2016-03 Lords Of Metal
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/5693
There was a gap of about three years between your new album and the previous one, ‘Occult Rock’. That’s a fairly long time between releases. What happened in the meantime?
Antoine Hadjioannou: Is it a long time, really? You know, we do Aluk Todolo for us in the first place, so there's really no rush to release tons of stuff. We do not put out a record unless we are fully satisfied with it, and we do not write music unless we have a feeling of absolute necessity. Maybe this is slow compared to some other bands, but for us, it's just how this it works, and it keeps us very busy. I guess our "slowness" is proportional to our ambition, so the next album might take ten years to be done, and it would not be a drama. We've started working on Voix right after the recording of Occult Rock back in 2012, which was our first time at Drudenhaus studio. This experience showed us the way to new experiments, and made us more attentive and meticulous with sound, textures, timbres and resonances. And we've also been touring a bit, playing Occult Rock live. But It's true that at some point we've been on a few months hiatus when I broke my left heel. Retrospectively, it was for the best, as I had to rethink my drumming according to my new bone, if I may say so. I got way more focused on this left foot and on my hi-hat playing, as well as on the way I stand behind the kit, and all this had a big influence on Voix.
’Voix’ seems a fair bit more concentrated and dense than its predecessor. Is that deliberate, or simply the result of more experience?
AH: It's neither deliberate nor the result of more experience... We do not proceed that way. We do not ask ourselves "what direction are we going to take with the next album?" And we do not have a feeling of progression. Evolution, certainly, as we are servants of the music, and consequently do what the music requires. And when it's done, we do not anaylze it so much either, so I'm not sure I would agree to say it's more concentrated and dense. But I'm not saying it's wrong, you are free to see it this way. It's just that I don't think that it's our role to analyze our music. We do propose a sensation, any subsequent emotion, vision, or opinion are left to the listener's discretion. Obviously, Voix is different from Occult Rock, and from our other albums. In what way? You tell me. As far as I'm concerned I'd just say it's more vertical.
Somehow ‘Voix’ seems to have a less obvious ‘metal’ edge to it. Of course there’s definitely some krautrock to be spotted, but in general there’s quite a psychedelic quality to the album. The reverb-laden guitars even remind me of good old Link Wray at times. Can you elaborate about your influences, and, if possible, in what way they contribute to Aluk Todolo’s sound?
AH: Well, this "krautrock meets black metal thing" is a way to describe the music, but certainly not a concept. All these stylistic considerations are a bit pointless to me. Outside influences do not drive the band at all, and certainly less than... astrology, for example. As I said, we need a feeling of absolute necessity. If in the end one of our pieces reminds to the listener something else, it is only because we channeled some forces which have already manifested themselves in similar ways. Being aware of it or not has no importance, even though Link Wray is pretty cool. For sure we have a krautrock heritage, but krautrock isn't a proper genre. I mean, what is the similarity between the music of Popol Vuh, Neu! or Amon Duul II? To me, it's freedom, devotion and soul, and that's what influences us in the end. Even a codified style of music like black metal was pretty adventurous in the beginning... The main influences in Aluk Todolo are not stylisctic. Vibratory music do not belong in categories, it works like a mirror so everyone hears what he wants... or is able to... But It's music for the soul, so I advise not to get stuck in a stylistic approach, which could lead to overanaylze the music, and see it as a fusion of borrowed elements, while it's a fusion of energies.
Basically, ‘Voix’ is one 43 minute composition. How do you write something like that? Is it something that is derived from hours of jamming, or are there other methods to get there? And, subsequently, how do you capture it in the studio?
AH: I'm afraid our methods are not easy to rationalize. I'm actually not sure we really have a method... Most of the time we decide that something is worthy after having played it over and over for hours in the space... We're testing the vibration. In the early stages of composition, we record our improvisations but sometimes while listening to it what actually grabs our attention is the "accident": a dissonance, a broken string, a drumstick drop, the end of the tape... And we start again from that specific thing that was not planned. But sometimes it's different. As I said we are servants of the music, so it depends of the album. The way we proceed is kind of mediumnic, I mean it's about emptying our minds to let the forces come in, and step by step the music reveals itself. When we get the feeling that the music is writing itself, it usually means that we are on the good way. We consider our music as archetypal, in the sense that it pre-exists its manifestation. We must be like antennas, to channel and transmit. And somehow, one day, the composition is done. It's a bit like working on a puzzle and finally realizing it's done without having noticed you only have one remaining piece in your hand. Then, we work again to be able to play it live, and that's when we decide we are ready to go in the studio. Voix was recorded live and on tape, at Drudenhaus studio, a very special place, runned by a very special person. The choice of analog technology was made to preserve the vibratory essence of the music. Tape captures something else than just the notes and beats, something elusive, something that is alive, that happens in the instant and which is the core of our music.
I’m afraid you get this question more or less all the time, but have you never felt the urge to add vocals?
AH: Actually we don't get this question so often, and no, we've never felt the urge to add vocals. Beeing exclusively instrumental is one of the sine qua non conditions of our band. When Aluk Todolo was created, our goal was, and still is, to craft some entheogenic music. So it has to be a hundred per cent esoteric. Since vocals are somehow always exoteric, they do not fit in the formula. And it is way more challenging that way. But as you may have noticed, Voix means voices, and the reason why we named our album like that is because there are some voices in our music, some voices that are secret and which are hidden somewhere in the folds of the audible. A sort of residual chant, which lies in between the notes and beats. On Voix, our mission was to reach a synergy, in the composition and the interpretation, in which these voices could resonate.
In Europe, Norma Evangelium Diaboli takes care of the business side of Aluk Todolo. Since they are a very black metal oriented label, at first glance this seems not the most obvious of combinations. How do you feel about being on this label?
AH: We feel pretty good. Norma Evangelium Diaboli is a label with a vision, just like The Ajna Offensive, and to me the most obvious is usually the less interesting, so even though we don't really care, I think it's pretty cool if it confuses everybody.
I see that you have a few shows lined up for the next couple of months. One that is particularly notable is the show in Moscow. I’ve heard some pretty amazing stories about the crowd response and the atmosphere there. Excited?
AH: Oh yeh. Moscow. Right now we're not even sure if this show will happen. We were so excited about it, but since about a month it's impossible to reach the promoter of the show... I hope he is ok. Allerseelen, with whom we were supposed to share the stage, already cancelled. Now it's getting late to get our Visas... I really hope it will happen, we've never played Russia, and as you said it seems pretty amazing... We'll see. If not this time, then another.
Is there any chance you will be playing in The Netherlands any time soon?
AH: Yes, we will be back in Spring. You know, the very first show we played outside of France back in 2008 was in Utrecht, at Impakt Festival, so we have a special relationship with The Netherlands. Since then, we played there quite a few times, and it's always been great. It might be the country where we played the most besides France. Last time, it was in Utrecht again for this amazing fest Le Guess Who? Festival in November, and it was killer.
Apart from that, any other plans for the near or not-so-near future?
AH: We've already started working on some new material, and even though it's still very embryonic, it's already exciting and challenging. We also compiled some archival material which we are very happy with and which we will release soon... or not so soon. Plus, touring, playing Voix live as much as possible.
Thanks for the interview. Anything you would like to say in conclusion?
AH: Aum Tat Sat. |
