Buzzkill interview: ‘“Wasteland” is our cathartic way of putting words and sounds to the distress we’re feeling lately’
Nolwenn Boyet and Ronni Gauderat make up the French duo Buzzkill. Active since 2024, the band previously released an EP on Ganache Records. For their debut album, “Wasteland”, they joined forces with Manic Depression Records, a move that will help expand their audience. “Wasteland” blends Cold-Wave and Minimal-Electro influences, with a raw, uncompromising sound driven by icy synth textures and deep, brooding basslines. Nolwenn Boyet’s cold, detached vocal delivery complements the music throughout. I spoke with both musicians about the making of “Wasteland”. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: Let’s start with the origins of Buzzkill. When and how did the band come together, and what are your individual musical backgrounds? How did those experiences inspire you to form Buzzkill?
Nolwenn: We created a band shortly after meeting Ronni. At first, the project was very different from what it is today. We didn’t have the ambition to make something professional out of it, we just wanted to make music and spend time together. At the time we were a trio, with Ronni on bass and vocals, Axelle on synths and me on drums. When Axelle left the band, we wanted to try something else. We started experimenting with a duo setup where I took over the vocals and synths, and the drums became electronic. We quickly felt that something was working. We compose together quite naturally and found a good balance as a duo. At the end of 2024, we wrote our first EP, which was a starting point for us. It really captured the beginning of Buzzkill and helped define our identity.
Ronni: I started playing music at 15, as a drummer in a Grunge band, which later became a Rock’n’roll band that I still play in today. At the same time, I taught myself guitar and started several other projects, including a Shoegaze band and a swamp Garage band with which I toured for eight years and released two albums. Today, I’m also working on a Synth-Punk duo alongside my other projects. My musical background is quite eclectic, maybe even a bit chaotic, but I’ve always liked moving from one style to another. The creative process is what motivates me the most. I just like writing music and exploring different directions.
Nolwenn: My journey as a musician actually started with Buzzkill. I had never sung, played synths or composed music before. I had only played a bit of drums when I was a teenager. Meeting Ronni is what pushed me to get into music. I like this kind of unexpected path and I’m still learning as I go. Ronni and I come from very different musical backgrounds, but we share the same approach. Keeping things simple and raw.
Q: Earlier this year, you released your debut album, “Wasteland”. Looking back on the entire creative process, what stands out to you most? What was your vision for the album in terms of its sound and production?
Ronni: What probably stood out the most to us were the conditions in which we recorded the album. We did it in a garden shed, during a heatwave. It was a strange feeling to create such cold music while being in 40 degree heat. Maybe that’s what naturally led us towards the atmosphere of “Wasteland”.
Nolwenn: Like for our EP, we recorded everything ourselves. We used pretty much the same equipment, but we had improved a lot in the way we used it and knew more clearly where we wanted to go. With “Wasteland”, we wanted to create something that felt more like a complete album, with a stronger overall atmosphere. We also wanted to lean further into the Electronic side of the project. We spent more time working on synth textures, drum sounds and the atmosphere of each track. I also discovered my voice more and found the way I wanted to use it. For the bass, we wanted to keep that raw and upfront feeling, with a sound that doesn’t feel overproduced. It was already part of the EP’s identity, and I think it defines a big part of what Buzzkill sounds like. We were also careful about which songs we wanted to include. That’s why the album only has seven tracks. It felt complete that way, and we liked the idea of keeping it short and intense. For the mastering, we worked again with Mathis Kolkoz (Blind Delon), who also mastered the EP. We really like his work and trusted him for this.
Q: “Wasteland” is a bleak and evocative title. What does it represent to you, and which emotions shaped the music and inspired the lyrics?
Nolwenn: “Wasteland” represents our vision of an apocalyptic future. It’s a deliberately exaggerated and pessimistic vision, but deep down it doesn’t feel that unrealistic today. We wanted a strong title that would immediately evoke an empty and hopeless landscape. We were quite inspired by the post-apocalyptic and desert aesthetics of movies like “Dune” and “Mad Max”, as well as games like “Fallout” and “Borderland”. The lyrics came from our anger and anxiety about the current ecological and social crises, but also from the feeling of injustice around the fact that the most vulnerable people are always the first to suffer the consequences. Through “Wasteland”, we imagine a future where no one can escape the collapse, not even the most privileged. It’s a sad thought that maybe the only moment when these inequalities could disappear is when we’re all facing the end of the world.
Q: In a way, “Wasteland” feels like the soundtrack to a world in decline – a place where people are struggling with both themselves and the reality surrounding them. How personal is this album, and what is your perspective, both as artists and as individuals, on the state of the world today?
Nolwenn: This album is very personal because it comes from the way we experience the world today and the anxiety it creates in us. But I think it speaks to a lot of people, especially younger generations who know they’ll grow old in this world, or at least in what will be left of it. As I’m answering this interview we’ve reached 42°C in our city. There are major forest fires happening in our country and people are dying because of the heat, while political responses still seem completely disconnected from the reality we’re facing. It’s become impossible not to think every day about what the world will be like in 10, 20 or 30 years, and under what conditions we’ll be living. “Wasteland” is our cathartic way of putting words and sounds to the distress we’re feeling lately.
Q: I’ve always found it fascinating that some of the darkest, most nihilistic themes can inspire such compelling and even danceable music. There seems to be an intriguing contradiction between despair and movement. How important is that contrast to Buzzkill, and what role does music play for you as a means of expression?
Ronni: This contradiction is very much part of the DNA of Post-Punk. We’ve always liked that contrast in bands like Joy Division. We like the idea that music can make you want to dance while talking about very dark subjects. We also felt that fast tempos and repetitive rhythms were the best way to express tension and urgency. If we have to live in a world that’s falling apart, we might as well dance through it.
Q: Let’s talk about the live experience. What can audiences expect from a Buzzkill performance, and what atmosphere or emotions do you hope to create on stage? How do your songs evolve in a live setting compared to their studio versions?
Ronni: Live we try to keep things intense and direct. We don’t talk much, sometimes not at all. We like to step back and let the music take the lead. We try to build a set where the atmosphere can evolve naturally. We like playing almost without breaks because we enjoy the feeling of a 45 min set that keeps moving, with very little time to come back down. It’s a way to convey that overwhelming feeling we have. The bass also brings something very organic and physical to the live experience. I play it through both a bass amp and a guitar amp.
Q: Finally, what are your expectations and ambitions for Buzzkill following the release of “Wasteland”? What can listeners look forward to in the near future?
Nolwenn: We didn’t really expect “Wasteland” to get much attention at the beginning. We just told ourselves: let’s do our thing and see what happens. We were lucky to meet our friend and manager Stephy just before its release, and she really helped us give the album more visibility. Our main goal now is to keep defending the album on stage, in France of course, but also to start playing in other European countries. We’d like to keep developing the project, see where this album can take us, and keep writing because it’s what drives us in life. We also want to keep surrounding ourselves with people we appreciate, discover new projects from the underground scene, and share the stage with artists we love. We’re already thinking about the next album and we’ve started writing again. We want to explore new directions, maybe something a bit more Electro-Punk, with more repetitive and hypnotic structures, while still keeping what defines Buzzkill.
To finish, we just want to say to everyone reading this: keep supporting the underground scene and independent artists. Keep going to concerts in dark and humid caves, discovering local bands and getting lost on Bandcamp. This counterculture only survives because people choose to support it. Thanks for that.
And thank you, Stéphane and Side line for the interview 🙂
Nolwenn and Ronni – Buzzkill
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
