Let's go back to the end of 2017 which marked a very special European tour of ANATHEMA and ALCEST. It was such a feast for the soul! We managed to meet ALCEST frontman Neige before the show in Helsinki. Please have a read our exclusive interview!

                    

                    

                    

                    How is the tour going?

                    

                    The tour is going well, now we’re almost at the end of it. We had some issues, you know, with our bass, and we had to cancel two shows, so that was the bad moment of the tour, because we aren’t used to cancel the shows, so it was quite hard. After that it took us a couple of concerts to go back on track and feel normal again; it’s been interesting to play in front of different crowds. Yeah, it’s been not the easiest one, but it’s going well in the end. Now it’s almost the end.

                    

                    How does it feel to tour with Anathema?

                    

                    They’re very nice. As I told you, it’s a different type of audience. We have a little bit more metalheads and maybe younger people, but it’s interesting because every night we’re making new fans and I guess they’re making new fans, too, in our crowd, so it’s a win-win situation.

                    

                    Absolutely. Actually, it’s been more than a year since you’ve released “Kodama”. Does it still sound good, or can you already hear anything you would like to change?

                    

                    Yes, that’s the interesting question, as usually it takes us maybe... I don’t know, maybe two days to go back home and already hear things we don’t like on our record, that’s usually what happens. But with “Kodama” we’re still very happy, with the sound, with the writing, and I think we’re super proud of this album, maybe even more than the other ones, and the fans really liked it from day one and… maybe you know when it was released it didn’t make the biggest fuss, because there were so many releases at the same time – like Opeth, Oathbreaker, — so maybe it wasn’t the best time to release it, but I think people are still discovering it now, it’s still an album to be discovered and we’re getting lots of great feedbacks for this album.

                    

                    So probably for you it’s the best album, I mean, if you’re still satisfied with it…

                    

                    I don’t know if it’s the best one, because it’s harder to have enough distance to say what your best album is, but it’s among maybe two or three of the best ones. It’s among the best ones, I think so.

                    

                    Me too, because my favorite actually is “Écailles de Lune”…

                    

                    Yeah, so it’s either this one, or the first one, or “Kodama”. It’s between these three that people usually name.

                    

                    Well, speaking of the new albums, does every new one somehow changes you as a person, so you feel a little bit different before and after the recording?

                    

                    Hmm, yeah, of course, because we never know what we’ll end up with when we go to the studio, and maybe we imagine that the record will be in a certain way, so we’re in a certain state of mind, and when recording is finished we’re in different state of mind because we’ve got a final result of the work, so we either feel very good of it, or not, so sure about it, you know… Yeah, I was headed for “Kodama”, and we felt that it would be fine. With “Shelter” we weren’t sure, because it was a switch in the music style, it’s different, so we were… We needed to make this album, especially myself, because it was the time when I was really a bit fed up with the metal sound, and I wanted to do something else. But you know you record your music, it’s finished, but then comes the day you have to show it to the people, and you’re not so sure anymore in it. And I think it’s quite healthy, because if you’re sure every time that this is the best thing ever, I mean, it’s a bit arrogant, and then you just don’t need to make music anymore, if you think everything you do is perfect, what’s the point?

                    

                    Yeah, it’s like “I’ve already achieved everything, and now I can just stand on the top of the mountain”…

                    

                    Yeah, that’s stupid. For me, you know, there’s never perfection, there’s never an end to this journey, you’re always trying to make something better, and on one side, we know that we can make good songs, but on the other side, we always need a confirmation of it.

                    

                    

                    

                    Ok, and now I have some questions to answer which you’ll need to use your imagination…

                    

                    Ok… *smiles*

                    

                    Imagine that you’re in a world where you can take any form you like, fantasy, non-human and so on. What would you look like?

                    

                    Oh, I don’t know. I know that I’m very attracted by water, so maybe I would be like a sea, or something like this…

                    

                    Like a mermaid?

                    

                    Something like a wave. I don’t like to speak about mermaids or fairies.

                    

                    So something connected with the sea…

                    

                    Yeah, and non-human.

                    

                    I see. Imagine that you can perform at any place on the Earth. Which natural setting is the best for Alcest?

                    

                    The natural setting… yeah, we’ve never done it, actually, like playing in the forest. Hmm… I would love to play on the beach, because we’ve never done that, so it would be really cool.

                    

                    Well, I know there are some metal festivals, which take place in the forests or in caves, but I’ve never heard of anything happened by the sea…

                    

                    Yeah, there’s one called Dunajam in Sicily and we got an invitation to play there, but we couldn’t do it, and they didn’t invite us again.

                    

                    Oh, that’s a pity. It’s believed that French people know everything about food, and French cuisine is considered to be one of the best in the world…

                    

                     *laughs*

                    

                    … so if Alcest music was a food, which food would it be?

                    

                    Oh, it wouldn’t be French. It would be either or Japanese or Chinese.

                    

                    Really?

                    

                    Have you been to China?

                    

                    No.

                    

                    So you have to go there and you’ll see. It’s fabulous. There are lots of food you’ll never find anywhere, and it’s incredible. It’s not like usual pork; it has nothing to do with that. They love hot pot, for example. It’s a soup where they put vegetables and meat and everything. It’s very spicy usually.

                    

                    You aren’t the first one who advises us to go to China…

                    

                    Yeah, it’s very different, and that’s what I like about it. It’s a different world.

                    

                    So we’re done with the “imagine”-questions. Could you tell what’s your favorite time of the day and why?

                    

                    Well, it depends on the day and my mood… I don’t know. Any time when I feel right and good, it can be in the morning, it can be in the night, but usually it’s when it’s sunny. I need light to feel good. Like, for example, these days we haven’t seen the sun for two weeks and I feel strange.

                    

                    Yeah, days now are so short and dark…

                    

                    Yes, I’m not a winter person.

                    

                    

                    

                    Alcest music makes people cry, because it’s so beautiful and pure. Is there anything that can make you cry?

                    

                    Yeah, usually it’s movies.

                    

                    For example?

                    

                    I don’t know about the last one… Well, I’m sensitive to [Hayao] Miyazaki’s movies, lots of them are quite sad. I mean, not sad, but there are sad parts, and it’s hard to keep tears inside you. *smiles* But yeah, usually it’s associations of images and music that can really make me feel something very strong. If it’s just the music, I really need to be very fragile to cry on something like this. I feel when you combine images and music it’s like the most powerful thing.

                    

                    What about “Hachiko”?

                    

                    I haven’t seen the movie, but the story is very sad. I’ve seen the actual statue of the dog in Tokio.

                    

                    And now I have a little bit strange question. While being in Russia or chatting with Russians have you ever heard a “French” phrase which sounds like “je ne mange pas six jours”?

                    

                    *Neige looks very puzzled*

                    

                    How do you translate it in English?

                    

                     “I haven’t eaten for six days”.

                    

                    Oh, it’s “je n'ai pas mangé dès six jours”. Ok.

                    

                    Have you ever heard it?

                    

                    No. What does it mean for you?

                    

                    It’s a popular quotation from a Soviet book called “The Twelve Chairs”. It tells a story of two conmen who were hunting for a treasure hidden in one of the twelve chairs. One day they’ve run out of money, so one of them who was a smarter guy made another guy beg, and this phrase was actually used for begging. Lots of people remember it, but they don’t really know there’s a mistake in it, so when they see a French guy they are like “Hey, I know some French!” and say “Je ne mange pas six jours”.

                    

                    Oh, I see. I’ve never heard it. You have to say “je n'ai pas mangé pendant six jours” or something like this, because it’s not correct and it’s hard to understand.

                    

                    Well, so now you’re warned and you can correct people if someone uses it.

                    

                    You know, you know…

                    

                    They say one should try everything in life. Is there anything you would never try?

                    

                    Oh, many things. I think there are more things I didn’t try then things I actually tried, so… Every day brings you something new, I guess.

                    

                    So nothing really special?

                    

                    Yeah, for example, I’ve never jumped out of a plane... you know, this parachute thing, because I’m too scared. I’ve never tried a roller coaster, because I don’t like it, I’m afraid of it. I’m really not into all these extreme things.

                    

                    Well, it can be dangerous and you’ll never know…

                    

                    I don’t think it’s dangerous; there are just some people who are attracted to this. They want to feel something extreme, and some people are just not into it. But it’s just one example; there are so many things… Life is too short, you can’t try everything.

                    

                    And what do you think everybody should try?

                    

                    I don’t know… Maybe traveling. Everybody should take their time to travel at some point, because you learn so much. You know, before touring my world was very different and much smaller, even in your own mind everything is so much smaller, and when you travel and meet new people and discover new culture, then you have a very different perspective on the world, and you realize that people are not that different in between countries or continents. It’s actually a very small place.

                    

                    The world itself is a small place…

                    

                    Yeah, and till you travel… You know, before I went to the USA for the first time and to Asia it seemed to be so far, and then you go there and you go back and again, and in some point it feels like… not home, but you know this place, and then your world becomes at the same time bigger and smaller. And you learn so many things just by trying food or talking to people. This is something I really recommend, because it makes you grow as a person.

                    

                    Absolutely. Are there any places you would like to visit?

                    

                    Yeah, I haven’t been to Africa, and I would like to go there. Yeah, maybe Africa or more Asia, because I love Asia so much. To spend more time in Japan…

                    

                    Well, probably one day you’ll do a long Asian tour…

                    

                    We did it many times, but…

                    

                    …with more days off.

                    

                    Yeah.

                    

                    So I wish you to have it one day!

                    

                    Oh thank you! *laughs*

                    

                    

                    

                    And the last question for today, I guess. What has this year brought to you, what are your plans for the new one?

                    

                    Well, I think for us it is one of the most intense years we had, because since “Kodama” was met with some… quite a bit of success, we had to tour so much. We spent the whole year touring, and it’s crazy, because our tour started one year ago precisely, in the same month, so we‘ve been touring for one year.

                    

                    Wow!

                    

                    Yeah, it’s crazy when you think about it. It’s at the same time great, but on the other side… when you spend so much time touring, you really don’t know where your place is anymore, I mean both physically and also in your mind, if you are not very strong, you can really get confused, so now I’m really looking forward to be back home. We’re going to have a break now, a long break of six months without touring, and it’s the first time it happens in seven years.

                    

                    Oh my…

                    

                    Yeah. *laughs*

                    

                    So just six months of relaxing…

                    

                    …and taking time to do what I like to do and what my bandmates like to do. Our drummer Winterhalter is going to move to the USA with his wife, so they’re going to do lots of outdoor activities, like fishing. As for me, I think I will go back to the writing process, because I didn’t write anything for a long time. It’s impossible to do while touring. And I guess I try to lead a normal life again, celebrate the holidays quietly without moving or traveling.

                    

                    Well, that’s it! Merci pour l'entrevue and have a nice show!

                    

                    Merci!

                    

                    

                    Questions: Maria Meledyakhina

                    Photos: Rikka Finn

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