"...into the new age!"

LES YEUX SANS VISAGE is the name of a more or less new post-punk/new wave outfit from Lucerne. I don't care about supporting some local scene or bands. But they just do what they do on a pretty high level. If you're a fan of bands such as The Chameleons, The Sound or (of course) Joy Division, you have to give them a listen. Beneath is an interview I did with guitarplayer Ismail a couple of months ago... You're welcome.

Please give our readers a short introduction. Who are you, in which band are you playing and what are some other interests in your life?

My Name is Ismail Osman and I play Guitar in a Band called Les Yeux Sans Visage. Besides the obvious music it has to be literature for me – loads and loads of books an never enough time to get through them all.

This may sound strange, but I'm always a bit sceptical when other people tell about this completely genius band from their town, nobody has ever heard of. I actually assume that LYSV is the first band ever out of my area which I listen to on a regular basis. I heard so from other people as well. What are your thoughts on that?

Yeah I know that feeling you're describing – and it means all the more to me, if people feel that there's something to our music that transports them beyond that amateurish local-band-feel.

The music you play could be compared to Interpol or Joy Division. Although I know that all of you really like said bands, it's clear, that there are way more bands, one could refer to. What bands have had some kind of impact on you as a member of LYSV in the evolution of your sound?

Definitely the Chameleons. Script of the Bridge was a major influence on how I wanted my guitar to sound – even tough I think I totally failed at doing so. Another, maybe less nostalgic influence, has to be the sound Joe Daniels guitar playing. Joe Daniel is the Co-Founder of Angular records (These New Puritans, Klaxons, Wetdog etc.). He also played Guitar in the now defunct Band The Violets. He's style is quite wild, inventive and uses lots of feedback and little tricks to hide the fact that it was the only guitar in the band.

New Wave/Post-Punk has been a genre, which always had some more-known Artists. It's never been really been dead. At the same time, it seems like most people are older guys who have never really lost track with this kind of music. You rarely see young folks into it. Any explanations for this phenomenon?

I'm not so sure if that's true anymore. I mean Bands like Editors orWhite Lies have a Pop-appeal and do make it to the Top if the Charts with that kind of Sound. The question is whether their fans know about the influences of these bands – I mean beyond Joy Division. In general I think that the sound has a certain timeless aesthetic – it might never be in high fashion but there will always be people that are drawn to that darker, clear-cut look and feel.

What's your musical background and how did you end up in LYSV? I guess you've always been interested in Music and Art, so what did Ismail Osman look like and listen to ten years ago?

Ten years ago, that would have been the year 2000, I felt quite lost musically. My first love, Hip-Hop, had degenerated to a gimmicky soap-opera that had lost all of the musical inventiveness that had drawn me towards it. I got a little into electronic music, but really it took me another couple of years to find what I was looking for. As for my looks back then, it's kind of hard to recall what I was wearing – I do remember wearing a pair of Diesel Jeans until they completely disintegrated but I was never the most stylish kid in town.

LYSV started about a year an a half ago, since then you managed to record and play quite a lot. One thing that fascinates me: You almost haven't had any musical experience before, right? Would you mind, telling us how LYSV came together and what the first rehearsal was like? Do you think you look at things the same way as if you had been in bands for over 10 years?

My musical background is extremely sparse, to say the least. We started Les Yeux Sans Visage about a year an half ago. Before that I was in a Band called Demons to Diamonds. We only played a handful of shows but it was my first musical experience. Me and Remo, our singer, who was also in Demons to Diamonds, decided that we would continue making music together. This came after the other two members had to pause, due to them going to travel abroad and entering
university respectively.

We quickly realised, that the two of us work quite well together but that there would have to be a new Name under which to make music as a duo. I happen to find this french horror-noir movie Les Yeux Sans Visage and we both liked the sound and imagery of that Name. We recorded the first song we came up with on a cell phone. I played guitar, Remo played drums and sang. Dominic happend to hear the phone recording and said: I like the song but the drumming is shit – I'll play the drums.

We had a first rehearsal together and we all knew right away – this
is it.

I guess it's somewhat of a blessing to be this new to actually playing music. There still seems so much space to discover and in the process becoming a better musician. Most of our songs come together in a matter of minutes. Its all very spontaneous and exiting when something new is discovered– I'm not sure if it was this easy, if we all had been playing in bands for ever.

Does the band have a specific goal? Are there some things you absolutely want to achieve?

I guess the goals were made up as we went along. In the beginning it was just the fun of playing together. Then it was to play a single gig – it happened to be a strobe-light-driven performance for an art-show – We then quickly decided to record a 7inch single – really just for our
selves, like a picture or a memory to have of that time. Somewhere in-between we received a certain amount of recognition and lots of positive feedback. The goal became to play more, and to play outside our hometown as much as possible, then to record new songs, then to get some airplay, then to organise and play a bigger release-show. Everything worked out quite nice so far – our next goal will bring us back to those art-show-roots somewhat, but that's all I'll say
for now.

Some bands in your genre also usecertain imagery. Now, as your lyrics and music are rather dark, how important is this to you? Are there any plans or concepts within your music or the way you want to present it?

We do try to make it all "look like us". By that I mean we try to give our music a distinctive look that matches the feeling we want the sound to conjure up within the listener. As our music is quite minimal and sleek, we wanted our records to have a sleek look themselves. For instance, we decided that there would be nothing written on the cover only a photo. The photos used are by the uncle of our drummer Dominic. He's name is Hany Madej and he is a very established news-photographer. He took a series of photographs in eastern Europe in the late eighties and early nineties. They are really dark and bleak and some are even shocking but they also carry something very beautiful within them. We got the permission to use some of his pictures for our records. They fit the music perfectly and our next record will most likely also feature one of his pictures.

Okay, let's do some guitar-related talk, then. What's your current set-up?

I play a Fender Jazzmaster (American 62' Vintage Reissue). My amp is a Laney VC30-112 with an extension cabinet. That's really not the most powerful or prestigious amp but it does give me the sound I'm looking for like no other has so far.

My effects include: Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb, Boss RE-20 Space Echo, Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter, Boss PS-2 Pitch Shifter / Delay (my secret weapon), Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff and an old Pro-Co RAT.

And what's your dream gear? Favourite pedals? Amps? Guitars?

I would love to own a Vox Phantom Guitar but they are quite hard to get a hand on these days. It's mostly the angular shape of the guitar that gets me. I'm also quite interested in the modified Jazzmaster made for Lee Renaldo and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

I definitely would like to upgrade my amp probably to some kind of vintage VOX AC30.

As for the pedals, that would be an endless list! I love all kinds of Reverb and Delay Sounds, right now I'm looking for some good chorus- and overdrive-pedals – and then take it from there...

You're the only guitar player in LYSV. Does this affect your style of writing? And are there some times, where you wish there'd be a second guitar player?

That's definitely a yes on both counts! I quickly figured out that being the only guitar means you need to change things a lot. It could get boring quite quickly if the guitar always sounds the same – especially if you, like me, are not the most virtuosic player. That's where the effects come in. They are supposed to add depth into the simple melodic structures a play.

There are also some songs, especially the newer ones, which almost require more that one guitar. We don't have a problem adding extra instrument to our recordings, so those ideas are mostly dealt with in the studio – We have been ask several times why we haven't added a keyboard player or a second guitarist to our line-up. It might very well happen in the future but for now, we feel quite comfortable playing as a trio.

Before we finish one last question: Please name your personal top 5 records as well as your favourite guitar riff/melody.

Albums (in no particular order):

Script of the Bridge – The Chameleons
Closer – Joy Division
But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? – Death in June
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold us Back – Public Enemy
Primary Colours – The Horrors

Favourite melody/riff: The main melody in "Paper Tigers" by the Chameleons – actually the whole Song is just absolutely perfect from start to finish!

That's it. Place your last sentence beneath;

"These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others!"– Groucho Marx