The Traders (Lyon, France) are currently on tour in the UK with Guerrilla Monsoon. We caught up with them after their show at Subside in Birmingham for a chat about their DIY roots, the French punk scene and their future.
How did you guys start out?
Jérémy McCheucle (vocals/bass): We had a band that’s dead now. We started The Traders in 2010 for fun and got to open for Dead to Me.
Was it hard starting out in DIY fashion?
Romain Maitre (drums): For The Traders it’s been okay because I’ve played for other bands. I’ve done other tours and made contacts. It just gets better and better but at the moment I’ve just been sending tons of mails to people [laughter].
Is there much of a punk scene in France?
JM: There is in Lyon. Not much elsewhere. Not enough venues or promoters, though. There’s maybe two bars in Paris for punk.
You mentioned Sarkozy during your set. Has his term had much of an impact on punk in France? How closely is the punk scene linked to politics?
JM: There are many punk scenes in France. Many are political, like oi, but ours is mostly musical. I mean, there are politics, but it’s not directly linked. When we go to Germany, we play lots of squats. But for us, we just do music. So Sarkozy? No, not really.
How is the French punk scene different from the UK one?
JM: It’s more expensive in the UK. But we’ve been lucky so far. You have these huge, great venues. We don’t have that in France. It’s impossible to just walk into a venue and listen to music in France. We have no venues like this.
What are your main influences?
JM: Billions. Motorhead.
RM: I’m more into classic punk. Dead to Me. Against Me!
JM: For me it’s more post-hardcore, bands like Touche Amore, Birds in Row.
Anthony Diliberto (guitar): Post-hardcore too. A band called Stray From the Path.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
JM: We’re touring Austria and Germany in October.
You can check our their music here.
Photo credit: Noodle Photography
