Interview by Miriam Cadoni
Rock’n’rollers The Last Internationale defy any label and any obstacle. Despite the pandemic that abruptly stopped its European Tour, the duo didn’t discourage itself. After a short period of quarantine, it squared up to record the first live album “Live at the Arda Recorders” in studio in Portugal. Let’s learn more about with the singer/songwriter of the band, Delila Paz. Enjoy!
Hi Delila, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine, how are you and how these precarious days are treating you?
Hi, thanks for having me. I really like the name of the magazine. I’m doing pretty well. Despite all, you gotta hold on.
First of all, for our readers that aren’t familiar with The Last Internationale, would you like to tell us how the band got together?
Sure. We come from New York and the band was founded by me and Edgey. At the beginning, we have started by touring here in New York and in the US. Then, we came to Europe and we understood that that’s our home because we tour more here than the US. I guess, we call ourselves a blues influenced rock-‘n’-roll band with some bits here and there of soul, folk and metal. It’s just a blend of it.
TLI has recently released their first live album “Live at Arda Recorders”. What can you share about its general concept?
Well, due to the COVID pandemic, our European tour got shortened and consequently, we were on quarantine. Actually, we want to keep on going and recording a live album in studio is something I’ve always wanted. We’ve never done that before. Since we got abruptly off the road, we were playing live and we still had the energy on us, we decided to jump into the studio.
As said before, we have voluntarily quarantined ourselves and after this short period, we have decided to flew in, for this project, both our three friends (namely the drummer, the bassist and the keyboardist) from the band Shaka Pont from Paris to Porto. We have just played for a couple of days and it was how the record came together.
Considering TLI’s career and history, what meaning holds this release for the band?
I wanted it. We wanted it. Also, we strongly wanted something that could represent us in a live setting. I think that the best form of music is the one without any overdubs, so completely raw.
So, our final intent was to keep our sound raw but at the same time, capture in the right manner the energy of a live show. In the end, being imperfect is the special peculiarity of the music. Nothing has to be always perfect.
We have already mentioned that The Arda Recorders are based in Porto, Portugal. Why the decision fell on this particular location and facility?
That was because we had a really cool guy called Joaõ who’s the owner of this new studio. It took 2 years for building it and he invested millions of Euros in it. So, it makes a really beautiful studio that has also a huge live room. Actually, we were one of the first bands to be in there for that kind of project.
Also, it happened to become friends with him and we like his work ethic. You know, coming from New York where everyone is hassling us to be fast and he’s like that. So, we enjoy working with for that reason too.
As you have already mentioned, the line-up features Ion Meunier on drums, Mandris on bass and Steve on keys. Originally, they come from the band Shaka Pont. Would you like to introduce a little bit the band and how your partnership with them started?
Sure. With Shaka Pont, we started by playing some features with their drummer Ion and subsequently, he joined us in tour. It’s one of the coolest drums to be around. Instead, with played together only with Mandris and Steve during our participation in France’s TV program “Taratata”.
We were joined by some back-up singers too. Then, we planned this release and we just contacted directly contacted them. It’s awesome to work with them because of the late-night session. For example, at 3 am in the morning, we we’re so full of energy to still keep up with the recordings.
Additionally, “Live at Arda Recordings” features the concert documentary available in video download format. What the fans should expect and why didn’t you opt for a physical release?
We tried [laughs] but we have to blame it on the footage not the photographer to be late. You know, our plan was to release our live during the Christmas holidays and the CD was ready and the DVD no. So, our last option was the digital download, however, will not back on it soon. It’s quite personal footage because on there, it’s showed our unsureness between our song’s performances and our late-night hilarious shenigans.
Back in 2019, The Last Internationale has released their third full-length “Soul on Fire”. After few years from its release, how the album has been received by the press and the fans? And are you still satisfied with it?
Yeah, sure. We still satisfied with it and I feel like we’re growing all the time. It’s an album where I’ve personally put a lot of effort in writing skills. Also, I concentrated a login my emotions, it was needed. Creatively, it has opened a door for me to do more on the next album. To talk about more personal things. To talk, for example, more about women rights hope reflecting on my personal journey.
What the future holds for The Last Internationale?
When we’ll be allowed to go back on the road, we’ll do that. In the meantime, we’ll focus on live performances via streaming and also, we’re starting to write some material for the new album. I’m so looking forward to it.
Sadly, Delila, we’re almost at the end of the interview. Please be free to say hi to your fans and our readers.
First, thank you for having me. Hello to everybody out there. Keep the spirit alive. Hopefully, you’re doing good out there. We will see you soon.
facebook.com/thelastinternationale
