GOLEM DANCE CULT – interview

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:

Charles Why: We are Golem Dance Cult, a “Glam Goth” band. Our latest release is the album “Shamanic Faultlines” which is now available on vinyl (including a limited edition splatter), cd and digital.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?

Charles Why: streaming kind of kill the music business. On the other hand digital tools allow us to collaborate from, literally, one side of the World to the other. So not all is bad with technology, we are not luddites. However the business model with platform like Spotify is definitely detrimental to artists while the music is now perceived as a commodity. 

Laur: The more band members, the harder it is! Luckily we are a duo! Haha But yeah, the whole music industry has changed and we can only try to adapt…

When did you realise that your project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea?

Laur: We had some good feedback after releasing our first EP “Grotesque Radio” so we thought it would be cool to record more music.

Charles Why: for us, Golem Dance Cult is and will always be a vehicle to create music that we enjoy ourselves. That being said, it is quite cool and rewarding to realise that we have fans and followers that understand and feel at home in our own “weird” Universe.

Tell us about your latest release, why should we check it out?

Charles Why: “Shamanic Faultlines” was two years in the making. We took our sweet time to make sure the songs were the best we could have created and we both progressed on our respective musical fields. Plus, for this album we were able to collaborate with several of our musicians friends such as Inga Liljestrom, who lent us her amazing voice on a few songs, Dick Dens from  “The Irradiates” who played guitar on two tracks, Loki Lockwood (from Velatine and founder of Spooky Records) played synth on one, Boris Boublil (Mu and Emilie Loizeau) Moog and organ, Jean-Philippe Feiss played Cello, must-instrumentalist Blair Manie played the Oud… Each brought their own sensibility to the song they played on. In the end, we create this album as our ultimate musical experience. Dim the light, have a drink, smoke something or not, put the vinyl on, and it could lead to a Shamanic voyage…

Laur: This new album is not supposed to change the history of music but it does have a strong identity and doesn’t confirm to modern music clichés. More soulful than polished!

How does a song typically come together for you?

Charles Why: it can start with a riff, a rhythm pattern or a vocal idea. Afterwards, the whole point is to not be afraid to close our eyes and let our hand off the wheel while pressing the pedal to the metal.

Laur: The vocal ideas usually come easily after Charles sent me the first demos of a new song.

How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader?

Charles Why: at the beginning we were calling our music, Industrial Dance Rock. Some recent reviews went with Glam Goth which we like a lot 😉

With digital tool available, music can now be “perfect” and homogenised, however this is not why we love music in the first place. The inherent human aspect is flawed and that is what reverberate with people. If you take the first few AC/DC albums on a song like “Hell ain’t a bad place to be” for example, the guitar are slightly out of tune but the energy and vibe is great. This is why we favour vibe over perfection. In this regard, we try as much as possible to limit the number of “takes” during the recording process to keep the music fresh and live. Not to say there are dud notes or out of tune instruments on purpose but our music breath and we are not afraid to stretch the perimeter of what our brand of Rock is supposed to sound like to get deeper substance.

Laur: Shamanic alternative rock?

What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your band?

Charles Why: a cool rocking moment at the very least or why not, a Shamanic experience. The last  and eponymous song on the album was built like a Shamanic trip with a beginning, middle and end call.

Laur: It would be great if the listeners could travel through our songs and get away from their every day routine.

Where would you really like to tour that you haven’t done so yet, and why?

Charles Why: I’m based in Australia, Laur is in France so any tour in Europe or Down Under would be great.

Laur: Touring anywhere in the world would actually be new to Golem Dancer Cult! 🙂

How would you say that the sound of your band has progressed over the years?

Charles Why: our sound has evolved as much as the production aspects. Our music is a reflection of ourselves and  since the band inception we went through different experiences and try to become better human being, hopefully this translate into our music.

Laur: The production has improved a lot and the ideas got more precise.

How excited are you for 2025, and what can fans expect from you?

Charles Why: we try to create a whole universe between our songs and video. So hopefully a few new videos will be on their way.

Laur: We’re excited to see if people will enjoy “Shamanic Faultlines” or not haha… Anyway, we still have more ideas for the future!