A Band You Should Know: eat-girls

Photo: Côme Rollet Manus

Just when I thought my obsession with France couldn’t get any deeper, the algorithm serves me a song by post-punk trio

eat-girls. 

Formed on a whim during a time when music was forcibly kept indoors, eat-girls are a playful mix of minimal synth and post punk by members Amélie, Elisa, and Maxence. They still make all their music in their bedrooms in Lyon as they finish their studies, but with a few international shows already under their belt, eat-girls seem like a band that are surely going places. The trio switch between French, Spanish and English. Some lyrics mean something, some don’t, that’s kind of the point. A nice reminder that life is a bit like that too. If you’re a fan of Kim Gordon or Delta-5 we think you’ll like eat-girls. Read our chat with members Amélie and Maxence below.  (Note: Maxence had to translate from English to French and back again so we’re putting the responses from Maxence on behalf of the band). 

Okay so give me the introduction. Who are the eat-girls and how did it start? 

eat-girls: The band formed around four years ago. Originally, it was just Elisa and Amélie who formed the band during the first lockdown and it was just meant to be a one-time project. They released an EP because they were bored and there was nothing else to do. During Covid there was a collective in Lyon who were trying to promote events again, but illegally. The girls needed a bass for the show so I joined and it just naturally continued. We recorded our first album from our bedrooms because we didn’t have any money to go into a studio or pay an engineer and now here we are. 

And how did you all know each other? 

Amélie and Elisa have been friends since uni. I met them at music school four years ago, just being in the same friend group. 

With studying music, was that music broadly speaking or was there something specific?

It’s usually based on one instrument. Me and Elisa studied guitar. Amélie studied synths. You also have a lot of workshops and music theory classes. It’s a mix between art school and a conservatory. It’s really fun. You meet a lot of people and get to make music with them. 

You said you made your first album from the bedroom, talk me through how you did that? 

Yeah as we mentioned earlier we didn’t have the money to go into a proper studio. It was actually really good to have a hand in what we wanted to hear but, obviously we were limited by our technical abilities. In saying that though, we managed to use it in our favour, using those defects to make it our own and a part of the sound. It’s a whole process and we were also working part-time jobs at the time so we’d go to our day job in the morning or evening and then come back and record or mix, sending back different versions of the song. Some of them we would even send back and forth to each other without even being in the same room. 

And who writes the lyrics? 

Whoever is singing usually writes the lyrics and it switches between English, French and Spanish. Amélie doesn’t sing too much on the first record but the next record we will hear more of her. We’re going to divide the singing part more and more, but for the current album the person who is singing writes their own lyrics. Sometimes there’s two sections in a song that aren’t necessarily related but just thrown together and work. As for the French, English or Spanish, it’s just a feeling of whatever sounds best for the song or just a sound of a word that sounds better in a certain language. 

Yeah that’s so cool. You said you were working part-time jobs, does that mean eat-girls is a full time job now? 

It is for the two of us (Maxence and Amélie). For Elisa it isn’t full time yet because of some French administration kind of thing that would be too long to explain. We can basically live off this music project for a year. Elisa on the other hand is still trying to get that status but she’s doing the program for a music venue called Le Sonic. It’s a boat venue with lots of experimental stuff going on. It’s the best venue in Lyon. 

Wow that sounds fun, I want to go there. So now that this is full time, what does a typical day of making music look like for you guys? 

It depends. It’s a new life for us just because at the beginning of this year we were touring a lot. Now we’re trying to balance touring and all the other administrative things that come with being in a band that people probably don’t think about. We have started composing music with the three of us together again because it’s been a while since we composed anything new. But yeah it’s the first year of living the music and there’s no real typical day. Yesterday we were in an artistic residency and then today we were just just trying to sort out train tickets for touring and sorting out things for a show that is six months away, another one in nine. Lots to manage. 

Yeah I guess when you’re starting out you really do have to do it all on your own hey? 

Yeah sometimes it feels like we do this more than the actual music but I’d rather be doing this than working back in a bakery (laughs). 

What is the French music scene like? It sounds really supportive and lots happening. Do you find that? 

Yeah in Lyon we have a lot of friends that we tour with. Our bands are quite different from one another but there is always this mutual support between us. That’s what gave us strength in the beginning. The people around us gave us the confidence to do what we’re doing now. The music scene here is really diverse. There’s not really a leading trend which gives a lot of bands opportunities to develop.

You’ve done quite a lot of touring, how do you find the reaction to your music in other countries? 

The feedback in other countries is almost better. In Germany the people are just crazy, like dancing and getting really into it. In France people are more contemplative, like standing back. I think it’s a cultural thing. And we’re going to the UK in May so that will be a new audience all over again. 

Yeah I wonder what they will be like? 

That’s the mystery for us. From what we’ve heard they are pretty wild. A lot like the Germans. 

I’d imagine the Irish would be fun if you got there eventually. 

Yeah definitely. It’s funny, in France we have good reactions but more so in Germany. 

Being able to travel to so many different countries and cultures is just such a foreign concept to an Australian band starting out. I’m just thinking about what they would be like and I can’t even really picture it. Also I’d love to know who is in charge of the overall aesthetic and look of the band? I love the graphics. 

The three of us work together on the vision. We have many friends around us who do art school as well who we like to work with and also just doing it ourselves. We’re into all kinds of arts not just music so it’s a fun part of the band we like to create as well. 

Nice. So UK tour coming up, working on some music, what are the goals for eat-girls? 

Yeah touring and making music, that’s the goal. We’d like to release some new music and work on playing bigger stages and venues. We’re playing at some really amazing French festivals this year so just sorting that out and hopefully booking more overseas shows. I think right now with all the admin we’re a little fearful that will take away from the space to have new ideas to write music but I’m sure we will get the hang of it soon.