Alcest Interview is up but old now..... 6/2/2010

ALCEST Sent this interview back in March but I didn't get it till today. Still put it up... Enjoy..

http://www.myspace.com/alcestmusic

1. There have been 3 yrs between Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde and the new release Écailles de lune. What do you see as the major difference in sound between the two?

"Souvenirs" was a musical testimony dealing with visions/memories I had as a child about another world, another plane of existence which has nothing to do with the world we know. A green heaven of absolute light and beauty, beyond all that we can imagine. To be clearer, this is something similar to the "landscapes" that are describing people who had a Near Death Experience. "Écailles De Lune" could be seen as a metaphor of how I manage to live with this experience now in my everyday life. As I sometimes feel that nobody really understand and grab what I am speaking about, in some moments it's like if I was a stranger here, speaking for nothing, and looking for something else than people around me. Musically "Écailles De Lune" is more complex and progressive than "Souvenirs..." I wanted to make a contrasted album in terms of ambiances and intensity.

2. Alcest has such a heavy shoegazer sound mix with the Dark Metal sounds?? Is it hard to translate this sound live?

Yes this is quite hard I admit but you know on stage we are more trying to translate an atmosphere than a sound. The most important is that the emotions are still there, and anyway I think that there's nothing more boring than bands having exactly the same sound on CD and on stage.

3. The more grim vocals are very much on a minimum but do show up from time to time. Does Alcest feel less and less connected to the Black metal overtones?

Less and less I don't think so since "Souvenirs...", the previous album, didn't have harsh vocals at all. You know I don't set a rule from the start saying "there won't be any harsh voices on this album", I do it depending of what a song inspires me. I don't use this kind of voice without a reason but when I feel it really fits with the music's purpose.

4. Alcest seems very much about loss and somber ideals . Is it painful to create such heart aching music?

Even if my music has an evident touch of melancholy, Alcest is not about somber ideals. This is the tool I am using for describing these memories I had about this other dimension I am speaking about in the first question. "Souvenirs..." was a musical picture about it, making the listener going in these deep green and amber havens, where time and pain doesn't exist, where all that surrounds you, the trees, the grass, the streams radiate a pure and pearly luminous aura. The only "painful" thing in Alcest is the link it has with my life and reality. I often feel a weird sensation not to belong to Earth, like if a non-human part of my soul was screaming inside me, supplying me to be back in the world he belongs to. I feel very nostalgic for this faraway dimension, the lyrics of "Écailles De Lune" are dealing with this sensation in a metaphorical way. This explains the strong melancholy of the new album.

5. You worked with Profund Lore on the last release for North America is there a reason the title is 100% through Prophecy Prod worldwide this time out?

I don't know, Prophecy didn't speak to me about this. I guess that this is because they prefer to care about it by themselves.

6. Are you still working and releasing material under Amesoeurs and Forgotten Woods Names or is Alcest the only main outlet for you?

No, Amesoeurs has split up last year and concerning Forgotten Woods, I don't really know what's happening, I didn't have news from them since a long time. I hope they will record their new album soon ! Except for Alcest I am performing vocals in Lantlôs, a German band playing urban black metal. The second album should be released in the next months and believe me this is a killer record, extremely depressive and cold as concrete.

7. Will we see any videos or a DVD from ALcest your music fits so well with the format?

For the moment I don't think about making a DVD, we still didn't perform on stage you know and this will be the next step. But well, if the concert has a really special ambiance and if we make a good show, why not.

8. What is the story line behind Écailles De Lune?

I was inspired by the seaside, the energy and the exaltation you can feel when

you sit front of the sea at night. On the other hand, abysses appears like terribly fascinating, full of secrets and scaring at the same time. The "Écailles De Lune" lyrics is a tale about a man that feels to be a stranger in the world he is living in, like if he was not walking the same ground as the rest of people and doesn't feel joy or beauty anymore. He decides to sit by the sea

and look at the sun falling in the horizon, thinking about all what

he experienced during his life. He realizes that he doesn't have any interest anymore in his existence, nobody and nothing that can make him hope and smile again. So he let himself being attracted by the waves calling and the spirits of the sea. He gives them his hands for they accompany him in the depth, where everything is so peaceful and silent, all made of bluish shapes. Arriving in their realm he decides to lie of the sand and let aquatic spirits being the gardians of his

sleep. This story is not about death, like it would seem

to be. For me he is a man who decides to leave a world for another one, laterally.

Like a passage to another reality, another state of existence.

9. The artwork for the new CD is breathtaking how does the artwork tie into the music presented on Écailles De Lune?

This artwork is breathtaking as you say, I am very proud of it. This is just the perfect illustration of the "Écailles De Lune" lyrics and the kind of aquatic ambiances/seascapes that would inspire the the album's listening.

10. Will we see Alcest perform in North America in 2010 at all??

If we perform in North America, this will be at the end of april. We really want to come there but you know this is very difficult with all these visas stuffs etc.. Well, at the end I really hope we will do this tour.

11. Do you feel Myspace is they best way to get your music across to the world via the internet in 2010??? As many bands make these there main website...

I don't know if this is the best one but for sure that's a good way. That's how I obtained my contract with Prophecy, I proposed them to listen to the songs on my page and then they asked me to send the complete promo CD. Many concrete things can happen on myspace, I think this can be an interesting tool for a band.

12. Thank you for the time any closing thoughts here..

Thanks you for the interview. Keep posted about the North American tour and we hope to see you there !