A hybrid is defined as a mixture of different elements that form something uniquely distinct. Embraced more widely in the modern world, some hybrids in the music world work better than others, and for the French band TSS, the art of mixture is something they continue to explore.
Formerly known as The Sunday Sadness, TSS initially came together in 2016 when Matthieu Kirby sought a new outlet for expression. Soon, teaming with Vocalist John Fine, they entered the world of Synthwave and Pop, but more recently have opted to explore a more Alternative Metal sound. Not a far-fetched experiment, each has roots in heavier forms of Rock music, so it felt like it was the natural way forward with TSS.
Recently releasing the album END OF TIME on June 27, 2025, through Fearless Records, TSS unifies elements of Heavy Metal, Synthpop, and more into music they can call their own. Also standing out with a bilingual approach, featuring both French and English vocals, it is only a matter of time before they garner worldwide attention. Proud of the work they put into END OF TIME, both Matthieu Kirby and John Fine took some time to chat about their story as a band, what their vision is, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – TSS is a fascinating project that has evolved over the past nine years. What can you tell me about how TSS came together and where it is going?
John Fine – So, Matthieu wanted to create an Emocore band in the beginning, and he sent me a DM on Facebook. At the start, we were just making Emocore songs, but we wanted to do something a bit unique. So, we started composing Synthwave. We were like half Synthwave, half metal, and then full sense wave for like a few years.
Recently, we went back to the roots because we wanted to do metal again. So we started creating songs like “Tes Pleurs,” which is the first true Metal song of TSS. The fans enjoyed the more Metal era of TSS, so we stuck with that sound since.
Now we are a full-on Metal band, and we are trying to put all our different inspirations and all the new styles that we love, like Hyper-Pop, Funk, and Synthwave vibe, when we can.
Cryptic Rock – If you have never heard TSS before, the immediate reaction is, This is very interesting. Before TSS, were you both part of other projects?
Matthieu Kirby – Yes. I have had many bands before. I started playing the guitar in a Deathcore band, but just for a short time. I have had a Metalcore band for years, and also a Pop Punk band just before TSS.
John Fine – Personally, I only had one band before TSS, and I was kind of a Metalcore band too. Matthieu already knew what it was like to tour, but I didn’t. Touring was a first for me with TSS.
Cryptic Rock – It seems like you have very eclectic backgrounds with different projects. Do you find artistic freedom in TSS because you can blend all these genres in one band now?
John Fine – Yeah. That’s the most important thing. I hate doing the same thing twice, so we have to put new inspirations into our work. We are trying to stick to that Nu Metal vibe, but we don’t have any limits in terms of experimental music style that we want to try.
Matthieu Kirby – I think we’re almost never feeling limited. We’re trying to keep in mind that people are listening to TSS for a reason. And it’s because they get a feeling from our songs that represents the band well.
We’re not feeling limited at all, but there’s always something in the back of our mind that says, “Okay, it just has to be coherent with what’s being done before.” But, once again, not feeling limited at all.
Cryptic Rock – Right. When everything starts to feel formulated, it loses its luster.
John Fine – Yeah. And also, our new label, Fearless Records, gives us as much freedom as we want. They listen to us when we have any suggestions, and that’s a really big deal.
Cryptic Rock – It’s nice to have that, for sure. One aspect that sticks out about TSS is the dynamics between your vocals. You play off each other very well. What was it like working together initially and mixing your vocal parts?
John Fine – Actually, at the start of the project, I was the drummer of the band for years. Then I started writing a song where I put my vocals on it, and the other band members liked it, so we tried it that way. It was pretty obvious that our voices were really different, because I have a lower voice than Matthieu. So, we try to combine that in a way that is complementary.
I take the low part and usually the verses, and Matthieu, with his high-pitched voice, sings mainly all the chorus. That was pretty natural.
Matthieu Kirby – Also, for me, my favorites have always had two vocalists. Like Linkin Park and Good Charlotte, they always had two vocalists combining. I feel like it’s always a good thing. Even with bands like The Devil Wears Prada. I’ve always wanted to have a band with two vocalists. Even before John filled in the vocals, there used to be another singer in TSS who is obviously not in the band anymore. I have just always wanted to have two vocalists.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. Having two vocalists is perhaps not as common these days, but it was once widespread in Rock and Metal music. It adds another dimension to the music.
Another enticing aspect of TSS is the hybrid between English and French in many songs. It works well and makes it more interesting. What inspired you to combine the two languages?
Matthieu Kirby – So, we first released an EP in 2019 called The Sunday Sadness, which only had English vocals. Then we felt like there was something we could do with our single called “YAYAYA.” We thought, “Okay, maybe we could have some Hip Hop kind of vocals.” French Hip Hop just sounds cool, and France is renowned for its Hip Hop artists. We thought, “Okay, we want to have Hip Hop vocals. Maybe we cannot do that so well in English, but maybe in French.” We also wanted to keep the chorus in English. We first tried it there, and it came out well. We noticed that English and French speakers were really into it.
We thought, “Okay, well, it works even if the English people cannot understand without the lyrics in front of them.” Then, that is something we dropped when we released our first album, called Regret, in 2022, which only had French lyrics for marketing reasons. Then we were finally free from the contract we had, and we were like, “Okay, let’s go into Metal music. Let’s bring everything together again, and mix French and English.” It turned out super well.
Everything is coherent, and we can see how the bands from the French scene are doing it, and it’s also turning out well for them. We think it’s coherent, and it was very natural in the first place.
John Fine – It’s now part of our identity, so I want to keep that.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds great. As you said, French Hip Hop is quite renowned. In the case of TSS, it flows well and makes the songs interesting. TSS’s new album, END OF TIME, arrived on June 27, 2025. This is your first album with Fearless Records. What was it like putting this album together?
Matthieu Kirby – It’s interesting to work with Fearless Records. The thing that struck me at first was that we got signed when they only knew two songs from the album that were already out. It was like, “Okay, we’re signing you guys and just do whatever you want.” Literally, we signed a contract, and they had only listened to two songs and one demo.
It was really easy and not stressful at all. The only thing was the deadline. But still, from the first song we wrote to the final song, there had been a year and a half. There was never a situation where we were arguing with the label. They were just like, “Oh, okay. Sounds good. Sounds good. Yeah. Okay. Great.” That was for the whole run. It was just very pleasant to do that with them.
Every time they suggest something, if we say, “No, we prefer it that way.” They would say, “Oh, yeah. Obviously, okay. Just go the way you want, guys.” It was always just a pleasure to work with them.
John Fine – They trust us, and they gave us as much freedom as we want.
Cryptic Rock – The result is a very dynamic-sounding record. Another aspect of TSS that stands out is the imagery you project. What inspires the band’s wardrobe and look?
John Fine – We were all ready into K-pop a few years ago, and I think that shaped our way to sell the band and to create our image, because we wanted to show every member of the band as necessary.
We wanted to have noticeable clothing and a noticeable image. We wanted to look good. (Laughs) It all started with K-pop, but we also tried to mix it with Nu Metal influences and the Gothic aesthetic.
Matthieu Kirby – I also feel that our style could be described as a mix of Asian culture, similar to K-pop, but also influenced by video games. Sometimes I’ve seen comments like, “Oh, they could be Final Fantasy characters.” I really like that. I’ve been trying to think that way sometimes lately.
When I found out about K-pop, I was like, “Wow, the music is so great.” But also, each member from every group has a video game character vibe. Even just without the song, it’s like a character. I like to think of us as characters. I think that helps people get into the project more, and it just creates something more around the project.
Cryptic Rock – Most certainly. It is eye-catching and immediately makes you want to listen more. As you said, it gives each band member a character. This leads us to your most recent music videos. Would you say Horror films inspired the direction of these music videos?
John Fine – Yes. “Killing Me” was heavily inspired by the late 1990s and early 2000s Horror movies, such as The Ring (2002) or Ju-On (2002), due to their distinctive green aesthetic and visual style.
People often compare the video to The Matrix (1999), which I didn’t consider when we created the mood board for the music video, but I can see that now.
I associated that high aesthetic with the musical industry at that time, which was the Nu Metal climax. I think it was pretty obvious to me that Nu Metal should have this aesthetic. So, we tried that, and it worked pretty well.
There is also the music video that we shot for “DEAD!,” featuring Aviel of CVLTE, where we wanted to try something more medieval. There is a medieval aesthetic there, too. We’re trying different things. We are thinking about the next era now, but I don’t think we will stick to the Horror movie aesthetic.
Cryptic Rock – Well, it worked well in the videos you have released recently. Now signed with Fearless Records, can we expect to see you play some shows in North America?
John Fine – That’s our main goal: to make a tour in the US. And we hope to do it during the next year, but nothing is certain yet.
Matthieu Kirby – Yeah, that’s the next step because we’re doing Asia this year and then Europe in September. So the next step is definitely the US.
John Fine – We have a lot of fans in the US, and they are waiting for us to come.
Cryptic Rock – That is great to hear that you have anticipation and hopes to come. Have you been to Asia before? Have you played there before?
John Fine – Not with TSS, but Hugo, our drummer, already did a tour in Japan.
Matthieu Kirby – Hugo toured in Japan already with the Pop Punk band we had. I did not do the tour because I left the band to create TS. I went to Singapore and Tokyo already, but just as a tourist, never as a musician. I love everything about Asia, and I’m really pumped.
Cryptic Rock – That is exciting. It is always great to visit different places because each one has a unique culture.
John Fine – It is most fun to see the difference in the little things, in the routine.
Cryptic Rock – Absolutely. John, you mentioned you came to New York briefly. That was your only experience in the United States. With that said, you are both new to the United States.
John Fine – Yeah. Basically, I know nothing about the United States, but I can’t wait to be there.
Matthieu Kirby – Yeah, me neither. I have no idea about the United States.
Cryptic Rock – Hopefully, you will be visiting the USA sooner rather than later. You mentioned creating videos for social media, etc. Social media has become an integral part of our lives. It seems like it is part of our everyday life. What is it like dealing with social media and being an artist? Is there a constant pressure to continuously feel like you need to put material out there to please people?
John Fine – Yeah. It’s a bit stressful because you are directly face-to-face with the statistic, and you have to keep your mind straight and not think that you’re doing badly because the statistics aren’t showing that what you are doing is working.
Every piece of content that you post has this unique algorithm, and that can be very stressful, because you never know. You also have to post regularly, and that can be exhausting, too. We found that when you reach a certain point, you don’t have to post that much. What are your thoughts, Matthieu?
Matthieu Kirby – Yes. I think it’s very, very stressful. It is even one of the most stressful things about being in a band, I think. For socials, you don’t have to post such high-quality content. Also, a very good piece of content, one day you can do a million views, but the day after, you could barely do just a few hundred views. It’s all depending on such random stuff.
Sometimes you post something and you’re like, “Okay, that’s going to do so great.” And then it does nothing. The other day, you would just post something that you have no hope for it to do any good, but it will get a million views. There’s really no cheat sheet that comes with the socials. It just feels so random, like a lottery, basically. The days you don’t play the lottery are like the day after you haven’t posted in a while. You start to feel bad because maybe you missed that chance to go viral. It’s just constant stress.
Cryptic Rock – Everything you both said is entirely accurate. This is something that we, as humans, have come to accept as part of our lives. In a way, it is not natural because it messes with your brain. As you said, you think you put something delicious out there, and it may not have done as well, which is something that wasn’t as important.
John Fine – Yeah. But then there are bands like Sleep Token who don’t post anything, and it works. That is kind of inspiring, and it gives me hope back. (Laughs) So we don’t know. We are trying stuff on social media, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, you also want it not to affect the artistic aspect of music. It seems there is a cinematic influence on TSS. What are some of your favorite Horror movies?
John Fine – My favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). It’s not a Horror movie, but this is what I grew up with. Maybe my favorite Horror movie is Ju-On because it traumatized me as a child. (Laughs) I saw it a bit too young. What about you, Matthieu?
Matthieu Kirby – My favorite horror movie is Midsummer (2019) because I think it’s very original, and the whole aesthetic is not so common. I just remember being very into it when I watched it. It was really surprising.
My favorite movie lately is Whisper of the Heart (1995) from Studio Ghibli. And it’s really about art and just going for the artistic path.
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