It was one of those days were nothing seemed to go right. It was insane in the office, and all I have been looking forward to is the Alcest show tonight. Alcest is one of those bands that I have been dying to see live since I first heard their last album “Ecailles De Lune”. Their music is so heavy, but through the fog of distorted guitars and screams there is always an element of peace and beauty that lurks just below the surface. Alcest is both the calm and the storm just off of the horizon, and I am always happy to be swept away by them.

Sadly I missed the first half of the show stuck in traffic. Thankfully nothing in LA ever starts on time and  I wasn’t late for the Alcest set. Listening to Alcest live is truly an experience. Neige’s tall, thin frame and boyishly handsome face don’t always match the intensity of his voice, but that’s par for the course with Alcest as a band really; you’re expecting to hear one thing, but they turn around and deliver something that defies expectations and blows you away with it. A combination of Alcest and vodka washed over me. Melting away my shitty day with surreal music and warming booze. That was until about half way through the set. About half way through the set the guys from Ensalved came on the stage wearing powdered wigs and offering Neige and the guys cheese and wine. I’m sure it was some kind of an inside joke between the bands having something to do with Alcest being French. And while the audience may not have been 100% in on the joke it was still funny as hell. It also made me realize that the set was almost over and I had to interview Neige in about 15 minutes. Panic set in. Because while I have interviewed plenty of people in my life, few have filled me with awe the way Neige has with Alcest. I go back to the bar for another cocktail, I need some liquid courage to make this happen. Not too much courage though, I need to get through this without sounding like a blithering idiot after all. The last thing I need is to start drunkenly spewing bad high school French at the guy. Especially since the only French I remember is merde, bite--French for cock if memory serves--and how to conjugate a verb. All of which would be done horribly. Despite my nerves after the show, Neige set me at ease with a polite charm that can only be described as being very French. And even though I was shaking like a leaf the entire time we spoke, I can say with all honesty that Niege’s answers to these questions made me love Alcest even more.


Everything that you write for Alcest is based on the "fairyland" you imagined as a child. Why did you decide to share that part of you childhood?  

Let's be clear, we are not speaking about imagination or fantasy, but about a real (esoteric) experience which had and will always have a big impact on my life. As a child I used to have sudden visions, memories of a place that is not the one we know. The things that came to my mind, with the precision and the evidence of any "real" memory, had nothing to do with anyone can know or imagine there. These were images about an indescribably beautiful haven where everything - trees, glades, streams…- produces a pearly light and where a faraway and celestial music floats in the air like a perfume. In such a place the spirit wanders without its mortal coil and deprived of the five senses pertaining to the body. It perceives what surrounds it in a completely different way. There, one no longer feels moral and physical suffering, diseases, anguish of death but only a feeling of peace and indescribable ecstasy. This heavenly place is inhabited by beings of light who are infinitely benevolent, protective and who communicate by talking directly to the soul, in a «language» beyond words.  

During years I thought everybody also had similar visions but I quickly noticed that I was wrong, and this is not something I can explain, prove or share. A lot of people are close minded with these sorts of experiences, arrogantly breaking it with so called scientific arguments that aren’t worth anything since they don't know what they are speaking about. After having looked for answers in books, discussions etc.. I guess that I could still have memories of the place (or one of the places) the soul would go after death, an haven where we would rest, be free of the burden of incarnation before starting a life again. I do believe in the immortality of human soul and in life after death, here or somewhere else. If didn't have these "visions" I would certainly not believe in this but due to this I can't have a single doubt about it. And despite some life's dramas as illness, death, suffering, though unfair events that can happen suddenly I am seeing a sense in existence, a goal that every soul tend to reach. A terrestrial life could be comparable to an exercise we repeat again and again in order to always learn more, to improve, to evolute and to raise our spirit in order to reach another state of existence at the end.

Why did I share it? Because you simply can't keep something like this inside you, even if I don't speak often about this experience directly I need to express myself about it in a way or another. I choose music because it's the best way for me to describe what I lived, it's beyond words and human perception, it's just about feelings.   


What parts of "fairyland" do you feel are the most important to convey?

This experience learn to see life with another eyes, to see the beauty behind all the things that is surrounding us, the magic of existence, the magnificence of nature and what is surrounding us here, to take advantage of precious events, and to value the links we can have with the persons we love. In a world where there is so many sufferings and things going wrong I think this is important to keep being optimistic and conscious of the privilege of existence, to find our own equilibrium. We can have special glance upon the things, seeing what is beyond our down to earth realities. A tree is not just a piece of wood and a cloud not just an accumulation of water, let's see an emotion, a feeling, some romantic representation behind our surroundings, considering it just like if it was extraordinary, and feeling a deep emotion while looking to a landscape, as a reflection of our human feelings, as a mirror. To my eyes, pure imagination, is not only the ability to invent, there’s also a part of mysticism in it. I think that the great dreamers have an access to other realities.  

Do you still feel the same connection to "fairyland" that you did as a child? Or is the connection only exist in your music?

No I don't feel the same connection that I had when I was a child, and this is very hard to remember it exactly now, I just have remains of it and indelible mark inside my heart because this is the kind of thing you can't forget. Music is of course a way to keep contact with it. Also, a way to recall sparkles of it is the connection with nature. Nature is very important for me as it is a bridge, a key to this "world". When I walk in the forest during springtime, when the gentle breeze caresses my face, when the sun rays gleam the leaves of the trees as if they were emeralds, I feel my faraway realm again and the reasons that led me to create Alcest are obvious once again, so are my motives.

Why did you want to re-record “Le Secret” songs? How would does differ from the original material?

This EP "Le Secret" is very important in the Alcest's discography since it contains the first compositions I made from the visions I had about the "other world". I never liked the raw sound of this release, that's why I think it was worthy to record it again in a more professional way. I guess some people will prefer the old version because they didn't imagine how it was supposed to be, but in my case I think it's great to have both versions now.

You’ve just released an Alcest mobile app. How has it been received?

Alright I guess. The app wasn’t our idea, it was something that the label wanted to do. So far I think it’s good. It’s nice to have something different with our logo and our music. A place where people can find out what we’re doing. Something original and more appealing than a plain Facebook page. Lately it’s been a bit difficult with the app. Since we’ve been on the road, we haven’t always had Internet access so we haven’t been able to post updates and things as much as we would like, but once things settle down I think it will be a good way for people to see what is going on with Alcest.

When things settle down how involved will you be with the app?

I don’t know really. I like the idea of people being able to have a place where they can hear the music, see tour dates and things like that, but I am a very private person and don’t know if I like the idea of posting my every move.
I take it you’re not a fan of social networking?

I ‘m OK with some social networking, it can be a good way for people to reconnect and see different things. But sometimes I fee it’s too much. So much of our experience in life involves a kind of intimacy with other people, and I think too much social networking can cause us to loose some of that intimacy. When you can see every moment of someone’s life just by looking at their Facebook, or Twitter or whatever service people use, you don’t have a reason to call them, to have a drink with them, to really sit down and connect with them. This is an intimacy that is so important to us as people. And it is something that can be lost behind the computer screen. I’m sure I will be involved with the app somehow, just not sure how much.