{"id":38209,"date":"2026-03-08T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/groundcast.com.br\/?p=38209"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T03:49:20","slug":"oikoumen-mental-health-is-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/groundcast.com.br\/en\/oikoumen-mental-health-is-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"O\u00efkoumen: “Mental health is everything”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The French band O\u00cfKOUMEN breaks with convention by transitioning from symphonic metal to orchestral progressive rock. In our interview with vocalist Laura Mazard, we touch on mental health, bullying, burnout, and personal trauma, as well as discussing the band in general.<\/p>\n

I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to answer our interview questions. First of all, could you tell us how you got into the music world, where the idea of forming a band came from, and how you have progressed so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> Hello, thank you for your interest and questions.<\/p>\n

Elie Veux, composer and guitarist in O\u00efkoumen, started playing the guitar at the age of 9 after hearing AC\/DC on his parents\u2019 radio. Since then, he has always been involved in musical projects until we founded O\u00efkoumen. As for Yael Febvray, he learned piano and drums as a child but later focused on bass and took part in several projects before joining O\u00efkoumen. My story is different: I started singing with this project. Before O\u00efkoumen, I was more of a music listener than a musician.<\/p>\n

The initial impulse to creat O\u00efkoumen came from Elie. When I met him, a project he had been part of throughout his entire adolescence had just come to an end, and he felt a visceral need to reconnect with something. So, when we talked about it, I thought we could create our own project together.<\/p>\n

And from that moment on, the project has never stopped evolving. At first, it was an acoustic video project. Then, it was supposed to become traditional symphonic metal, but we met Yael, who became our bassist, and we shifted toward more progressive influences. Later, Elie delved into orchestral theory, and we embraced orchestral prog metal. So, it\u2019s a project that keeps evolving, though with our upcoming second album, our identity has become much more defined.<\/p>\n

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O\u00efkoumen always presents itself as a \u201chuman-centered\u201d project, which talks about concrete experiences and real traumas through very intense symphonic and progressive metal. How do you explain this type of project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> This is the kind of project that has to be authentic and true to who we are. We start with an intention, a message we want to deliver, a story we want to tell, or an emotion we want to convey and then we ask ourselves how to translate that best through music. It\u2019s music that speaks to our guts, so we want it to hit people in the same place.<\/p>\n

Moreover, choosing to compose for orchestras, and thus embracing the symphonic approach to addressing the subjects close to our hearts, felt natural. It allows us to express a rich emotional palette, thanks to the wide range of sounds an orchestra offers. It also lets us explore other musical narratives beyond just metal, which is why we have orchestral pieces.<\/p>\n

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The name O\u00efkoumen comes from ancient Greek and relates to the \u201cinhabited earth\u201d and how humanity relates to its surroundings. At what point did you feel that this concept was more than just a cool name and became the real core of everything you do musically and lyrically?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> Honestly, we actually started with who we were to find the name. I had tons of other ideas in mind, but they were either too pretentious or too limiting. Then suddenly, this word popped into my head, and I thought: Perfect! This is what represents best what we want to do. But since the original word is \u00ab\u00a0Oikoumene\u00a0\u00bb and it didn\u2019t sound quite right, we took the liberty of dropping the last \u00ab\u00a0e\u00a0\u00bb to make it more pleasant to say and hear.<\/p>\n

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You mention influences ranging from Nightwish, Stratovarius, and Iron Maiden to Pink Floyd, Leprous, Meshuggah, Dream Theater, and Jinjer, as well as references to classical romantic music. How does this melting pot of references come together when you compose so that the result sounds cohesive and has its own identity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> That\u2019s the magic happening in our composer\u2019s mind! He has a very personal way of composing, and what you\u2019re describing are all his references and how he makes them his own, blending them with ours. For example, he loves Meshuggah\u2019s rhythms and will ponder them until he finds ideas that truly fit us. Nightwish\u2019s way of combining metal and orchestra is also a source of inspiration, but more as a \u201cwhat not to do\u201d since they already do it so well. The cinematic quality of Pink Floyd makes us dream of expressing our own universe in the same way…<\/p>\n

In short, these artists inspire us in different ways, but the core of his compositional inspiration actually comes from orchestral music, its harmonies, counterpoints, and textures. By drawing inspiration from everywhere, it gives him ideas to create something that perfectly matches what we want to express.<\/p>\n

We should also add that these influences come from bands we\u2019ve been listening to for years (sometimes decades) and that we\u2019ve explored in our own personal practice as musicians. Inevitably, that leaves a mark on what we create, even if we don\u2019t consciously set out to reference them. For example, you can\u2019t say O\u00efkoumen is neo-classical metal, yet our guitarist developed his lead right-hand technique primarily through neo-classical artists like Stratovarius, Malmsteen, early Nightwish, and so on. So while he\u2019s inspired by them, it doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019ll write neo-classical lines. However, the lead in Burnout (from our first album, Dystopia) clearly demands mastery of that technique (like tremolo picking on a melodic line).<\/p>\n

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While on the subject, I wanted to ask how you guys see symphonic metal today? It’s been a while since bands like Nightwish stopped being just symphonic bands, and I notice that your music has a much more metal vibe than classical music, despite your obvious technical skills, including the vocals, which can switch between something operatic and diving deep into metal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> It\u2019s complicated because it feels like symphonic metal needs to be reinvented today. The label itself brings to mind what it was at its inception: synthesizers, fantastical or poetic themes, galloping riffs, and epic melodies. That\u2019s why we rarely describe ourselves as \u00ab\u00a0symphonic metal\u00a0\u00bb and instead adopted the term \u00ab\u00a0orchestral prog metal\u00a0\u00bb. And when you look at where the giants of symphonic metal are heading, you can see they\u2019re also moving beyond that early symphonic metal aesthetic.<\/p>\n

As for our vibe, we\u2019re thrilled that the metal side shines through! In fact, we draw very little inspiration from classical music. We\u2019re more aligned with Baroque or Romantic music. But it remains our primary source of inspiration, and the orchestra is the starting point for almost every one of our compositions. For us, it\u2019s a huge part of our music.<\/p>\n

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The band’s trajectory goes from a more \u201cclassical symphonic\u201d EP, with historical themes, to a rawer, more direct aesthetic in Dystopia, with more engaged and explicit lyrics. What factors led to this aesthetic and political shift in your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> Actually, we followed this path because after releasing the EP, we weren\u2019t truly satisfied with our themes. They didn\u2019t resonate deeply with us, so we let ourselves explore subjects that genuinely spoke to us. Then we realized they didn\u2019t fit the classic symphonic metal aesthetic. So we evolved that aesthetic to better match what we wanted to express. Even in terms of composition, Elie didn\u2019t feel drawn to staying within the confines of traditional symphonic metal. A different kind of aesthetic was calling to him and that\u2019s how everything transformed.<\/p>\n

The composition has also evolved alongside his skills. Dystopia was a laboratory for what he wanted to express, while Resilience is the culmination of that creative exploration. As a result, the sound is more mature and refined. But at its core, the approach remains the same: the orchestra engages in a dialogue with the metal parts\u2014it needs to be prominent, not just a background layer to emphasize harmony, and it has to groove with the metal sections.<\/p>\n

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One thing I noticed is that mental health is a common theme for you guys, with a song that talks about burnout (which I felt when I was doing my Master’s degree and also working) and about how to live free from all social pressures. How important is mental health to you and to the band’s work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

LAURA MAZARD:<\/strong> Mental health is everything.Without it, we can\u2019t do anything. If you\u2019ve ever been through tough times where burnout threatened to overwhelm you, you know exactly what I mean. When we\u2019re struggling, we can\u2019t move forward. Worse, we can spiral downward and lose everything that brings us joy in life. That\u2019s why it\u2019s absolutely essential to take care of your mental health.<\/p>\n

With O\u00efkoumen, we strive to spread this message: \u00ab\u00a0Talk about what\u2019s hurting you, because you\u2019re not alone, and it is possible to feel better\u00a0\u00bb. Within the band, we take this very seriously and stay deeply attentive to each other\u2019s cries for help, especially because being an independent band today means risking your mental health every single day. We\u2019re juggling multiple jobs at once: the one that puts food on the table, plus being musicians, bookers, community managers, salespeople, costume designers, graphic designers, managers, drivers, stage managers… the list goes on.<\/p>\n

All this to say that carrying out a project like this means making radical life choices that automatically pull us away from a traditional life path: saving for retirement, imagining having kids, investing in hobbies…<\/p>\n

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