Winding their way through and illuminating the belly of the underground Paris music scene over the last few years have been three natives to the city, Storm Orchestra. Today, they have revealed their euphoric new single, “Bright Soul”, and the news that they have signed to Mascot Records. You can watch the video HERE .
Their metallic alt-rock sets them apart from their contemporaries—a shimmering grandiose vision blended with marauding contemporary rock. The aggressive glammy guitar snaps and bites as it spirals around a thunderous, hard-rocking rhythm section that pulsates with an aura of glamour and charisma but also an overriding heaviness.
It’s music built for stadiums but made to connect with people. It blends the infectiousness of Nothing But Thieves, the captivating driving force of Royal Blood, and the melodic ambition of Muse.
The new song “Bright Soul” was mixed by Grammy-winning Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters) and produced by Bertrand Poncet from Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! The song evokes human beings’ perpetual inner struggle. “Each of us has a dark side, crystallizing our fears, wounds, and traumas that can extinguish our inner flame at any moment,” they explain.
Singer Maxime Goudard’s talismanic wail confides, “I cannot hide it anymore, It’s pulsing in my veins, Calm my inner war, Without further delay, Escape from this vicious doubt, I battle for a way out… Where’s my bright soul? It’s always away, It’s leaving a terrifying hole,” over the rousing noise that lets the words run free.
The leitmotif is this inner question: “Where’s my bright soul?” Goudard opens up about his fear of letting his dark side take over the person he wants to be. His fierce determination to fight for the best in himself is symbolized by the powerful riff that opens and closes the track.
Music has the power to unite and rejoice in the moment, creating moments of real beauty. Having known each other since childhood, Maxime Goudard (vocals, guitar), Adrien Richard (bass) and Loïc Fouquet (drums) are bound together by the struggles and triumphs that have taken them to this moment, “First and foremost, we stand for packing people in a room and make them have the best time altogether with loud music. We also have social concerns, and we stand for equality, environment and the voices of the people,” says the band.
They explored these themes on their debut album, ‘What A Time To Be Alive,’ which last year caught the attention of Mascot Records—home to Black Stone Cherry, P.O.D., Calva Louise, Oxymorrons, Conquer Divide, 10 Years, VOLA and Defects.
As a then-unsigned band, they picked up an impressive combined 4M streams, ending the year in a triumphant fashion as the “Artist to Watch in 2024” by Spotify France and celebrities in the Top of the Rock: Best of 2023 and Deezer’s 2023 Rock playlists.
They’re seizing a moment, and all of this is driven by their high-intensity moshpit-inducing live shows. They’ve captured lightning in a bottle and are selling out clubs across France. It’s live where they truly get to express themselves, “It’s really emotional to play to a full house of people—our fans, friends and family, celebrating our music! The party goes on all night.”
As their profile has been building, they’ve begun infiltrating festival stages and have not held back in taking them by storm. “Last Summer, we played our biggest show to date, a festival in front of 10,000 people who probably didn’t know us at first. We had to get them to realize what Storm Orchestra is about, and before long, they were all singing along to our songs. It was challenging and intense, but we connected with a lot of new fans.”
They say about their live shows, “We always come to a show with the biggest smile and a crazy load of energy. We want people to get energized, to let off steam, and leave wanting more. We are always exhausted right after the set; if not, it means something went wrong!”
Talking about signing to Mascot Records they add, “Signing to Mascot is the biggest opportunity in Storm Orchestra’s career. Making music professionally has been a dream and a goal for many years. In the last few months, Mascot has been an incredible supportive force to help us make new music and reach new goals.”
Light and dark, euphoria and heaviness, glamour and aggression – Storm Orchestra are here to be your new favourite band.