Alcest: "I'm always afraid of having nothing left to say"

After a considerable career, Alcest is a band that can now safely be said to have earned their place in the metal crowd's esteem. It wasn't all easy, since after their first three records that were embraced, the experimentation of "Shelter" surprised many, and their aesthetic turned to the opposite side with "Kodama" and "Spiritual Instict", while they returned to their roots with even more new elements on the beautiful "Les Chants De L' Aurore" released this year and it was instantly loved, marking perhaps their most balanced release yet.

While promoting their new album, Alcest will plow through Europe and a stop on their route will be Athens and, for the first time, Thessaloniki. Ten years ago, Winterhalter had talked to us about many aspects of Alcest's music, but this time, the quiet figure of Neige, a founding member of the band, held an exclusive conversation with us. With a wide vocabulary, Neige moved from inspiration to songwriting, past and new collaborations, and what Alcest is all about live. Read what he has to say and don't miss the opportunity to enjoy live the record that we have already chosen as one of the best for the first half of 2024!

Hello and welcome to Rocking.gr It's been almost a decade since we last talked with Winterhalter at the previous time and it's a pleasure to have you back. So how is 2024 finding Alcest?

Oh nice! We've been quite busy, you know, because we just released a new album and we are working on the upcoming tours, and also besides like the regular Alcest we started to have some kind of "parallel" Alcest which is just like a like a classical piano player base. And me and the other singer on vocals, plus another person. So we are going to play some acoustic shows besides the metal Alcest so it's keeping us very busy. We just played a festival in Germany with the piano Alcest and now we are going to go on tour to promote the new album with the metal Alcest. The tour is starting in the grab and then we are coming to Athens in Greece and we didn't play in Greece that many times for some reason. So yeah, we are very curious to see how it will go and see the fans and everything.

I'm always afraid to have nothing to say anymore. And it's I guess it's a fear that a lot of musicians have

So a very busy period. The thing that I can recall and want to ask you, it's is that you have a new record out and you have to excuse me about my french pronunciation from this point on (both laughing). Before we go to the new album, it has been like few years since you released your previous one, "Spiritual Instinct". It's been five years and this horrible global circumstance of the quarantine and the virus has been around in between your releases. I was really wondering how that affected your creative process between the two albums before we reached the actual release of the latest album.

Yeah. It's been five years, actually. It was just like for a lot of other musicians, a big impact on us, because all of our activities had stopped when covid happened. So we were in the middle of the promotion for "Spiritual Instinct" and we had to stop everything. We just finished our European Tour, but the plan was to go to the States and then to Asia and to Latin America, but everything was cancelled, of course. And yeah, it was very strange. But in a way we kind of appreciate it to have some time off because prior to that, we've been touring so much with Alcest, we've been touring nonstop for maybe, almost like 10 years, just every year touring, a lot. And I think we were really exhausted. There were some positive sides to the lockdown. And in the beginning, I didn't do much music, I actually took advantage of the lockdown to, for example, to talk to my family. Go back to my hometown and do things that I didn't have the time to do before. So it was quite nice. And I didn't have a lot of inspiration. I guess even if Alcest is quite introspective type of project, it's very personal, I still need some input from the outside to have some inspiration and because of the lockdown, I didn't go out much so I didn't feel very inspired and I spent, I think like a whole year without writing anything. It was very scary because, you are always afraid to lose inspiration for good. I was actually writing a lot on the piano. I have a piano at home and I still had like, some inspiration, but nothing with the guitar. After some time I think the lockdown had stopped, and I did a small travel to Corsica, this island in the South of France? The trip was so crazy. And I've seen so many amazing landscapes and met some really cool people. When I came back home I kind of found some new inspirations, and songs and waves started to come to me. And then it was starting to be back to normal again. I'm always afraid to have nothing to say anymore. And it's I guess it's a fear that a lot of musicians have.

A lot of bands choose to dig even to dive even deeper in the darkness, you know, but for me, when times are really dark around me, I need to feel something brighter because otherwise I guess I would just be very, very depressed

I see that, but we really saw the inspiration in "Les Chants De L' Aurore", and we immediately loved this album, and I must first ask, what does the new album represent for you?

Uh, I would say the new album is like a comeback to our first albums like the vibe of the first 2-3 albums because the two last ones, "Spiritual Instinct" and "Kodama" were…

More metal?

Yeah! They are albums we are very proud of, they were very successful albums, but on the other hand they were quite different from the trademark magical and uplifting feeling of our beginnings. You know, they were darker, more metal and everything. And I guess I needed to go back to something a little bit more sweet and a little bit more ethereal. I guess it was like a natural need for me to go back to something uplifting, it's something you can see even on the cover art. Everything is supposed to make the listener escape from reality, especially in times when reality is very, very dark. A lot of bands choose to dig even to dive even deeper in the darkness, you know, but for me, when times are really dark around me, I need to feel something brighter because otherwise I guess I would just be very, very depressed (we both awkwardly laugh in understanding).

I think when I'm writing a more uplifting and optimistic album is also to cheer myself up, when I don't feel so good in my life

I'm actually really happy because you're using some of the words that I'm using in my following questions, so I wanted to go a little bit a little bit further back kind of in the middle of your career. You said, and I've noticed that that you've gone back to the most familiar sounds that you started writing music with. And I can remember that there was also the existence of "Shelter" which we did not mention yet, and it was a very big experiment for you, it was very different from what you've done you had done before and afterwards you got darker. You told me the actual reasons why you went this way, but was it that it wasn't feeling right for you the way that you tried to experiment with "Shelter" and then got darker with the next albums, or it was just this very, "primordial", let's say, need to feel that sweetness and safety, like when it was back in the day.

I've noticed some kind of pattern in my way to write albums. It's like I write like a dark album and then I write like a brighter album and then aark album and brighter album. It's like I'm always like going from one side to the to the opposite side. I guess these two like opposites are present in me too. Like I can be a very optimistic and joyful person, but I definitely have a darker side too. And I guess that's why I'm always switching from one to the other and everything is very natural. I never conceptualize too much, like the direction I'm gonna take when writing, like a new album. What happens basically is I write my first songs, let's say two songs and then I see that there is always a direction that is appearing. Like "Ohh it's gonna be a bit darker this time". "Ohh it's gonna be like more magical and more dreamy". Then I try to write more songs in in the same style, and that's basically what happened for this one. Maybe the next album I will write will be the darkest album! I can't really predict it. It's also, I think the last year has been a little bit difficult on the personal level and I think when I'm writing a more uplifting and optimistic album is also to cheer myself up, when I don't feel so good in my life. I need to write music that will make myself feel better in a way, like some kind of therapy maybe.

If I was satisfied and if I was ok, then I've said what I wanted to say. Then I would just stop and the band would stop to exist

There is something that you have been mentioning in the past in your interviews, that you want us to feel something like, I’m probably using some of your words, like a supernatural sanctuary of beauty. After those seven records, do you feel that you have achieved that feeling both for the members of the band and the listeners?

I guess no, because if I felt I succeeded, I would stop (laughs)! I guess if I'm still doing it, it's because I'm never really satisfied, you know, with the albums that I make and I always feel it doesn't really translate exactly what I have in mind. So I try it again and again, but I suppose it's a positive dissatisfaction. If I was satisfied and if I was ok, then I've said what I wanted to say. Then I would just stop and the band would stop to exist. I guess it's good not to be satisfied and always try.

Yes, the musicians perfectionism!

Yeah, I'm basically never really happy. I've seen so many bands saying: "Yeah, this is our new album. It's the best one. We are so happy with the record. Everything's perfect. And it's gonna be massive" and stuff. I'm really not this type of person, every album is a struggle to make. And in the end, I'm never really happy.

You think of all the possibilities of ways that you could have written something?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I guess in our case, it's always more with the production and the recording. It's a very difficult music to record because it's full of layers and layers of guitars, layers of vocals, of arrangement. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, but it's very complex music. It's not technical, but it's very complex in terms of arrangements and sounds. To have everything coexist as you want in the in the mixing, is difficult. That’s something with a musician as opposed to, for example, like a writer, he will write a book and there is nothing that's gonna interfere between his idea and the way the book is presented, but for like a musician, there are so many ways to not be able to translate your vision properly because the sound is not exactly what you had in mind, I guess it's a work I have to do in acceptance. When something is released then it doesn't really belong to me anymore and I have to kind of let it go, but usually what happens is some years pass and then I'm finally able to appreciate each album I mean, of course we are very, very proud of the last album, we are very, very happy with it, but it's just, I guess we are very such perfectionists.

So I wanted to mention though that there is this very distinctive sound in the new album that goes way back to even "Souvenirs d’ Un Autre Monde" and the first three albums, but I find the here and there's some new elements of music. For example I can hear some very post punky soundscapes, especially in "Amethyste". Where was that that middle ground that you found yourselves to say: "Ohh well, I feel the need to return to our traditional sound, but again implement something new that we haven't done before?

Yeah, of course. I mean, even if we wanted to do exactly the same album as we did ten years ago, we wouldn't be able to because we are different people, people evolve all the time and we become more experienced as musicians too, so we learn and we improv a lot of things album after album, so even if I wanted to make like a clone of one now, it would be impossible. Of course it's always a mix of trying to keep the original sound of Alcest, trying to keep the essence and what makes sense, but also try to bring in the balance some fresh and new elements of course. Otherwise, we would be very bored with the result if it was exactly the same album as the one we released just before and I usually tend to like bands which evolve album after album and. I think all of our albums are quite different, even if they share the same style and the same identity they all have their own personality.

I thought, why we cannot use the elements of metal, the blast beats and the heavy guitars and the screaming but to express very, very different types of emotions like happiness or nostalgia?

So I wanna go somewhere else, but you've given me a hint from the introduction that we had in the interview because you've mentioned the piano Alcest project and the metal Alcest, do you still consider the band to be a metal band after all the experimentation?

(laughs) I don't know, we would have to define what is metal then? Yeah, I don't know if the condition for a band to be metal is to be dark, to play dark music, then no, we are not a metal band. If the condition is to play heavy guitars based music, then yes we are a metal band. It really depends on many things. For me, I always thought that it was very strange that all these metal bands that existed in the beginning of the genre, like 40-50 years ago when metal was born, I always wondered why all the bands had to remain in some kind of dark emotions. Dark and angry. There is a lot of hate sometimes, like in the in the black metal music for example, it's always about the darkness. I thought, why we cannot use the elements of metal, the blast beats and the heavy guitars and the screaming but to express very, very different types of emotions like happiness or nostalgia, or even some kind of romantic feelings? And that's what I'm trying to do, to access this, to really explore a different type of emotion, and I know that metal people they are open minded, but they can be very conservative too. That’s why in the beginning of our Alcest some metal people, used to say that we were like "gay", you know, because we were putting so much vulnerability in the music. I'm a human being. I have complex emotions and I need to express different things. There is nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make a band have an identity, not that this is bad at all, but being vulnerable doesn’t make you more "gay" or "feminine". It was a very divisive band in the beginning. I think it's better now. People got used to the fact that we are very strange and the difference.

"It's something I would like to keep in in the future, to bring some very subtile Japanese elements. It would be very, very small, because I think if you do it too much, it can be a little bit cheesy

Another very important aspect of your expression is, of course, the language that even after you became quite of a big thing, you kept always writing your lyrics in French. First time now other than the couple of occasional English titles, we see some Japanese used in your album in the introduction of "L’ Enfant De La Lune" and its title. How did you decide to include this in your work? Are different languages something that you care to experiment on possibly?

Yeah, it's because I'm really into Japanese culture since I was a kid, since always I've been very much into that and I'm also learning Japanese. So that's really cool and there is no big meaning behind it. I thought it would be great to pay some kind of homage to this. Once again, and I did it in the past in "Kodama" a bit, I think it's something I would like to keep in in the future, to bring some very subtile Japanese elements. It would be very, very small, because I think if you do it too much, it can be a little bit cheesy or what people can call cultural appropriation, of course I'm not Japanese. But it's some kind of some kind of homage, to attribute to all these beautiful things that this culture brought me over the years since I was a little kid.

I mean, it wouldn't be a beautiful supernatural sanctuary without sacura trees! I imagine them just to be there.

For sure. Yeah.

You have some pretty interesting backing vocals from Elise Aranguren of Livgone on your new album, which is an amazing new band, by the way. How did you came around and cooperate? How did you choose her for participating?

We met, I think first time maybe two years ago or something like this and then she was working for Watain, and I went to a to show of Watain in Paris. We met in a bar after and we really connected instantly and became really good friends, she understands Alcest very, very well and she's also a very spiritual person. She's one of the kind, a very special person and I thought she would be great on the new album, doing some backing vocals and actually, the piano lineup of Alcest to she's singing there too, it’s her, the other guitar player and me on vocals, so she she's also with us there so and she's the tour manager of the metal Alcest for this tour. So we are going on tour. for two months with her.

Very nice. And can you, uh, with this chance, mention a few aspiring new bands that you came across and you really like the music?

Yeah, I mean, those are not new but they are like friends of mine also, I love the latest Blood Incantation album, which was just released a few days ago. They are getting a lot of buzz and attention. It's really great. And then otherwise, I love this Japanese folk singer called Ichiko Aoba. So if you can check her music, it's really, really beautiful. And I really like the new band Zetra. I think they are signed on Nuclear Blast. It's some kind of Type O Negative and shoegazing, and it's really cool. What else? Otherwise, this year I really like the new Beth Gibbons album.
"So it's a French artist called Yoann Lossel and I've been a fan of his work for more than 10 years. I didn't dare to contact him before because he's quite famous and I thought that he wouldn't be interested you in working with ourselves."

Something that a lot of people are talking about on your latest album is its artwork, which is very beautiful and very inspiring. Do you want to tell us a couple of words about whose work is it and what was the inspiration behind it?

So it's a French artist called Yoann Lossel and I've been a fan of his work for more than 10 years. I didn't dare to contact him before because he's quite famous and I thought that he wouldn't be interested you in working with ourselves. But finally one day I said ok, maybe I should still write him and so I sent him a message and actually he already knew and he was listening to us. So it made the collaboration go even smoother.

The inspiration is a painting from the artist Sidney Nolan, he was an Australian painter and I think he belonged to the symbolism movement. And the painting is called "The spirit of the planes". I told Yoann, to make like a reinterpretation of this painting which he did and when he sent me the result I was really blown away. I was so happy, and I think it's the most beautiful cover art we have, it's the most artistic and you know it's really like a million percent what we wanted and we are so happy with it.

Υπογραφή εικόνας: The original "The Spirit Of The Planes" from Sidney Nolan

It's very beautiful and it gives you this feeling of travelling away. I would ask you also about some recent collaborations, right before your latest album, which I can recall some of one with your local Perturbator and also Ben Chisholm written before your latest record, how did these collaborations came around and do you have anything possibly planned for the future for another one?

Yeah, they both are friends of mine. So uh, Chelsea, Wolf and Ben, I met them many times and I think they are like such amazing musicians. I have a huge respect for them. I think that everything they release is just, production-wise and in terms of songwriting too, is just incredible. I’m a big fan of them. I asked them to do a remix of "Protection" and it turned out really interesting, he really broke down the song to pieces and build it again. Then James from Perturbator he's one of my best friends, we are really close and we have a bit of the same personality and the same way of writing music and he lives in Paris, so we meet pretty often. The remix he did for "Sapphire" was great because, when I wrote "Sapphire" I had this image of almost like a goth song, like a Depeche Mode or Sister Mercy song, and he turned it into like a dance floor song and it was just perfect. When I received it, I was really happy.

Otherwise for new collaborations, I'm singing on a track of the new album of someone we might have mentioned but I cannot say more for the time being! I'm very picky, very selective with the collaborations because I don't have a lot of time. So when I do something I try to make it really good. We've been actually as guests with Winterhalter on a song from Guðmundur Steinn Gunnarsson. I don't know if you've seen his work online. He's a musician from Iceland, he plays some kind of post rock.

Iceland and post rock go hand in hand after all!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly!

I mean that's the only reason why I'm going on stage. It's not for me, I don't need to play my songs. It's only for the people. To see them being happy

As far as live shows, you mentioned a few things back in the beginning, but how was it, especially since you took a very needed break, how did it feel to go back to it after like, more than two years?

Yeah, it was very strange. The first shows we've done were so strange because we didn't see anyone for two years. You know, we were so isolated and we didn't see our fans for such a long time and then, you are on the stage again in front of. 1000 people or more, you know? Or for example with Roadburn, we played the main stage in a very big room. I'm very insecure and shy and I don't like to be on the stage to be very honest, so it was very strange to be there and in front of so many people. But it was great too, because we love to play for people who like us. It's like such a beautiful thing, to see the happiness in the eyes of the people watching us, and to see that they are having a great moment. I mean that's the only reason why I'm going on stage. It's not for me, I don't need to play my songs. It's only for the people. To see them being happy. Very quickly It made me realize that I missed this feeling, and now I think it's gonna be great to play the new songs live.

I grew up near the Mediterranean sea too so all these type of atmospheres are very important for me, like being near the sea, like the warmth and the smells

As we mentioned in the beginning, you're going to be back in Greece in a few days and since the last time which was 2017 I think and for the first time in a different city, Thessaloniki, what are your expectations from the Greek audience?

Yeah, it's a bit strange. I think it's one of the countries where maybe people don't know about us so much because we didn't play there that often. We just played like a couple of times in Greece and I hope we can gain some new fans there and for the future, because, Ireally love Greek culture the country and the vibe. When I was a teenager, I had this very incredible holiday camp trip to the Cyclades and it was so beautiful. All these small islands are just a minute from where you live. I grew up near the Mediterranean sea too so all these type of atmospheres are very important for me, like being near the sea, like the warmth and the smells. I have some kind of deep connection with this area. I really hope that we can come back more often. I don't think people know about Alcest as much in Greece as they do for example, in Germany or in France, maybe it's because we are not traditional enough. Like the first show we did in Greece was actually was actually, we laugh about it now because it's quite funny.

Yeah I was there back in 2010, with Anaal Nathrakh and Triptykon, I think you were also sick at the time?

I don't remember but it was actually one of our worst shows ever, I think in terms of how we performed. We were pretty much outsiders in the lineup and now thinking back to it, it seems very funny to me that we played this show where everyone seemed bored of us.

I’m sure the previous and this time was and is going to be a totally different experience. It was a wonderful conversation but we have to wrap it up, how do you want to close this interview with something to our readers and your audience?

Thank you! We would love to see many happy faces for the music we’re going to play.