The Bernadette Maries are a band from Brussels, established in 2024. Their sound merges post-punk energy, shoegaze’s dreamy textures, and the hooks of indie rock, which is all captured on the groups debut release “LvvV”.
I caught up with founding member Guy Tournay to talk about his early musical influences, how the band formed and the making of “LvvV” which you can check out here.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid, and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Guy-Man, it was in 1996. I had just moved from a small village to a big city school. I was 10 years old, and the first friend I made there—who, by the way, is still my best friend—gave me two tapes. One was Freakshow by Silverchair, and the other was Korn’s first album.
Before that, I didn’t really have a personal taste in music; I just listened to whatever the adults played at home. I remember hearing the first chord of Freak (I think it was an E, haha), and all of a sudden, my chemistry was forever changed. It felt like I was complete for the very first time in my life. My head instinctively started banging—I had never seen anyone do that before, but it just felt natural. From that day on, I knew this was my life.
CMM-How did The Bernadette Maries start?
Guy-David (drums) and I (guitar/vocals) started jamming sometime around November 2023, I believe. We played with a few different members before Daria (bass) and Romain (guitar & keys) joined us. At first, we didn’t even have a band name, but once our first show with Bodega got confirmed in September 2024, we had to come up with one.
Most of the songs on our first EP were actually written just before we hit the studio in May 2024.
CMM-You recently released a new record called LvvV. What was the writing and recording process like? Any particular gear or instruments you used during the sessions that helped inspire you?
Guy-LvvV was initially meant to be a demo, something we would only share with promoters and industry professionals. With that in mind, our goal when entering the studio was simply to record everything we had at that point. It wasn’t really about telling a cohesive story, but more about showcasing the different shades of Bernadette’s sound.
At the time, our former bassist and lead guitarist had just left the band, so it was only David (drums) and me left to record everything. We had tracked drums and bass for eight or nine songs and had just started laying down the guitar parts when Fontaines D.C. released Starbuster—that Mellotron sound completely blew my mind. I thought, Wait, we can do that?
That moment made us rethink the whole process. We decided to narrow it down to just five songs and focus on making them more produced, without thinking about how to play them live. That’s how we ended up adding keys, movie samples, distortion on everything…
CMM-If you could score a film for any director, who would it be, and what would the film be about?
Guy– Damn, there are so many directors we love. I’d say Gus Van Sant, if the movie was about being born and growing up in a place you don’t belong in.
CMM-What do you have coming up next? Any new recordings or shows?
Guy-We’re heading back into the studio in a month to record a new EP. We’ve got some cool shows coming up in Belgium, and hopefully, we’ll be back in France in the near future. We’re also expecting to play some gigs in Germany soon.
