WL//WH Interview WAVEPOOL
photo by ©Charlotte Romer
Hailing from Rouen, Normandy, up-and-coming five-piece wavepool, made of Carine (vocals /synths), Maryan (guitar, vocals), Thalie (guitar), Tadek (bassist, vocals) and Titou (drums), seamlessly layer fuzzy guitars, deep bass, spectral synths, billowing drums, and ethereal vocals, to create densely textured, transformative, and immersive, both suave and misty Shoegaze reveries that feel both intimate and expansive, urgent and reflective.
The band have just dropped their debut 6-track EP, “Crayola” via Howlin Banana Records and Luik Music.
Many thanks for the interview. How and when did wavepool start?
wavepool started in 2024 with Thalie and Maryan, both writing music together and then wanting to share it with some other people, so they invited friends, Titou and Tadek, to be part of the journey and then came Carine to complete the band.
Can you all talk about your artistic and musical influences as individuals and as a band as a whole?
Carine: I’m a photography fanatic, so I feel like it sometimes translates into my lyrics, the way I describe what I see around me and how it makes me feel. As for the music, I love many different artists and styles, but the ones I get inspiration from for wavepool are probably Sunbeam Sound Machine, Bowery Electric and Crumb.
I have always associated Rouen with post-punk/wave bands since the 80s. What is the indie music scene like there instead?
Carine: Yeah, Rouen definitely has that post-punk heritage, there were some great bands back in the day! The indie scene now is still alive; there are a few cool venues and local collectives keeping things going. It’s more eclectic these days, with a mix of indie rock, electronic, and DIY projects rather than a single dominant sound.
Which have been the vital records/songs and live concerts that indelibly struck your perception of music?
Carine: My fav album of all time: “This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about” by Modest Mouse.
Maryan: I love “Diamond Jubilee” by Cindy Lee.
What attracts you to the Dreampop / Shoegaze sounds?
Carine: I love that massive, immersive sound, how it feels like you’re floating — hazy guitars, ethereal vocals, that wall of sound vibe. It’s nostalgic and comforting at the same time.
Your sound is rich in textures and atmosphere. How would you define your music, and how has it developed over time?
Maryan: Sunny, blurry, misty, colourful but pale, fuzzy with touches of iridescence, that kind of stuff.
Can you talk a bit about your writing process and how you go about approaching the construction of a song?
Maryan: I make most of the music in my apartment and then propose it to the band, and they basically come up with great vocal lines! Either at their place and then they come to mine to record a demo and work on the vocals with me, or at the band practice, we all try some stuff and see what works. For “Blue Moon”, for example, we just copied the guitar line I had for the verse and used it as the vocal line. For the chorus, we had a first version, but ended up finding something that fits the shoegazy vibe better at the band practice!
Carine: As for me, I listen to the track Maryan made a couple of times and let my mind drift, I try to sing a melody on top of it and then simply write lyrics that go with my mood at the time or I look at what I wrote in my notes app a few weeks ago and try to fit it to the song.
What are the individual efforts and strengths that each of you brings to the band’s creative process?
Carine: Maryan is the headmaster behind wavepool. He composes all the instruments and does an amazing job. We always all love the demos he makes us hear. Tadek is a great lyricist, wrote some great hooks, and I love how he brings some pop elements to the songs. Thalie has some great influences and comes up with really good harmonies and ideas. Titou’s got some great ears and has that good sense of rhythm we need. And as for me, I try to bring an ethereal and fragile voice to the tracks.
How is the EP born and developed?
Carine: I feel like we just picked the tracks we were the most satisfied with and that felt like
represented us the most.
Can you explain the underlying common thread that connects the songs?
The songs on “Crayola” come from different chapters of my life. Moments of joy, struggle and a lot of self-discovery. I wanted to explore a wide variety of personal emotions, but at the same time, I wanted it to be quite relatable for everyone to connect with it.
Your music sounds like a blurry, slightly distorted/dreamy fantasy escapist universe to get lost in, as “running away can be a way to stay alive”, you stated…
Yeah, that’s pretty much the idea — creating a kind of blurry, dreamy space you can disappear into for a while. I like when music feels like an escape hatch, something that blurs reality just enough to make it easier to face when you come back haha
What are your best/worst bits of playing live so far? You just had a gig in Brighton, and you will be going to showcase the EP around France in the next few weeks…
Carine: We’ve played our first two shows in Rouen in really small venues where it was difficult to fit all of us and all of our gears, but it has helped us grow, and now we feel more confident and comfortable. We had a great time playing at Ouest Park festival in Le Havre, the public was on fire, and that was really motivating!
What other new bands/artists would you recommend checking out that you feel keen on?
Carine: Go check out scoreboard!!! From Norway!! They’re cool and we wanna tour with them!!
What’s next for Wavepool?
Playing more shows, recording some more songs and having lots of fun really
