A Dirty Dozen with SANDRINE ORSINI from THE BATELEURS – December 2021 (BMA)

According to a recent press release: “The Bateleurs are a Blues/Rock band from Lisbon, Portugal; their debut Video EP “The Immanent Fire” was released digitally in October 2018. After a run of shows in their country, they’re wrapping up their debut album’s “The Sun in the Tenth House” production. The Bateleurs is a finalist for the 5th Annual Banger Music Awards in the following category: BEST FEMALE VOCALIST.” We get Sandrine to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our latest single, “Rise Above The Storm,” deals with some inherent concepts of modern life. It may look it talks about subjects of the present pandemic situation, but in fact the song was written in early 2019, so only our diehard fans will know that those things were already disturbing us for a very long time, as we’ve been playing this song live for a couple of years now.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician? Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I got into music because it was part of me, I sang and danced all the time, even on the streets. I was always excited to hear music at home, on my Walkman and my sister use to sing every day so I think it’s in me. The moment I thought I wanted to sing was when I was very little and saw the Eurovision contest on TV, and I’ll say that one day I’m gonna do that, next year my costume for Mardi Gras was “singer super star.”

3. What was your reaction to being included in the Banger Music Awards process? Did you ever think what you were doing would be elevated to “award” status?

It was an incredible surprise and honor, the Banger Music Hour has been an amazing supporter of our music, and we could’ve not been more thankful for all the airplay he’s been giving us. It’s a privilege to be nominated amongst so many talented musicians from around the world, and we promise that we will do our most to be up to the expectations.

4. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We usually say we are a Rock ’n’ Roll band for people who loves things done in an old fashion and proper way. If you like Zeppelin, Purple and all the giants of yesteryear, we’re in your ballpark. Sometimes some people tend to categorize us as Hard Rock, which is definitely a genre we don’t identify at all, and we can’t understand why, so it bums us out a little.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I would absolutely love to do something with Jay Buchanan from Rival Sons.

6. How important to you is the local music scene and acceptance by not only the fans but also your peers?

The local scene is paramount to success, it’s the only way for a band to be regularly active and to build a fan base. In Portugal we are very limited, it’s a small country with few venues, radios and everything that supports an healthy scene, so we’ve been expanding a little and work a lot in our neighbor Spain, which has a much thriving music scene, especially on our genre.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I will be the one who cooks, because I can definitely do it better than any one of the guys. The drinks is Ricardo Dikk (bassist) department, he’s a wine connoisseur, and we’re fortunate about it. Because of that, he will be the one to start the singalong, wine is happiness and here we take that very seriously.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Definitely the first time I listened to Rival Sons, and even more when I saw them live. Jay is the modern personification of the great frontmen back in the day, he’s Plant, he’s Morrison, his charisma is magnetic and his vocals are out of this world.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Being a musician is hard work and an emotional rollercoaster. We struggle with a lot of difficulties and some days it looks that everything is going down the drain. But I’ll never trade it for anything else, because it’s on of the most pure and beautiful ways of expressing your feelings and thoughts, and when you’re up on the stage and you feel the crowd, their smiles, their singing, their love, that’s when everything makes sense and you realize that it’s all part of the path, and that’s your purpose in this world. If I couldn’t sing, I’ll probably head out to Africa or Asia and do humanitarian work with local populations, I love exotic cultures and I can definitely picture myself living happy among them.

10. What is one question you would like an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I would love they asked more about our lyrics. We try really hard to address pertinent matters of the human condition, modern life, philosophy…we never write that same old love and fun rock song, we’re really trying to add a deeper dimension to our music. Since English is not our birth language, we dedicate a huge amount of time to get this really well done, so it would be cool if more people in media acknowledge that. The question every single one does and we’re sick of answering is the old “how did your band members got to know each other?”

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Fortunately, there are no such situation, we have been lucky and everything is going pretty smooth. If I have one regret, it is definitely not have released the album before the Covid situation begun. We’ve been delaying it for the past couple of years, but finally it’s time to have out for everyone to listen.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I would go back in 1971 in the Headley grange house where Led Zeppelin IV was recorded. I love all  Led Zeppelin albums, but I really have a special place for this one because they went against the tide, they did what they want, where they wanted and I think it would inspire me to write.

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Category: Interviews