interviews

Interview avec Knock Out - October 2024

Answered by Shantidas Riedacker (guitar) and Matthieu Canaguier (bass)

  1. What do you think is the dominant mood produced in Aluk Todolo?

S : Tension and intensity... a bit like electricity we could say. 

M : Enlightenment


  1. That's good to know, because for me it's fear. Your music sounds like a rally through the night on the run from something terrible but unidentifiable - a good thing, I think.

S : Electricity can be terrifying
M : Enlightenment through fear should work in fact. An overwhelming cosmic terror freezing your blood and dragging you to a hysterical samadhi, leaving you alone crawling on the streets licking shit on your fingers. Perfect.



  1. I'm curious about your dynamics of activity as a trio. One can say that you all play leading parts, it's not like two musicians are building a background for the leader. How do you pull it all in your directions without leading to chaos?

S : That's true we think in terms of trio, and each instrument has its full place and space. Being an instrumental band, and a power trio, we believe that the triangle is only working with its 3 angles.
M : ​​Yes, we have no leader. Or the leading parts are in movement, everybody can take the lead and bring the band where he wants. Music is about listening to each other, not serving a leader. The real boss for our music is the music itself. We are the servants of our sound. 

  1. This may be a silly question, but in a way, does such a method of playing music allow you to satisfy the egos of each of you equally?

S : We do not think in terms of ego, but in terms of magic and alchemy , that can only be reached by forgetting the self.
M : We played this music for spiritual purposes. Dissolving the ego is what we intend to do.

  1. Since the release of “Occult Rock” you have been called an occult rock band, although you obviously do not play occult rock according to the common definition of the genre. However, if Aluk Todolo were to explicitly approach this trend, what would it sound like?

S : Actually, we call our music Occult Rock since our beginning in 2004, that's also the same time some other bands came with the term “occult rock” defining a certain genre of metal. Maybe it is more lyrical, emotional, and nostalgic of the 70's. That's not what we do.
M : Right ! You know, Occult Rock is written on the flyer of our very first concert. I can send the flyer if you want to check. Even when we recorded Occult Rock in 2012, we were not aware there was a genre, or trend, called like this… Occult Rock simply describes the music we play : Magic and esoteric formulas transfigured by the exclusive use of traditional Rock instruments : guitar, bass and drums. 

  1. Much of your work is created on the basis of intuition or improvisation, but have you ever composed something you are satisfied with, by accident?

S : Ahah, yes, accidents are what we are  looking for, it's not opposed to intuition and improvisation…
M : It's a kind of a myth that we mainly improvise. We use improvisation to compose. And we leave room for interpretation into our composition. That’s true. But there is always an axis, an horizon.
Our new album Lux is 97% composed. Anyway the rhythmic signatures are very complex and it's almost impossible to improvise on it. 

  1. In one of the older interviews you said that one of the most important elements of Aluk Todolo's work is obsession. Does it happen to be devastating for you?

S : Of course, any creation has to be devastating to its creator, otherwise it's useless.
M : Yes,we are all moved by a deep maniac obsession.This band is our curse and our blessing.

  1. I know that you don't try to create in any particular direction, you just go where the music leads you. What, then, makes you sound so consistent over the years and not fly off in other directions?

S : We are the same people over the years, we do the music we want, and we don't need to change in another direction.
M : In fact we have been creating in a very particular direction since our beginning. The formula of our music has always been there, even if there is a lot of evolution in the interpretation and our musical skills over the years. We often refer to our older recordings to compose the new material. For example, Lux is an answer to Finsternis. These two albums are structurally connected. 

  1. You are not a metal band, but because of your intensity and the spiritual aspect of your music, you have many fans from the extreme corners of metal. What feature of the genre do you think is most evident in Aluk Todolo?

    S : I guess you answered the question : intensity and spirituality.

  2. You are about to embark on a Polish tour with Furia and Gaahls Wyrd - each of the bands is quite different from each other, each touches different spots in the mind of the listener. Is this an additional mobilization for you before the performances?

    S : We play the same and behave the same, be it at a death metal or a surf music festival. 

    M : It’s a very cool bill ! Even if we have different aesthetics, all the bands have in common to play an eerie, atmospheric, somehow progressive music. Over the years we share the stage with very different bands, Faust, Sunn O))), Oranssi Pazuzu, Thee Oh sees… Every time it’s a challenge, it’s a new adventure. But we are confident : we know what we have to defend and to offer to the crowd. 

  3. It's no secret that French act Magma is one of your main sources of inspiration, but I'm curious if there is any aspect in which you think Aluk Todolo sounds better than Magma?

S : That's not a way of thinking, Magma is Magma, and none else can be, Aluk Todolo is different. Just listen to one and the other.
M : Sounds ? Hmm I don't know. We look better, we are far more handsome and badass than these seventy years old hippies living on their old fame. Right ? Ok, joke apart. Magma is a very influential band and maybe the best playing on earth today. What we explore and maybe they don't : It is that sonic massive abrasive abstract texture that is our sound signature. I don't know if it is better, I don't think like that. But I won't dare to compare us to them. They are Masters in music. 

12. Two years after the release of “Voix” you said that it would take a while to record its successor if only because of your very high ambitions. Now that “Lux” is out, can you tell what part of creating the material took the most time?

S : Learning to play the music we created.

M : Yes, exactly. It was a long learning… This album is weird and tricky : polyrhythmics, contrepoints, played at max volume ! 

13. I recently wrote an article about the New York indie rock scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s, after which I realized that New York as an entity and, in a way, a lifestyle, shines through in every sound of these bands. In your case, despite the more metaphysical nature of your work, can the same be said about Paris?

S : We would not specifically call ourselves Parisians. The band was born in the Alps, and the two of us don't live anymore in Paris. This could be more true about the fact we live in France, and are french. 

M : Paris has different facets : it’s a boring crowded dirty hipster city. but there are magic places and itineraries. La tour St Jacques, the sites devoted to St Denis, the small dark streets of Montmartre… There is an esoteric, invisible, dreamy city that is superimposed on the mundane city. If you know the signs, you can find the access.
But if I need to connect with the source of our inspiration, it is towards the mountains of the Vercors that I go.

14. What is the most satisfying thing about being in Aluk Todolo?

S : Being able to tour Poland with Furia and Gaahl's Wyrd !

M : Playing free music, without any boundaries except that of our mind.