Alcest [FRANCE]

Published 17 October 2011 on voltagemedia.com.au

[This article is definitely the highlight of my career so far, even though I couldn't include everything I wanted to in the final article due to word limits]




Alcest’s musical history stretches back, past two full-length albums (Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde and Ecailles de Lune) and one EP (Le Secret – re-recorded and re-released earlier this year in stunning quality). The sum of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Neige’s discography, however, says nothing of the journey through other modalities of existence and experience, the omnipresent waves of beautiful noise rolling over the exquisitely-performed lyrics, which are written entirely in Neige’s native French tongue.

Alcest began as a “traditional” black metal band which quickly moved past their somewhat primitive (at least in comparison) sound and style to adopt something which could be used as an outlet for Neige’s childhood experiences with an esoteric “otherworld”; the visions of this place which he glimpsed as a child formed the basis for the lyrical matter on Alcest’s recordings, and also gave him a solid way to document his thoughts and feelings about these experiences, and give them a voice.

Close to two years after their last release Ecailles de Lune, Alcest (solely Neige behind every instrument other than drums, which are performed both in the studio and live by Winterhalter) are set to release Les voyages de l’ame.

“The composition and recording took two years,” explains Neige, “The theme [of Les voyages...] is a continuation from the themes of Le Secret and Souvenirs. It’s about that world I used to see and feel in visions when I was a child. It’s about life after life, spirituality, the immortality of the human soul and other planes of existence.”

After touring around the world on the back of their two albums, covering many countries such as Italy, Finland, Romania and the U.S.A, one would think eventually the pace would slow down, but Neige insists that Alcest is a life project. “I’ve already composed 3 albums and one EP about this ‘otherworld’. The theme is fascinating and will bring me inspiration for many more albums. Even if the music style changes, I think the concept and goal of the band will always remain the same, in one way or another.”

Speaking of the specific musical style(s) of Alcest, readers may care to look back through their discography. Le Secret was an opus of tranquillity and melodic abrasiveness. Souvenirs…was hauntingly beautiful, evocative but with a persisting “wall-of-sound” effect that has led some to draw comparisons with shoegaze. Eccailes… distanced itself from metal, utilizing a guitar-driven ambience with the wall of sound to solidify the themes in the lyrics with music.

On Alcest’s first tour in Australia, starting this week, Neige seems positively thrilled to be coming to our sunny country. “I’m looking forward to seeing the country and meeting the people there, and of course to perform good shows for the people who will come to see us.”