Touch The Lock
space between weight and suspension
Photographs By Andrea Montano and Marine Keller
French duo UTO share their experience of playing at one of France’s biggest festivals, being creatively uncomfortable, and their latest album, ‘Touch the Lock’.
Augerville-la-Rivière, France
Photograph By Andrea Montano
UTO formed at the end of 2016. What is the story behind this project? How did it come into existence?
When we met, Émile was already in a band and I was at Uni doing a masters in French literature. Soon after we met and fell in love, I decided to write on a particular subject « technological simulacrum in arts » that included a big section on electronic music, I guess I would never have studied self-generated sound software if I hadn't been sharing my life with Emile. It seemed natural, after I graduated, that my focus shifted into performance arts, and this is how we, how UTO, began.
I came to Emile saying that I had some texts that felt to me more like lyrics than poetry.. While at the same time Emile felt he had come to the end of his previous project. . In just a week-end we recorded « The Beast » and « The No song », and UTO was launched.
What is your music all about ?
It’s an attempt to mix trip hop with rock as well as punk to folk and classical polyphonies to pop. Our music is about the space between weight and suspension, tellurium and ethereal.
How has UTO allowed you to express yourself differently than your previous projects?
Neysa : I will leave this one to Emile as UTO is my first project.
Emile : I had one other band with a friend that I joined when I was much younger; I was still very much in a learning phase and my friend was sort of a mentor at this time. Now I feel free to experiment. Also, working with Neysa was a changing point in my life, we understand each other like no one else I've ever worked with, together we are one.
You recently released your debut album, 'Touch the Lock'. What is this album about ? What story are you trying to tell?
‘Touch the Lock’ isn't a story, it isn’t a narrative album. It's more about being creatively uncomfortable and getting lost trying to make music (Steps in the dark, Row Paddle, Behind Windows, Lock myself…)
How does "Touch the Lock" show your growth as musicians ? How does it differ from previous singles ?
We took the risk not to sound like other stuff we love; it was a bit like being on a boat with no anchor, or stuck on a cliff with no rope, in a kitchen cooking with no recipes. We made music together as if it was always the very first time. As we went from track to track we deliberately tried to 'unformat' the music, we tried to break the conventional structures of pop songs. This album for us is like a collection of doors leading down different corridors; it’s a prequel for a future not yet written
You played Rock en Seine, one of France's biggest festivals, with bands such as Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys. What was that experience like?
It was a great opportunity for us. We didn't have any shows booked for months before this festival. We kept rehearsing in our barn next to our tomato plants and our chickens and it was an amazing change of perspective to be suddenly in front of a crowd. It's very cliché to say this but it really brought it home to us the importance of sharing our music live. After our show we had many interviews so we weren't able to see any other shows, except the Arctic Monkeys.
What is it like living in the French Countryside? How does it influence your music?
We live in the countryside, 1 hour from Paris, where we still go once every 2 weeks. There we don’t have neighbors and we have a studio in the woods, so space, time and silence are our new and best friends. Birds and ennui are our working challenges!
What is next for UTO?
Making punk rock without a band, computer rock n roll and futuristic folk. Building a new studio from the ground up. Start a UTO choir.
To See More of UTO, Follow @uto_itself
You Can Listen to ‘Touch the Lock’ Below
Photograph By Marine Keller
Photograph By Marine Keller
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
Photograph By Andrea Montano
