Doomed Confessionary: Piotr, Gaspard & Fred (Seum)
Photos by Michael Jari Davidson
Seum is a bass-only sludge band from Montreal, Canada formed by 3 European French veterans expats (formerly in Lord Humungus, Mlah! and Uluun). “Seum” means “Venom” in Arabic and is French slang for disappointment and frustration: No guitars.
Adding a ferocious punk energy to our New Orleans inspired sludge, we are known for our intense live performances, DIY workaholic attitude and nihilistic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.
Seum released two albums, »Winterized« in June 2021, »Double Double« in February 2023 and multiple EPs while playing shows in Canada, US and France. They are gearing up to release a split with Temple Of The Fuzz Witch on June 15th, 2024 via Black Throne Productions, entitled »Conjuring«.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Piotr: Hi everyone, we are Seum, a sludge band from Montreal started by three European French immigrants: Gaspard on vocals, Fred on drums and myself, Piotr, on bass. We only use drums, bass and vocals, no guitars.
We have played in many local bands before back in France (Lord Humungus, Uluun, 6-DTC, Mlah! to name a few) and we started Seum a few years after moving to Canada, just before the Covid era.
The band quickly became a way for us to cope with those difficult times, we put a lot of energy into it and the whole thing grew bigger than expected: we released our first album »Winterized« back then in 2021, then followed with a few EPs and our second album »Double Double« in 2023 while playing multiple shows across Canada, France and even the US.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Piotr: As we don’t use a guitar, it was challenging to find a set-up allowing us to sound loud and full, hearing only one bass could quickly become boring for the audience. We went through different experiments before we found the right combination: a signal split between a fuzzed bass amp and an overdrive guitar amp with an occasional wah.
It works well and people are often surprised how noisy we can be with such a minimalistic set-up. Some don’t even realize we do not have a guitar.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Piotr: Proud is maybe too strong of a word but we feel happy and satisfied to be able to play regular shows, have a dedicated crowd knowing and liking our songs, releasing records and such. After years of struggle, mistakes and “rock fantasies” in our previous bands we just enjoy the simple stripped-down fun of being in a band.
What was your biggest regret?
Piotr: No regrets is one of our mantras!
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Piotr: We give a lot on stage and the audience gives that energy back to us so usually Seum shows are a lot of fun. We had many great shows but a memorable one would be in Fall 2023 at the Traxide, a Montreal DIY venue that we enjoy a lot. One of our amps burned during the set, luckily it was the last song that night – or at least it was supposed to be – and we managed to finish playing it. But the crowd didn’t let us close the set on that and we had to play two more songs out of one tiny guitar combo. The vision of the crowd dancing and moshing all around while we were playing on that little amp is still haunting us!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Piotr: Most likely the music scene in Canada. We were used to a different reality back in Europe and we had to adapt when we started the band after emigrating: organizing shows, taking care of the merch, self-promotion, recording, everything is different and it seems that bands in North America are much more organized and professional. Everybody works very hard here, book their own shows and don’t take no for an answer: you have this feeling that anything can be achieved if you work hard enough for it. It was great to leave our comfort zone at such a late stage, usually musicians our age can become bitter with time but changing continents gave us a fresh new perspective on music.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Gaspard: Well, I’m stuck in a black metal loop for the moment and I’m currently spinning Palefroid and Morteruine from France, they have this rural vibe that I like. But my hot take of the year is definitely the split EP of Birds In Row and Coilguns, this record is a gem!
Fred: The latest album from Disfiguring The Goddess, »Blood Era«. It’s a legendary US one-man band in the brutal slam death metal genre. They borrow trip-hop elements, which is unusual, but somehow it works! Highly recommended.
Piotr: I got hooked on the latest Temple Of The Fuzz Witch album, »Apotheosis«, I really recommend their single »Cursed«. I also closely follow local bands releases: the recent »Four Humors« by Ratpiss and »Cages« by Cell Press are bangers. The first demo of Lobotomite really impressed me as well.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Piotr: Do not play live drunk! More seriously, practice as much as possible, do your own thing and be genuine. If you follow these principles you are sure someone somewhere will eventually dig your sound. And then from one person to a hundred, from a hundred to a thousand, it is only a matter of time. I just hope we didn’t start too late!
What are your guilty pleasures?
Gaspard: When I don’t play music I’m brewing beers and I really enjoy smoking weed. We got good strains in Canada like Blueberry Kush or the Purple Mint Cake ! It may sound basic but it’s my way to relax and to not overthink.
Fred: I have a full-blown flight simulator at home, with all the gear, pedals, throttles and everything. I fly imaginary airplanes in my free time, call me captain!
Piotr: Coming from a Polish background I got hooked to local Football from an early age, you can catch me every weekend watching the Polish league – Ekstraklasa – at very weird hours with the time zone difference, seeing how bad those teams play this is more of a curse than a blessing, but still, can’t help it but watch.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Montreal?
Sure, for those unfamiliar with Canada, Montreal is one of the biggest cities of the country, located on the east side of the continent (long and cold winters, short and hot summers) and bilingual although originally French speaking. The city attracts people from different backgrounds and the local music scene conveys that diversity. Hardcore seems to be the most popular genre nowadays but whatever style you dig you will find a band to like: doom, sludge, stoner, death metal, powerviolence, grind, punk… you name it. Let me drop a few bands to check: you don’t really need an introduction to Dopethrone or Voivod anymore but you might not be familiar with Cell Press, Ratpiss, Mistwalker, Mooch, Scorbut, Obelisk, Truck Violence, Bellwort, Lobotomite and so much more, make sure to check them! Local bands have identity, there are shows almost every night and the scene is overall very welcoming. It’s thrilling to be part of it.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Piotr: Our next show is on June 15th at the La Rhune Doomfest in Ontario, the first edition of a new Doom Festival that I am sure will soon become a local reference. We will then fly to Europe for the “Problems Tour”, we will play in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland from June 20th to June 30th. Exciting times indeed as we will be playing some of these countries for the first time ever! If you live around one of the cities we visit, make sure to come to the show and hang-out with us. Problems Tour 2024:
June 15th – Ontario (CA) at La Rhune Mountain Doom Fest
June 20th – Lille (FR) at La Brat Cave
June 21st – Tournai (BE) at Au Bout De Nos Rêves
June 22nd – Kleve (DE) at Radhaus Kleve
June 23rd – Den Bosch (NL) at Willem Twee
June 25th – Aachen (DE) at LolaParoli
June 26th – Zurich (CH) at Photobastei
June 27th – Lyon (FR) at Bar des Capucins
June 28th – Orleans (FR) at Le Dropkick Bar
June 29th – Paris (FR) at Le Cirque Electrique
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Piotr: We are about to release a split vinyl called »Conjuring« with Temple Of The Fuzz Witch on Black Throne Productions in Fall 2024. The three songs we recorded for this project are among our darkest and heaviest to date and we can’t wait to share them with a broader audience! The first single »Problems« is dropping on June 15th, make sure to check it out! We will then most likely follow with a Canadian tour to promote the record.
How can people best support your band?
Piotr: Buying our records on Bandcamp is the best way to support us but not everyone can afford it. Living in this day and age streaming our music on Spotify or other streaming sites, following, liking and sharing our social accounts on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube are good ways to support us too. If you like what we do make sure to tell it to a friend of yours.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Piotr: Thanks for having us Bojan, you have been supporting Seum at Doomed Nation since our first demo and we really appreciate it!
As to you reader, if you like your sludge gnarly and catchy, light a joint, pour yourself a drink and jump in the train: we are pushing Seum as far as we can, sure, but we will push it even further together!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well