ULTRA SUNN Interview

We recently sat down with Gaelle and Sam of the New Beat/Darkwave/Electro-pop band ULTRA SUNN to discuss their new album, US, their upcoming tour dates and more! Check out our conversation below!

1. For readers who aren't familiar with you, can you give us some background on how you came together to form ULTRA SUNN?

We are Gaelle and Sam, based in Brussels, Belgium, in couple for 10 years. We are passionate about visual arts, fashion design, and electronic music. We love New Beat and the Sound Of Belgium.

ULTRA SUNN was born in late 2019, and we write danceable tracks that inspire self-improvement and positivism.

2. You've released 3 EP's over the last few years and now you're releasing your debut album, US, on April 19th. Can you tell me about the recording and songwriting process for the new album? How has it differed from past experiences?

For this album, we learned a lot from our experiences with our last 3 EPs. We decided to think of this album as a whole that tells a story from beginning to end and makes sense overall.
We mainly created and recorded upon our return from our tour in South America.
We wanted to add real percussion that we play ourselves and work on a denser sound in general.

3. You've said you have a wide range of inspirations spanning from 17th century Baroque to RuPaul to Underworld. Is there a particular song, album, or musician you'd credit for inspiring you to become a musician in the first place?

We're mostly looking for an attitude. We listened a lot to Beyonce's album Renaissance during the creation of US, for example.
Baroque music, like Bach or Vivaldi, is interesting when the motifs are repeated, varied, and when counterpoint arrives. It's very inspiring, especially when creating electronic music.

The artists who inspired us to make music are, in no particular order: David Bowie, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Black Sabbath, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Mylène Farmer, Lana Del Rey, Front 242, A Split Second...

4. If you could ensure there was one message listeners got from your music what would you hope that would be?

You're worth it, you're strong, and we are together.

5. Your new album contains a great mix of styles and sounds. "Lost and Found" is one of my favorites and elements of it remind me of the original Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack. How would you feel if your music was ever chosen for a video game or film? What type of film or game would you choose and why?

We love that you noticed our unconditional love for the Mortal Kombat soundtrack and for video game music in general!
We would love for our music to be in a cool video game or in a movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme (the muscles form Brussels) kicking neo-Nazi robots ass.

6. Is there a song you've written you're most proud of?

We try to look mostly to the future, but we can't help but be touched and moved to see how the audience loves "Keep Your Eyes Peeled," when everyone sings "Can You Believe It" or dances so hard to "Night Is Mine."
Recently, people came to us after a concert to tell us how much "Broken Monsters" helps them get out of their depression and gives them positive energy.

It's mainly the impact that the tracks have on people that is important to us.

7. You're preparing to embark on a lengthy international tour. How are you preparing? What are you looking forward to most? What can the audience expect to see?

Cardio training and a healthy diet!
We also spend time with our family and friends and try to leave calmly, focused, and fresh.
All the gigs are different and will be a great experience; we're so happy to play in Las Vegas at Sick New World, and we're very excited to meet our audience in Los Angeles too.

8. If you could go back and give yourself advice when you were starting ULTRA SUNN, what would you say? What have been your most important lessons?

We are apprentices all our lives.

9. What from your past do you think prepared you the most for where you are now as musicians?

Sam has had several music bands, and Gaelle has learned classical piano. We both learned to listen and to serve the music.

10. Any additional words for listeners?

We're very excited to come and meet you, to sing this new album with all of you!

Thank you!

Many thanks!

More about ULTRA SUNN:
Info and tour dates
You & Me Music Video