So tell me about the heart of Heroic Nation. Why do you do what you do?
Lydie: Heroic Nation started because we believed it was how God was leading us, we had this passion for God, and we wanted to reach our generation.
Jeremie: If you look on our website, you'll see the name of our French album, which is the hashtag we use everywhere: #OneMission. Whenever we shoot and post videos, photos, etc., we put this hashtag because this is our call. We want to reach our generation; in particular, our target audience is youth. We want to catch their attention through our music so we can deliver the message of Jesus. This message is our heart; this message is our #OneMission.
What has God been teaching you as an artist?
L: He has taught us so much. We have learned that if we are without Him, we are nothing. When he puts us where he wants us to be, it's just unbelievable, and he gives strength and faith and courage, that we would never have if it weren't his plan. Yesterday evening, I was talking to Jeremie, and I was saying to him, "Can you imagine that we are brother and sister, we were born in the same family, and God has brought us so much closer in the last two years. Even with all the decisions we had to make, all the mountains we had to climb, we never argued. We've always been close to each other. It's God!" Even if you are brother and sister, we see that God teaches us to love each other and to love people in general more. So many things!
J: And you know the thing we have seen in the last two years, with the vision God can give you, sometimes you can draw others into it. But at the beginning of Heroic Nation, we had some disagreements with other musicians. They wanted to have fun, but they didn't want the hard parts. But God has told Lydie and me, that when he gives us a plan, of course, there will always be other people working with you, and together you can bring this vision to form, but the vision he gave to Lydie and I is a personal one. It's the vision for our entire lives.
I think we made some mistakes at the beginning. We received this vision, and we wanted all the other musicians to have the same vision as us. But we learned that sometimes when you're looking for people to help you or trying to push to make something happen, God tells us that he will put the right people in our path, and we need to rely on that. His plans are always, far larger than ours, and He can see things that we don't see yet.
L: He gave us peace, as well, because before, to be honest, we could have been stressed about finances and touring, but today we have peace because we know we are in the right place at the right moment, and God is opening the doors.
Why did you want to join C&L! as an artist?
L: Because you are crazy for God, you have this incredible way of reaching people. To be honest, when we first watched your videos, we were amazed and inspired. You aren't afraid to go to different places. You go, and you have a powerful message. It's a revolution! It's a different message and to be honest with you, we are not used to this way of proclaiming God. But it's working - we see the fruits, and it's great!
J: When we saw your videos, we were stunned. We were saying, "This is what we want to do!" We don't make music to sell albums; this isn't our goal. We want to live 100% for God, and what we saw in C&L! is what we want to do. You can play in one place where there are 30 people in the audience and then go to another location where there are hundreds or thousands. You need to go where God is leading you, and when you do, there is an impact on people's lives.
Do you have any advice for the C&L! Community and other artists who are starting out?
L: I would say that the most important thing before starting a band is to look for God's plan. It's not always an easy thing to start, but if it's God's plan, He will open the doors, and He will help you. The second thing, you will have to work very, very hard. Never get discouraged! To be honest with you, when we first started, we never imagined that we would perform and impact people outside of our church. And today, it's just unbelievable. We had difficulties, but God has always helped us. Our priority is not to perform and to be known. Our priority is to make people know God. If this is your priority, then God will help you.