Interview with Scenius

Photo credit: F. Bellanger

Today we’re joined by Scenius, the French-English electronic outfit making waves ahead of their upcoming UK tour with Midge Ure. Formed by Steve Whitfield and Fabrice Nau, the band has built a reputation for immersive live shows and a sound that blends alternative electronica, ambient textures and analogue warmth. With a brand-new remix, Five-Arm Crystal (Sixth-Arm Mix), arriving just before the tour kicks off, Scenius are stepping into a huge moment in their career and we’re excited to talk about the music, the tour, and what comes next.

You dropped a remix of your song 'Five-Arm Crystal' last Friday. What inspired you to revisit it and create a new version now?



Fab: We wanted to release something that felt new, but still connected to our last album, which came out last October. We’ve always enjoyed working on remixes — whether it’s our own tracks or someone else’s. It’s a really different process from writing a song from scratch, and we like that shift in perspective.

Steve: We love the album version but we just thought it warrented doing another version. It’s such a big riff we wanted to see how far we could take it!

What’s the biggest difference between the original and this new version for you personally?

Fab: We felt like the track had the potential to go further into a darker, more club-oriented direction. That’s something that wouldn’t have quite fit within the context of the album, but it felt worth exploring here — so we went for it and we’ve liked the result.

Steve: Definitely more of a club vibe on this new version, which isn’t what we are normally about!

You also secured a UK tour supporting Midge Ure through direct email outreach. What gave you the confidence to take that approach, and what did you say that you think made it work?

Fab: It probably has more to do with perseverance than confidence, to be honest. Since we started playing live about three years ago, we’ve kept an eye on upcoming tours, and whenever there’s an artist we like, we send an email asking if they might be looking for a support act. Most of the time, you don’t even get a reply — but this time we did, and it went way beyond what we expected. We thought we might land a couple of shows at best, not the whole tour.

As for what made it work, we’d say it starts with the music. And on a more practical level, the fact that we’re not an eight-piece band with tons of gear probably helped too.

We could always ask Midge Ure and his team after a few shows… but we’re not sure we will. It’s kind of nice to keep a bit of mystery. And asking someone why they like you isn’t the best idea anyway :-) 


Steve: If you don’t ask you don’t get! Any band has to believe in what they are doing.

Supporting an artist with such a long legacy must feel pretty significant! How has Midge Ure influenced your sound or mindset as musicians?

Fab: It definitely feels significant, on many levels. It’s an honour, a great opportunity, and also a chance to gain the kind of experience you only get from playing shows night after night. There’s only so much rehearsing you can do — nothing really beats being on stage regularly.

And Midge Ure is truly a living legend. In retrospect now, if we had to pick one thing that inspires us most about his career, it would be his ability to move across different genres while always maintaining a very distinctive identity. From The Rich Kids to Visage and his solo work, it’s an incredibly wide and coherent body of work.


Steve: Well there’s no denying Midge’s success over the years. He’s been so successful in everything he’s done, but it’s Ultravox that made the biggest impression on me.

What can audiences expect to hear or feel that differs from your studio work?

Fab: Well, first of all, we’re the support act, so for most people in the audience it’ll actually be their first time hearing us. For those who already know the band — or have taken the time to listen beforehand — we’re often told that the live show feels more punchy, more organic, and more alive than they expected.

You’ve already shared stages with acts like The Mission. What lessons from those experiences are you bringing into this much larger tour?

Steve: In some ways it’s easier than playing your own gigs in small venues. There’s a whole team of professionals working on these big shows, so there’s a lot of support if something goes wrong. On the other side, you have to be well organised to fit in with the main band and their team. 


With 21 dates across the UK, what does success look like for you by the end of this run?


Fab: Success could mean a lot of things for us. First, feeling that our performances have grown in depth and emotion throughout the tour. Also, hopefully, that Midge Ure and his team don’t regret having us on the bill :-) 

Beyond that, it’s about the human side — having great conversations with people after the shows, maybe some of them going home with the album. And a bit further down the line, success would be coming back to some of these cities to play our own shows in smaller venues.


Steve: We’re really looking forward to meeting a lot of new people and hopefully a lot of people who have gone to see Midge end up listening to our albums and start following what we are doing.