METAL DISTRICT (Germany)

Hi Yann, your first EP is both musically and from the sound an exquisite piece of stainless steel. Please tell us, what's the meaning behind the name LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES and how the concept of Black Metal, Jazz and Classic was originated. How did you hit on that?

  I am really interested in bands like HAGGARD or OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT, whose songs are sometimes more classical than metal. I have been rediscovering orchestral music through these bands, and glad to find the same dark and deep moods in Mussorgsky, Rimski-Korsakov or Dvorak. Symphonic extreme metal seems a bit old-fashioned nowadays, and it's a pity because there are still a lot of things to do in this area. Whereas I have always wanted to mix extreme metal and classical music, nothing was planned about jazz. Alex came up with one song which sounded really weird with its saxophone and trombone melodies. When we decided to include it in the mini-project, it was like a challenge to make it suit the other songs. I have been working on this problem during several months, developing the main theme, adding some black metal and even jazzier parts to balance. At the end, the song was two times longer than Alex's first version. Actually, I'm really not into jazz, which I only have a small knowledge, except several gypsy jazz artists for example. That is the reason why we treated it in such a naïve and simple way, which fits one of the ideas we have about jazz, that kind of in piano bars atmospheres. But it was a punctual experiment. However, by writing Le Baptistère, I have been quite surprised to realize that some jazzy rhythms were still appearing.

What's the music background of you and your band mates? Got anyone a musical education?

  Alex was actually playing the classical and electric guitar for years when I met him. When I decided to try to learn guitar by myself, he has been a kind of private teacher. One year later, we began to write songs together. I got deeper and deeper into music and started to be interested in classical orchestrations. I've read a bit, listened a lot, but I'm still unable to read a score correctly! Sometimes I would like to have learned musical theory, because I feel that composition could go faster…But I'm not that sure to be interested enough. Let's do the thing our way!

Which weight got the music of Scandinavian as an influence for you? Could it be that bands like THYRFING, NAGLFAR and so on, have more influence at your sound as the Norwegian party?

 I am not so used to set a link between bands and their home country in terms of musical specificity. Of course, Scandinavia have had a big influence on LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES metal side because a lot of bands that we like are coming from this area, but I couldn't tell you if our riffs sound more Swedish than Norwegian.
I hardly know THYRFING and NAGLFAR, but I suppose there should be worse references.

I think I can hear Danny Elfman (Soundtracks for Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride) as an influence in the classical and jazz parts. Was he an influence for you and if not who inspired you to write these for metal foreign parts?

It's quite funny because I've been watching Nightmare before Christmas several weeks ago, and I was most of the time paying attention to the music only, thinking: "That's great, it's typically the kind of burlesque, dark-but-not-evil atmosphere we wanted to propose on Erytheme". In fact, the Burton-Elfman tandem is quite appropriated to express the musical goal of that song.
I knew other Danny Elfman's soundtracks before (Batman's Return…), and that's true that some classical parts in L'Encre et la Plume have been directly influenced by his music. The other references in classical/romantic music have already been quoted previously.   

If I take a look at your artwork and your homepage, you have alongside your music, a high artistic aspiration. Is it the same with the lyrics? In context to your music, have they the same importance?

You're right. You can consider each song as a theme described by music, texts and pictures.
We began thinking about writing some lyrics for songs like L'Encre et la Plume, that we knew for ages in their instrumental version. It was obvious that the music was already telling a story. The job was to find which one, like if you had the movie sets, the scenes sequence, the special effects and still a scenario to create. When Alex came back with his texts, I've been really stunned, having never read anything like that before. I couldn't catch a word about the story, but the writing style was full of puns and weird word associations that finally make you feel the global meaning rather than an accurate description.
As music and lyrics were written, the next step was to find a visual identity, which we wanted both original and dark. The idea was to make someone draw a picture about each song, to bring an external point of view about the same theme. I knew Lucian Stanculescu from the university, and had already seen some of his creations, but it's only during an exhibition that I realized how they were fitting what we were looking for. Hopefully he accepted to participate to our project, and I really don't regret it!

What's about in your lyrics and why they are in French? Do you have a certain reason for this?

We chose to express our fears and feelings about Human nature and his place in this world.  It's a way to show our incomprehension of a too complex society, where the individual doesn't really exist anymore and in which we cannot find our way about. LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES's lyrics deal with how the individual is perverted by his environment, how he is loosing any attachment to his roots.
For once, the reason why they are in French was not to bother everybody in the world who cannot speak this tongue (even if we usually do)!
We decided to write in French since the beginning, especially because French lyrics had a bad reputation in metal (at least in our country). Only a few French bands sing in their own language, and some even prefer to write in Norwegian! However, bands like SETH or ANOREXIA NERVOSA among others, were a proof that it is possible. The problem is, when you are writing in a foreign language that you don't master perfectly, that lack of vocabulary or rough translations keep you from creating something really personal.
Unfortunately, the main drawback is to explain your lyrics abroad, especially when they're almost impossible to translate. We will try to do the best about writing a resume from our themes in English on our webpage. The important thing to know is that even in French, no precise story is told, and you can only feel the global meaning and references.

Why was there the decision that LA RUMEUR will only appear as a studio-project? The songs are screaming for get played on stage. No chance to see this project live on stage?

Actually, LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES has always been a studio project, as we are all living too far to play together. Two years ago, we had an opportunity to make a real band. Sylvain joined us for rehearsals, but it only lasted several months. To be worth it, playing LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES live would need much more musicians, time and preparation than we can afford right now. We will see if the future makes it possible.

Alongside to acting out your musical ideas and ideals, what are your goals to reach with LA RUMEUR? Do you want to stay on this level now or do you cast an eye on a record deal?

In fact, the first goal is already reached. We were carrying these three songs in midi files for years, at a point where we couldn't stand their sound anymore. This recording session gave them life and it's far enough for our personal satisfaction. We released LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES for ourselves, to do the best that we could with our own means. That is the reason why it is strictly speaking not a demo, considering that we don't expect these songs to be rerecorded. For us, this project is over. We only were curious to see how this CD would be welcomed, in France or abroad. If we manage to distribute the few CDs we recorded, and if people want some more, why not trying to get a distribution deal. For the moment we do it at our own scale. Anyway, the whole music will remain available on our website!

Are you or your band mates playing in other bands? At the info bill you wrote that the band name is L'ENCRE ET LA PLUME, but you give the project with every studio session a new name, because of the idea of total freedom and independence. But isnt there the risk, that the band will never become more popular, cause nobody can remember who you are and what you have done before? I think the name of a band is like a trademark.

Alex is playing for a long time in his other band CAER IBORMEITH, they just released their second EP Orftum, with melodic death, heavy and progressive rock influences. Sylvain is looking for a band in Paris where he's now living.
Well, my opinion is that you need a band name when you plan to release albums with at least a small connection between them, or when you want to play live so that people can follow you, as you just said. We weren't satisfied with our previous name REPENTANCE, because it was only functional, and didn't mean anything for us. We had built a concept between three songs, knowing that they wouldn't be followed by other ones. We needed a title for this CD. Why would we need to find another name for the band, considering that nothing else would be released? I think that "La Rumeur des Chaines", like a movie title, is far enough to identify this project. As the next one may be released in 5 years, involve other people, have a totally different goal or musical orientation, we prefer not to connect it directly to what we did before. Anyway, the "public" may be totally different. However, we decided to call our website "Ink and Feather" (L'Encre et la Plume in French), so that it can become a portal for all our upcoming projects or participations. It's just to make the things easier without owning ten different websites in the future.

Are there any plans for the next studio project?

I begin working on an old idea that I had several years ago. It will be a kind of cover project, about some famous BM bands, redirected through some of the styles we used in LA RUMEUR DES CHAINES. The point won't be to blend styles together again, but to translate them in a totally new style, trying to keep most of the original structure.
Apart of that, I think that I will probably continue my way towards classical extreme music, trying to learn more and more about orchestrations. I would like to work on the same structures than Le Baptistère, but in really long songs. I won't give any date about our next project, because I'm used to take my time about setting everything.

Last words from you. Something you wanted to say the world ever?

Nothing worth being written... Thanks to you and your webzine!

 

by Frank "Azriel" Zschäbitz
http://www.metal-district.de/interview.php?ID=173

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