Closed Doors

(Benadjer/Bournier/No)

"This is a song about choosing. When you’re young, you have so many paths available in front of you. But you need to choose one. It will be your life and how you had chosen to live it. Sometimes you can have regrets, sometimes you can wonder what would have been your life had you chosen another path. The song was born from a musical idea that JP brought. Paul completed it."
 - Seb

"When JP arrived in the project, we had a majority of organic songs. Acoustic guitars, Organs, Pianos. But we also had an alien: Conflagration. We began feeling that we needed another song to accompany it. JP had a wonderful riff that i immediately liked, and this is how it all began. We felt this song had to be the first of the record. The title, “Closed Doors” responding to “Fresh Start” of the last song. I remember improvising a synth intro to the record that helped Closed Doors grow little by little. This improvisation has stayed and now gives a Genesis spirit to this song. "
 - Paul

"I arrived on the Lunear project at the end of the process. Almost every songs were already written. It was quite unusual for me, but very refreshing. I instantly loved Conflagration, and as we worked on it, it became obvious that we needed another powerful and rock-driving song like that on the album. I had a little demo mainly based on a weird and dark 3 guitars riff coupled with a distorted drum pattern (what became the verse of the song), something in a Trent Reznor style.  Paul took and developed it in a complete different way, add tons of synths, find a chorus and a bridge... I love the result and it fits perfectly with the mood of the album."
 - JP

In Between

(Bournier/No)

"I have no recollection of writing the lyrics for this song whatsoever. I just know that it was a quite dark time for me. I sent it to Paul with some chords that he used in the musical bridge and he sent back the whole song a few days latter. I instantly fell in love with it."
 - Seb

"I remember the demos Seb had. There was this unusual chord sequence that i liked and i began playing with it on the piano. It was almost progressive but at that time, I really wanted to do something more straightforward, and simple. I loved the idea of doing a simple pop song, and mix it with some more obscure bridge… I love the result of it, because the melody on the chord sequence makes it a simple thing, and shouldn’t pop music just be about that?"
 - Paul

"I love the chord progression at the end of the chorus, but I struggled a lot to record properly the guitar part because it was so unusual for me! At first listen, the song seems very simple and straightforward, but it has some complexity underneath. A complexity hidden by the evidence of the melody: could be the definition of a good song."
 - JP

A Last Time For Everything

(Bournier/No)

"I think the lyrics for this one are self-explanatory. For the music I just sang whatever came first while playing easy chords on my guitar. Of course Paul changed almost all of them and that was for the best. It’s a very powerful song and I’m glad that the three of us shared the vocals on it."
 - Seb

"One of my favourite song on the album. I remember the first chord sequence Seb sent me. I thought it began beautifully but dropped in the most important moment. We had many conversations about this one. I had built another structure, very Floydish, but Seb felt (and now I must admit he was right) that it damaged the initial idea of the song… So we worked hard on it to find the good balance. I secretly wanted to sing this song, but I understood that at least for the first part of the song Seb had to sing it. Then, when the song evolved in a three parts structure, it became obvious that it could be the perfect song for the three of us to share the vocals. That’s what we did and the result is brilliant."
 - Paul

"I always loved the songs with arrangements progression, and this one is a very good example. It starts in an intimate vibe, then grows into something wider and wider to finish in a big bang of emotions and sounds. The final is a deliverance. It is the perfect combination of our skills. This song is very Radioheadish and I’m very proud of the result."
 - JP

Just Another Song About That Girl

(Bournier/No)

"There are so many sexist songs about guys being in love with a girl. And it’s so boring. I can’t stand them anymore, so I wrote these cynical lyrics. The song emerged from a DropD riff on my guitar. I was about to shelved it but Paul brought it alive and JP just had the perfect voice to fit the lyrics."
 - Seb

"I want to be honest… I’ve never known what was the concept of the DropD, and never asked 😉 I remember that demo very well. It sounded like PiL or some punk group. I felt that, while keeping the core spirit of the song, we could add strong harmonies. That’s what I tried to do. I wanted an analog lead synth sound, but I didn’t find it, until JP worked on the mix. He did a wonderful job and I just love the sound of this synth. At first the idea was that Seb would sing the song. But Seb wanted JP to have a lead vocal on the record, and JP did a very good job. I think the song has a strong 80’s feel."
 - Paul

"Of all the 8 songs I had to listen when I arrived on the project, this one was the less developed. Weak guitars, cheezy drum loop… it sounded awful 🙂 But it had the potential to be a good song with a new-wave feeling in it. So I re-recorded the main Drop-D guitar riff and the bass, and thought about some guitar arrangement to improve the song. The challenge was also to find the good balance between the rock guitars and the 80’s synth touch to make something coherent. I think it works."
 - JP

Heaven?

(Bournier/No)

"I don’t believe that there is such a thing as Heaven, Paradise or Afterlife. I hope I’m wrong though. I truly believe that the time we spend on Earth is the very paradise some people are looking for and that we have to enjoy it as much as we can. The idea of Heaven is that it’s supposed to be the best place ever. But I do think that one could get bored of anything. Even the best things ever."
 - Seb

"I remember that Seb wanted a song with two different atmospheres. I had the lyrics he sent and the ideas came very quickly. I really loved working with Seb’s lyrics. The process of writing lyrics has always been very painful for me, and working with finished lyrics was 100% fun for me. I think it helped build strong songs."
 - Paul

"It was the first bass and guitars i recorded for the album. It appeared to me that it was a good song to start with, a good way to understand how Paul’s mind musically works. I had some guidelines - Paul recorded all the basslines and some guitar parts on his synths - so I just had to follow this lines and give them an organic sound with some extra-feelings."
 - JP

Don't Be Scared

(Benadjer/Bournier/No)

"We live in a world of news and fear. I’m pretty sure that the world is not in a worst shape than 80 years ago, but because of those 24/7 news channels repeating themselves in dreadful loops, we don’t live our lives, we are just expecting the worse everyday. And that’s wrong. We can’t live thinking that there won’t be a « tomorrow ». That is not what « living » is about. So I wrote these lyrics about a father reassuring his or her child. JP contributed the middle « mayhem » part of the song, bringing it to the next level."
 - Seb

"This song was the last one written for this record. I remember sending the guys a theme I just called “12 strings”. I was working with my new acoustic 12 strings guitar, and these chords in the first part of the song came very naturally. It had a strong Steven Wilson influence. When Seb listened to it he quickly had the idea of the lyrics. But Seb is sometimes very slow, so we had to be pushing him a little bit, if we didn’t want to finish the album in 2020!!! He imagined a 2 parts dialogue between a father and a son. I became the father and Seb would be the son. At first there were more lyrics, and I remember asking JP if he could take the song to another level. He built that strong atmosphere that I loved!! I love the way the two ambients mix in the song. It emphasizes the lyrics of this song."
 - Paul

"How does creativity work? What is the strange train of thoughts that can transform a beautiful-basic 2-minutes-barely-not-arranged-guitar-theme into a seven-minutes-four-sections-song ? Well… I don’t have the answer, but I think it has something to do with the fact that we all worked together in a complementary way. I remember that Paul sent us a simple demo that grows quickly, but at some point we felt that the song needed something a little bit different to avoid monotony. The song had a Steven Wilson touch, so, in one of my insomnia night, I started to search a way to expand the song with a real break in the structure, like Wilson does on his « prog » pieces. I worked all night on this and the result was the middle section in a very Floydish spirit. I knew that we had to return to the main theme for the song’s final, so I added another short break, very heavy, like those found on Steven Wilson’s Deadwing. It was a lot of fun to do. I remember I was happily surprised that the other guys liked what I had composed because it was very different from the other songs or the album. We cut some parts and I added some ambiance sounds to fit the meaning of the song.  Paul added some keys and did a great synth solo. Seb did a very great job in the middle section (« think Mason! »). « Et voilà ! »"
 - JP

So... Many...

(Bournier/No)

"I’ve had the lyrics for many years and the idea for the verses. As usual, I sent everything I had to Paul and he replied with the finished song."
 - Seb

"Seb had the lyrics and a vocal melody. I kept his melody and began writing the song in the grand piano of my parent’s home. I love working with a guide vocal and try to find the perfect chords to match with the melody. I had made a solo synth guitar, that JP has magnified. This song has jazz like chords, and JP also made a nice work in building a jazz sound spirit, even if the song is not jazz at all. I also love Seb’s simple drums on this song."
 - Paul

"Probably my favorite bassline of the album. And one of my favorite guitar solo too, very emotional. It is so far from what I usually play I didn’t even know I was able to do it. Thanks to Paul for that. I also liked to add some backing vocals at the end of the song (arrangement progression!). I really love this song, there are some magic fragile moments in it combined with lot of strengths. I tried my best to capture its jazzy feeling and keep this magic alive."
 - JP

Conflagration

(Bournier/No)

"That must be the oldest song of the album. I remember writing the lyrics in a bus in China in 1999. It’s about a man trapped in a building caught on fire. Paul had this powerful instrumental song. I started to sing my lyrics to it. Paul liked what he heard, sang the song and that was it."
 - Seb

"I call this song the alien, because at first it was so different from the rest. I remember playing with some moog sequencer sounds and try to make it sound like Depeche Mode, with dark chords. But the song, as it developed, began to have a progressive rock touch, in a Genesis style, with solo synths everywhere. I played the instrumental to Seb, and he came with his words. The song was strong and powerful, but as JP arrived and put his masterclass guitars, the song changed to epic. Without Seb and JP, I would never had been able to give so much power to this song. So I thank them because it’s a mix of what I love so much of the 80’s progressive rock. Fun, harmony, power, melody, and synths and guitars everywhere!"
 - Paul

"I fell in love with this song instantly the first time I heard it. It is the type of song that boost you for the rest of the day. I love the Genesis-Abacab area spirit it has. In. Your. Face. Powerful. Ear-popping. A constantly built-up-to-the-next-step song. It’s also another song with a guitar part I didn’t know I was able to do. Me, playing some tapping? Nonsense! I remember having this stupid idea while listening the synth arpeggio just before the break. And then thinking about also doubling the synth solo. Recording all the guitar parts was so much fun! Even the rhythmic ones! I really appreciate the break with the solo, when the drums plays with more space. Fun fact: there is no bass in this song."
 - JP

You Owe Me Nothing

(Bournier/No)

"The story for this one is pretty much the same as for Conflagration: Paul sent a song and I started to improvise on it while singing my lyrics. The only difference is that I’m singing it on the album. I think it’s a beautiful pop song and it might be my favorite."
 - Seb

"I remember sending a bunch of demos to Seb. He immediately loved this demo, and when he added his words to the song, and sing it, I also tried to sing it, just in case… But no way, he didn’t let me sing this one 😉  Seb has done a beautiful job on the singing, and even if I would have loved to sing this one, it was great letting him have the lead vocals on it."
 - Paul

"The first song I mixed for this album. Because I needed to take my marks on the mixing process, and a "light" song is perfect for that. And also because you always have to please the one who hires you 🙂 On the demo, there was no electric guitar on the second chorus. I had this idea of a counterpoint melody and recorded it very naturally. I’m happy with the result. It’s a beautiful "simple" song."
 - JP

Fresh Start

(Bournier/No)

"I had this instrumental demo called Lunear. I also had unused lyrics left. He took both and created this perfect song. I think that the moment when Paul listened to my demo is the moment the band was born, really. He kept almost everything that was in it and developed it to break out of the piano pattern into a gorgeous and powerful chorus. This perfect way to end a record."
 - Seb

"This is where it all started. The name of the band, the collaboration, and the first song. I loved the hypnotic ambient-like demo Seb had done. I remember reading the words:

“Slam the door
Hit the road
Leave everything behind”.

Seb had written some strong lyrics and it was very easy for me to fit in the words he had created. I began developing a song. At that time, I was putting cellos in every song, and I created a small concerto part. Seb told me it was frustrating because it was beautiful but too short. But I think it works that way. Nevertheless, when JP took the song, he added a fantastic atmosphere to the song and brought it to a higher level! A perfect closer for our album."
 - Paul

"When Seb and Paul asked me to work on the intro of the song (the synth-based original intro didn’t make it), I spent a lot of time on this one, trying to find the right sound for the guitars. I wanted something very airy, dreamy and spacey (but not Kevin). I had in mind the sound of Sigur Ros mixed with Twin Peaks Original Soundtrack and I think it’s quite there. The rest of the song was nearly perfect so I didn’t want to add a lot of things. So I only put a very simple guitar with a straight sound on the second verse, and some backing choirs on the chorus. It’s a very beautiful song."
 - JP