration from the heroes that went before
us, but songwriting with CMON CMON is a very intense, deep dive into emotions,
narratives, and arrangements that leave no margin at all to be able to process
other music than ours.
It’s just so compelling, and we always pour our very hearts into this every time again.”
Opening track SAY WHAT IT MEANS sets the sonic tone for the full
record. What did you want to reflect with its video?
“Lyrically, this song was fueled by my experiences with dishonest people who disguise their true intentions. I developed the lyrics to support people when they’re at their most vulnerable and delicate state of mind. Yet, this can be very powerful as well. So, here’s a plea to look at strength and vulnerability as two sides of the same thing. We hope it can help people to speak up and speak out to actually say what they mean.
It’s everyone’s right to do so. In the accompanying music video for “Say What It Means” by director Aline Boyen and DOP Michel Rosendaal and produced by Wenneker in Belgium, we watch how a group of teenagers chase another teenage girl. She’s being hunted and bullied and has to escape the glances, preoccupations and judgments of others. This
creates a strong tension because a very grown-up theme is played by a group of kids
who should be representing honesty and authenticity.
These kids start to yell brutally and run towards the protagonist. They chase her down
in a scary event that ends in darkness on a deserted country road. The story shows how we sometimes deal with other cultures, ideas, feelings and opinions. Who can escape the herd? How can we find the strength and the confidence to act our spirits?
This is what we wish for everyone. Especially kids growing up with social media, unintentional attention and everything that can go wrong with being misunderstood.
Just say what it means. Not what it seems.
My ears tell me that your overall sound is
reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr. Are they right?
You have an excellent pair of ears!
Suppose the album would be the soundtrack
for a movie, which one would it be?
Lovely thought! I guess I’d pick “Revolutionary Road” by Sam Mendes.
It has all the inevitable drama, insight into the human psyche,
lots of cracks but also a little light.
What’s the band ultimate goal?
“We have had a tremendous first year with worldwide critical acclaim and
amazing fan response, but our ultimate goal will never change. We’re not
in this band for achievement, we just want to add a little beauty to the world
and touch people’s hearts with our songs.
If we can do just that, who needs money or fame?”
Thank you very much, Jorrit, for this interview
May the road rise with CMON CMON.
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