Thomas Coïc Talks TRANZAT’s New Album “Ouh La La”, Famous Lord Dranula & French Cuisine ‣ CVLTARTES

Formed in 2015 in Brest, France, for reasons beyond comprehension, Tranzat self-produced its first two records. The group has opened for international bands such as Kadavar, Shining (NO), Mos Generator, and Mass Hysteria, and have toured with Angelus Apatrida on the French Motocultor Night Fever Tour.

The band’s new album “Ouh La La” was recorded at The Apiary studio (Birds in Row, Plebeian Grandstand), and boldly explores genres, subgenres, and subgenres of subgenres to offer up honest, eclectic, unpredictable, and playful music that will appeal to fans of Faith No More, Devin Townsend, Mastodon, and Dillinger Escape Plan.

CVLT: Hello! Can you offer some insights into the origins of the project?

Thomas: We started as a three-piece band in 2015 in Brest, France, and then teamed up with Benjamin (guitars), a good friend and a state-of-the-art joker. We wrote “The Great Disaster” together and then began touring France. Next, we recorded our last record, “Ouh La La”, in early 2020. We are promoting it right now, as I write, with Klonosphère.

Growing up, was music always a big part of your life? Can you recall your first ever musical experience?

I can only speak for myself, but it definitely was. I started building my own musical background at 14. I took up the drums at about that time and the first song I played in a band was “Under a Funeral Moon” by Darkthrone. Quite a start into Metal, right?

When listeners make their way through your music and hear all the songs, what do you want them to feel? What kind of situation do you see your music accompanying?

The first thing we want them to think is “wtf?” and then “I should go take a nap, this filet-mignon à la française was really too much for me today”. If this is what they think, then we’re happy. But it is hard to force people to think or feel things. They’ll think or feel what they will, and if that is a positive impression, then we’ll go eat some filet-mignon à la française and then take a nap.

What do you consider to be the essential elements of “Ouh La La”?

I think that Amaury Sauvé, our producer, did some fine work. “Ouh La La” owes him a great deal! Humor plays a very important role too – it ties the whole record together.

What was the inspiration for your single called ‘Lord Dranula’? How different or similar is it to anything else you have released in the past?

We have to explain that “nul” means “lame” in English. So that would be “Lord Draculame” in English. That’s a good one. It actually is the first song we wrote for “Ouh La La”, way before we even considered writing a third record. The second is ‘Morning Glories’. Both are a bit different from the rest of the record, but after some time spent turning them around, they managed to find some decent places in the tracklist – well done, Lord Dranula, you son of a gun!

How is the writing process working for you? Is there a captain of the ship or is it more collaborative, organic work?

The two first records were written during rehearsals. This time, we decided that Manuel et Benjamin would share the writing duties and that we would work out the arrangements together. This part actually took quite some time, but it made the songs come to life. It was a lot of fun too! If a musical idea makes us laugh, we usually find a way to make it fit into the song. Sometimes, it is just too much and we have to “pin it on the fridge” if you know what I mean.

What are your core motivations for music-making, and have they changed over the years as you’ve become more visible?

I always have a hard time answering that question. There is a difference between playing music for your own pleasure, playing music as a band member, and then playing for an audience. I think that all three have played a major role in the way we grew up as musicians. Now we are lucky to be working with professionals who make our life much easier, and that really is the icing on the cake.

We are not touring the arenas of the world yet, but we enjoy every show we play in a new town, every new review that comes out – being where we are now as a young band was not such a given when the whole Covid shitstorm happened!

What does it mean to play and live in the millennial generation of music artists? What do you borrow from those who came before you, and what do you do to push the genre forward?

It means spending way too much time on social media! There are an awful lot of bands playing right now, and all are trying to catch as much attention as they can. We are no exception. This is today’s game and we have no choice but to play by the rules! There is one way we have tried to make things differently, and that is by recording our songs live. That was tough, but it built our musicianship more than any number of rehearsals would have.

Now that this side of things is validated, we would really want to prepare a unique show – very much like a play, actually. It is hard to say what it would be, but we are looking to explore this side of music production in the future.

What do you feel is the best song you’ve ever released and why?

‘Warriors of the World’, by Manowar. Because it is the best song ever made. And we wrote it.

When you perform live, how do you want your audience to feel as they leave the show?

My answer has to do with French cuisine…

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair game-food, books, video games, or even cock n’ ball torture, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

Eating nuts when my girlfriend is away. She is allergic to nuts.

What do you hope to do with your music in the future? I mean, do you have any crazy schemes or goals?

Writing and making music that sounds good to us and having a great time! Creating a fine live show that we can tour France, Europe or even more the world with would be nice too. So, if you like what you hear, feel free to support us in whatever way you can! Many thanks for this interview!

All the best and good luck Thomas!