Hello everyone, it’s your host Oliver from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Santa Claws, the French alternative rock and Britpop quintet from Brittany, France, to discuss their second full-length album, Sands of Time, released on October 2, 2026. Blending the energy of 1990s alternative rock with melodic songwriting and atmospheric arrangements, the band has spent nearly a decade developing an independent musical identity shaped by perseverance, creative freedom, and a shared passion for British indie rock. Their latest album marks an important stage in that development, bringing together a strengthened five-member line-up, three-guitar arrangements, and an approach to production that values warmth and authenticity. Before we begin our conversation with Santa Claws, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About SANTA CLAWS
Formed in 2017 by Greg Aubert, Santa Claws emerged from a shared desire to create direct, melodic rock inspired by the British alternative music scene. The band established its musical foundations with its debut album, Life Is a Lie, recorded by Jean-Paul Romann and mixed by American producer Greg Gordon, whose credits include Oasis, Supergrass, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. That experience helped shape the group’s commitment to an organic sound built around electric guitars, live performance, and carefully developed melodies. With influences ranging from the songwriting of The Beatles to the experimental approach of Radiohead and the directness of Oasis, Santa Claws began developing a sound that brought together familiar musical influences and its own creative ambitions.
The band’s development has not followed a straightforward path. Line-up changes and a period of inactivity interrupted its early progress, while the COVID-19 pandemic brought touring plans to a halt just as the reassembled group was finding its footing. Greg Aubert and Antoine Montgaudon continued working on new material through remote songwriting and artistic residencies, determined to preserve the project they had rebuilt. With Teddy Moisan joining on bass, the band gradually regained its momentum, and the arrival of Julien Pinel on drums in 2023 established a more settled rhythm section. Their 2022 live EP, Echoes, captured the unpredictable nature of their relationship with live performance when a complete power outage interrupted its recording at Le Petit Écho de la Mode. Rather than abandoning their commitment to live energy, the experience reinforced the band’s appreciation for the spontaneity and imperfections that make a performance human.
Between 2023 and 2025, Santa Claws continued developing its identity through singles including She Turns, Grain of Sand, Gimme a Minute, and Rainy Day. These releases allowed the band to explore different aspects of its sound, moving between energetic guitar-driven passages, melodic hooks, and more atmospheric arrangements. The addition of guitarist Stéphane Kérihuel expanded the line-up to five permanent members and introduced a third guitar, giving the group more room to explore contrasting textures and intricate instrumental interplay. Rather than simply increasing the volume or density of its arrangements, the band has used this expanded line-up to give individual guitar parts distinct roles, allowing rhythmic drive, melodic detail, and atmospheric elements to coexist.
Released on October 2, 2026, Sands of Time represents the culmination of this period of rebuilding and musical development. The album was created independently at the band’s own studio in La Chapelle-Neuve, with Antoine Montgaudon handling the mixing and Christophe Chavanon mastering the record to analog tape at Studio Kerwax. Across eight tracks, the band explores the passage of time, personal memories, waiting, and perseverance through a combination of alternative rock energy and reflective songwriting. Songs such as Gimme a Minute, Two Days Ten Hours, and Grain of Sand approach these ideas from different perspectives, connecting everyday experiences with broader questions about change and the traces people leave behind. To celebrate the release, Santa Claws performed an intimate showcase at Studio Kerwax, with the concert recorded directly to analog tape. A full concert film directed by Melody Aubert is scheduled for release in 2027, offering a further opportunity to experience the band’s live identity. With Sands of Time, Santa Claws continues to build its future on independence, collaboration, and a lasting commitment to guitar-driven music.
Having explored the journey behind Sands of Time, from the band’s early beginnings and challenges to its expanded line-up and independent recording process, it is time to hear directly from Santa Claws about the experiences and creative decisions that have shaped this new chapter. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Oliver:
Santa Claws began in 2017 as a project founded by Greg Aubert, and the band has experienced several changes in its line-up and direction since then. Looking back at those early days, what originally brought you together, and how has your understanding of the band and what you wanted to create changed over the years?
Santa Claws:
At the very beginning, the project was born out of a simple, visceral desire: to play raw, melodic, and direct rock driven by our shared passion for the British indie scene. Over time, through line-up changes and life’s shifts, the band evolved from a desire to just play loud into a genuine pursuit of musical craftsmanship. Today, we’re no longer trying to prove anything or chase trends: we’ve refined our sound to focus on space, depth in our arrangements, and analog warmth.
Oliver:
Every band member brings a different personality and musical perspective into a shared project. With five musicians now contributing to Santa Claws, how would you describe the individual creative identities within the group, and what makes your collaboration work?
Santa Claws:
The strength of the band lies in how we complement each other. Greg brings the initial vision, core songwriting, and melodic lines. Antoine has a fantastic ear for arrangements, structure, and studio production. Teddy and Julien form an incredibly solid rhythm section, bringing that essential groove and foundation. Stéphane’s arrival on third guitar added a more textured, ambient color. What makes it all work is deep mutual respect: no one is trying to outshine the others, every single idea serves the song.
Oliver:
Your influences range from the melodic sensibilities of The Beatles to the experimental character of Radiohead, the attitude of Oasis, and the energetic songwriting of Supergrass and The Breeders. How have these different musical worlds shaped your identity, and how do you ensure that your own personality remains at the centre of the music?
Santa Claws:
Those bands are part of our musical DNA; we grew up with them. The Beatles taught us melodic craft, Oasis gave us swagger and directness, Radiohead taught us how to embrace tension, and Supergrass and The Breeders brought that playful noisy-pop edge. But we never try to copy them: we use these influences as a shared vocabulary. Our own identity comes through in how we blend these elements, through our personal stories, and in the sheer honesty of the sound we create from Brittany.
Oliver:
Your journey has included line-up changes, a period when the project was put on hold, and the interruption of touring plans during the COVID pandemic. What did those difficult periods teach you about commitment, friendship, and the reasons you wanted to keep Santa Claws alive?
Santa Claws:
Those periods were true tests of resilience, but they acted as a filter. They taught us that music isn’t a sprint—it’s about endurance and friendship. When everything grinds to a halt, only the core remains: the pure joy of creating together and the deep need to express what’s inside us. Those challenges strengthened our bond and gave us an unshakable belief in the value of what we’re building.
Oliver:
Your 2022 live EP, Echoes, carries an unusual memory, having been interrupted by a complete power outage during its recording. Beyond the unexpected circumstances, what did that experience reveal about your relationship with live performance and the kind of energy you wanted to preserve in your music?
Santa Claws:
That blackout at Le Petit Écho de la Mode was a surreal moment, but deeply revealing! It reminded us that live music is a living, fragile, and unpredictable organism. That vulnerability and raw electricity are exactly what we chase. It reinforced our belief that we will always choose lively, human imperfection over clinical, lifeless perfection.
Oliver:
There is a noticeable emphasis on patience, craftsmanship, and independence in the way you have built this band. Rather than following an industry-driven schedule, you have taken time to shape your sound. Has working at your own pace allowed you to make creative decisions that might have been difficult under external pressure?
Santa Claws:
Absolutely. Independence offers us today’s most precious luxury: time. The time to experiment, discard, rearrange, and let songs mature until they reach their ideal shape. Without a label or a commercial deadline hanging over us, we were able to make bold choices, like total self-production or recording to analog tape without compromise.
Oliver:
Nine years after your debut album, Life Is a Lie, you have returned with your second full-length record, Sands of Time. What does this album represent to you personally, and why did you feel this was the right moment to make this particular statement as a band?
Santa Claws:
This album is the culmination of a decade of work, doubts, and rebuilding. It represents our true artistic maturity. Nine years might sound long, but it was the exact time needed for us to be fully ready. Today, the lineup is rock-solid, our sound is confident, and we know exactly who we are. It was the perfect moment to deliver this record as a strong statement.
Oliver:
The title Sands of Time suggests reflection, change, and the passage of life. What does the title mean to the band, and is there a particular idea or experience that connects the eight tracks into one larger statement?
Santa Claws:
The hourglass and the sand suggest the erosion of time, but to us, it’s mostly about accumulation. Time passes, but it leaves traces, grain, memories, and experience behind. The eight tracks explore different angles of our relationship with time: daily urgency (“Gimme a Minute”), waiting (“Two Days Ten Hours”), indelible marks (“Tattoo Me”), or feeling like a tiny part of a whole (“Grain of Sand”).
Oliver:
Your music often balances energetic alternative rock with more intimate and melancholic melodic passages. When writing the songs for this album, how did you approach that balance, and did you consciously set out to explore a particular emotional direction?
Santa Claws:
That balance happened very naturally. We don’t enjoy one-dimensional music: we need contrast, light and shadow. Melancholy provides emotional depth and storytelling, while rock energy and crunchy guitars release the tension. We were looking for that dynamic where intimacy and power reinforce one another.
Oliver:
The album was written and recorded independently at your own studio in La Chapelle-Neuve, with Antoine Montgaudon handling the mixing. How did having control over the recording environment influence the songwriting and arrangement decisions, and what advantages did this level of independence offer?
Santa Claws:
Recording in our own studio in La Chapelle-Neuve gave us complete freedom and peace of mind. Antoine knew the room’s acoustics inside out and understood the exact tone we wanted. Being able to tweak a take at any moment without watching the clock allowed us to refine details and experiment with guitar arrangements without any financial or time stress.
Oliver:
You chose to have the album mastered to analog tape by Christophe Chavanon at Studio Kerwax. In an era where digital production offers almost unlimited possibilities, what does analog sound mean to you, and what qualities were you hoping to preserve through that mastering process?
Santa Claws:
Digital is fantastic for precision, but analog brings heart, grain, and human warmth. Working with Christophe Chavanon at Studio Kerwax and mastering to analog tape glued the mix together, smoothed out the highs, and brought a beautiful natural saturation. We wanted a physical sound—something you feel in your chest rather than an overly polished, clinical production.
Oliver:
Your current line-up includes three guitarists, with Stéphane Kérihuel joining as the band’s fifth permanent member. How has his arrival changed the way you arrange songs, approach guitar parts, and build the band’s sound both in the studio and on stage?
Santa Claws:
Stéphane’s arrival changed everything! With three guitars, the trap would have been to just create a wall of noise. Instead, it forced us to be far more precise and disciplined. Each guitar has its own role: one lays down the raw rhythm, another adds melodic riffs, and the third weaves atmospheric textures or counterpoints. It gives our songs incredible width and dynamic range.
Oliver:
Antoine has contributed not only as a guitarist and keyboardist but also through arrangements and backing vocals. How does the creative relationship between the different instrumentalists influence the final shape of a song, particularly when several musical ideas need to work together without competing?
Santa Claws:
Antoine’s arrangement work is key. He has a great ear for stepping back and channeling everyone’s energy. In a five-piece band, ego has to take a backseat to the song. If a guitar needs to stay quiet during a verse to let the vocals or bass breathe, we do it without hesitation. There’s no competition among us—it’s all about balance and active listening.
Oliver:
Your release showcase at Studio Kerwax was recorded directly to analog tape, reflecting your interest in capturing performances in a natural and immediate way. What was important to you about presenting the album through a live performance rather than relying solely on a conventional launch event?
Santa Claws:
Santa Claws is first and foremost a live band. Presenting this album through an intimate showcase at Kerwax, recorded straight to tape, was the most honest way to showcase our approach. We wanted to share the raw energy of the moment with our closest audience and capture a performance with zero room for cheating.
Oliver:
You have spent several years releasing singles such as She Turns, Grain of Sand, Gimme a Minute, and Rainy Day. How did releasing these songs individually help you understand the direction of the band, and did any of them influence the way you approached Sands of Time?
Santa Claws:
Releasing those singles over time was our way of testing the waters, staying connected with our audience, and validating our sonic choices step by step. Tracks like “Grain of Sand” and “Rainy Day” showed us that we could move seamlessly between rock power and atmospheric poetry. It gave us the confidence to build the entire album around those core pillars.
Oliver:
Independent bands often have to balance the creative side of making music with the practical demands of recording, promotion, live performances, and maintaining visibility. Across your decade-long journey, what has been the most challenging part of sustaining Santa Claws independently, and what has kept you motivated?
Santa Claws:
The hardest part is definitely managing time and wearing so many hats: you have to be musicians, technicians, bookers, and PR managers all at once. It can be exhausting. What keeps us motivated is our pure love for music, our bond as a band, and the enthusiastic response from listeners and critics. When a song comes alive in rehearsal or on stage, every struggle vanishes.
Oliver:
With the band’s musical identity becoming more established, what do you hope listeners discover when they spend time with Sands of Time? Is there a particular feeling, thought, or interpretation you would like them to take away from the album, even if it differs from your original intentions?
Santa Claws:
We hope listeners feel the honesty and warmth of the record. It’s an album meant to be experienced as a complete journey, offering a genuine breather. If people can project their own memories, nostalgia, or find a sense of optimism and perseverance in it, then we’ve done our job. Once released, the music belongs to the listener.
Oliver:
You are also preparing a full concert film directed by Melody Aubert, scheduled for release in 2027, documenting your live-to-tape performance at Studio Kerwax. What can audiences expect from this project, and how do you see it contributing to the next chapter of Santa Claws?
Santa Claws:
This film directed by Melody Aubert will be a very intimate visual and audio document. It captures the unique atmosphere of Studio Kerwax, the closeness of the audience, and the intensity of our live performance. It’s the perfect snapshot of who we are in 2026 and a great stepping stone to bring our music to even bigger stages in the coming years.
Oliver:
Having spent years building the band through changes, challenges, independent releases, and now a second album that represents a new stage in your development, what would you like the next decade of Santa Claws to look like? When people eventually look back at the band’s work, what do you hope its lasting contribution will be?
Santa Claws:
For the next decade, we simply want to keep playing, writing, and sharing our music on new stages, both in France and internationally. When people look back at Santa Claws years from now, we hope they remember an authentic, generous band that weathered time by staying true to their passion and their love for great guitar songs.
“Sands of Time reminds us that a band’s identity is not built in a single moment. It takes years of change, patience, and shared conviction to create music that reflects not only where its members began, but also everything they have experienced along the way.”
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
What stands out about Sands of Time is the way Santa Claws allows its different musical ideas to coexist without losing sight of the songs themselves. The three-guitar arrangement creates room for both forceful rock passages and more delicate instrumental details, while the independent recording process reflects the band’s commitment to making music on its own terms. Our conversation also reveals how the album’s themes connect with the group’s history of rebuilding and persistence. Rather than treating experience as something to overcome and leave behind, Santa Claws has turned it into part of its creative identity.
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
A sincere thank you to Santa Claws for joining us at DULAXI and sharing the experiences, decisions, and creative principles behind Sands of Time. From the challenges of maintaining an independent band to the importance of collaboration and the careful development of their three-guitar sound, this conversation has offered a closer look at the people and ideas behind the music.
For readers who have not yet heard the album, Sands of Time offers an opportunity to discover Santa Claws’ blend of alternative rock, Britpop influences, and reflective songwriting. Listening to the record alongside the band’s story provides a deeper understanding of how years of persistence and creative freedom have shaped its latest chapter.
We wish Santa Claws every success with the album and look forward to seeing how the upcoming concert film and future performances contribute to the band’s continued development.
Thank you for spending time with us at DULAXI. I’m Oliver, and it has been a pleasure bringing you this conversation. Stay connected with us for more interviews featuring artists whose stories, creative choices, and music deserve to be heard. Until next time, keep discovering new music and supporting independent artists.