You will be surprise by Portuguese band The Bateleurs
Interview conducted July 01, 2019
by Dan Locke
A dislocated girl, born abroad, a product of the exodus of 60s and 70s, when people fled to other lands to escape an impoverished country, looking for the dream of a promised land. Raised in shining Paris, City of Lights, by a a family where Soul and Jazz laid the first foundations for a very diverse musical background; returned to Lisbon in her teen years, to find the rebellion of Rock’n’Roll and the work of the ancient masters of that craft;
Three veteran musicians, born, raised and battered by a country with very little appreciation for the non-mainstream culture, struggling against prejudices deeply entwined in Portuguese society, feeling the British and American craftsmen like their own, and living by sharing with a few others that passion for the Blues and Rock’n’Roll;
Band Members
Ricardo Dikk – Bass
Sandrine Orsini – Vocals
Rui Reis – Drums
Dan Locke: You are from Portugal. Why did you pick the American/British sound, while Portugal has such a history of ethical music?
The Bateleurs: The main musical product for export in Portugal is Fado, our own traditional genre that has some similarities with the Spanish flamenco, and with some Greek folklore. The truth is, none of us ever really felt a great affinity with this, and we all were exposed since a very young age to the Anglo-Saxonic music. We have a fairly big Rock culture here in Portugal since the 80s, and usually, our music charts are dominated by British and American artists. Also, our singer (Sandrine) was born in France and only came to Portugal in her teens, so the whole traditional thing doesn’t really mean nothing to her; she’s more moved by the old French singers and songwriters from the 50s and 60s than by the Portuguese traditions.
What are your musical influences?
As a band, we are totally into the Rock sound of the 70s, Zeppelin and Purple being the main examples. We’re also into the Blues and usually play some standards in our set, like BB King, SRV, among others. Another layer of influence is the old school Motown sound, artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin influenced us with their groove and vocal lines. We’re also big fans of a more psychedelic approach and are really into The Beatles kind of compositions and Jefferson’s Airplane arrangements.
What did you listen to growing up?
Mainly Rock’n’Roll from the 70s, we have to mention Zeppelin and Purple again; also, some early British Heavy Metal, but also Blues and even Jazz. Sandrine had a more Soul upbringing, listening to a lot of Stevie Wonder, Aretha, and also some French music.
How is the live music scene in Portugal?
These days we have more bands than ever, but the venues are few and our country, even if small, seems huge when you have to travel because the insane prices of fuel and highway tolls; sometimes you travel 200 miles for a gig just to realize that the car earns more than a musician. Another thing is the big rise of tribute bands; people love to see them, and they pack venues to hear them, but with original music not so much. Bands are starting to book shows opening for tribute acts, just to try to have some audience. It could be worse, but it’s far from perfect.
What was the first and last band you saw in concert?
Sandrine: 1st-Skunk Anansie; Last-Rival Sons
Dikk: 1st-Iron Maiden; Last-Rival Sons
Rui: 1st-Faith no More; Last-Radiohead
How did the band form?
It all began when I (Ricardo Dikk, Bassist) met Sandrine (Vocals) on a studio session; We realized we had a lot of common influences, and after a while I we started playing in clubs with two fellow musicians, one of them being Rui Reis (Drummer), an old friend of mine, that I knew from playing in other bands. We played essentially songs from our favorite bands, like Zeppelin, Purple, Janis, Hendrix, the Beatles and others from the 60s and 70s. It was obvious that we had some chemistry, and we tried to write our own songs; last year we chose the best 3 and went to the studio to record, and The Bateleurs was born.
How did your band get its name?
We’ve done a lot of research, because we know a name can make or break a band; We were trying to find something that really expresses who we are, and we’ve come across this concept of the Bateleur; first, it’s a French word, which makes perfect sense with Sandrine’s French roots; second, the Bateleur is the name people gave to the street jugglers and illusionists in medieval Europe, they were performers and musicians, and live their lives on the road, a concept we really relate to; finally, the Bateleur is a species of falcon, a proud and quick bird of prey, and that really resonates with us; we feel proud of what we’re doing, and hopefully we’ll be doing it for a while.
What happened to Just Us and Rocking Horse?
Rocking Horse it’s the name we use when we play cover gigs; it’s the name we started with, and we still play our cover set regularly at local clubs; Just Us is a name for the gigs I do alone with Sandrine, just bass and vocals, where we dwell in our other non-Rock influences; we play a lot of soul and jazz, and even some arrangements of modern pop songs, and some musical theater too.
Both Ricardo and Rui were session players for a national major artist. Who was that person?
I met Rui when we were playing with Rita Guerra, a Portuguese singer with a long career and big record selling artist; we’ve played and recorded with her for three years, and sometimes we still do some shows with her; she’s very nice and we’ve become friends with the passing of time.
Describe your music. And why should people check out your band?
It’s very difficult for a band to talk about themselves, but I think that the thing that really sets us apart is the fact that we do what we do in the truest and honest way possible. nowadays, there is a lot of technology available for music production, and you can manipulate almost every aspect of your performance; You can quantize poorly drum parts and make them sound absolutely tight, you can re-amp a guitar sound and use the profiles of your favorite guitar players, and you can autotune the shit out of your vocals until they sound pitch perfect. The bands in the old days had , none of this at their disposal, and the music they made still stands the test of time, and are still being heard, while the music made nowadays it’s almost completely deprived of any soul, emotion or meaning. We have years of experience as session musicians, and we are very familiar with all this technology, so when we decided to do our own songs, we immediately agreed it should be made like we were back 40 years in the past, without anything that could manipulate our performance; we just go to the studio and play it until our fingers bleed and our throats are sore, and try to put the most of soul and feeling in what we do, despite it being perfect or not. It’s all about getting the meaning across, and when you cut it and paste it and squeeze it, the real purpose of what you’re doing became thinner and fades away, sometimes completely. We’re proud of what we do because it reflects us as we are, with our strengths and weaknesses, and not just a commercial product to appeal to the public.
Any sponsorships?
For some years now I and Rui have been working with the local dealers of some brands; they’ve always been very supportive and helpful to our needs. I work with Mesa Boogie and Mark Bass and Rui with Zildjian and Remo, and we could not be happier.
Sandrina you were on The Voice. Tell me about it. And do you feel it helped your career?
Actually, my name is Sandrine with an E at the end, not an A, but no worries, it happens all of the time, I blame my parents. The Voice came to me as a surprise. I never had any expectation or faith on these shows. Someone gave my name behind my back and when I received the call to be auditioned, I missed the first audition, but they kept calling me for the second one. So I went there, did the audition and they picked me as a contestant. Even then, I didn’t have any expectation. Nevertheless, I passed the “Blind audition”, the “Battle round” (with other two contestants) and three live performance shows being the favorite in two of three. It was a nice experience, and it is easy to be amazed by everything but it’s not real, you’re not a real artist, you’re not you. The music, the clothes, even the way they use your image are to match a certain profile they imagined for the audience. I met a lot of good people and talented ones (Tv production people, artists, and contestant) and it was a good experience overall.
However, I’m thankful to be a down to earth girl with plans cause I knew that no TV show would help my career. I’m a rock and roll girl with a little bit of soul in my voice. I’m not what’s “happening” in the music industry at the moment and I’m happy with it. It’s good not to be a copy.
I am going to name some bands from Portugal. I would like you to get a statement about each if possible
Rita Guerra
Amazing artist, good friend, nice to work with her.Lura
It’s a modern African singer, not really our thing.Phazer
They’re a pretty accomplished Metal band, and I think they’re still active; it’s a difficult genre to thrive in PortugalLio
Never heard of it…Marias de Medeiros
Maria de Medeiros is a Portuguese actress, never heard about a band with that name.Lince
It’s a kind of Electro-Pop act, they have some success here, but again, not the kind of band we like to hear.Cave Story
It’s an Alt-Rock band, they have a good number of fans here, but it’s not the genre we usually hearPaulo Gonzo
Paulo was the singer of the first Portuguese Blues Band, the Go Graal Blues Band; in the late 70s early 80s, he sang in English and played the harmonica, so he’ll be forever remembered as one of the first Portuguese Bluesmen. In the 90s and 00s he shifted to a more Pop-Rock sound, and had a streak of hit records selling hundreds of thousands of copies and topping the charts. He’s still recording and touring, and he’s definitely one of the most respected Portuguese artists of all time.
What band would you like to support on a tour and why?
That will definitely be Rival Sons; they are exactly the kind of modern Rock’n’Roll band we love, and we know that our music would really leave a mark on their fans.
How do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully, we would have recorded 2 or 3 records and have a steady touring schedule, at least In European territory. The music we’re doing will never be mainstream, and we don’t need tenths of thousands of fans, we will be happy if we could reach 3 or 4 hundred every night that really loves us, because we don’t need to be superstars, we just want to keep doing what we do to people that really appreciate it.
Anything you like to close with for your fans?
We’re working on our debut album, to release it later this year, and are already booking dates to tour some European countries next year; we hope that what we’re doing is meaningful, and we’re eager to catch you all on the road!
