Interview withArts of Erebus
German-French Gothic rockers of ARTS OF EREBUS released their first musical life sign after a longer dormitory period as EP ‘Dawn of the dead’ in March 2009. They combine DEPECHE MODE styled electronics with the 90s gothic sound of bands like THE MISSION. Having released two full-length albums since their inception in 2000, they are now about to prepare a new third album. In this interview Damien, Michel and Tommy tell Lucy about their future plans, classic horror movies and many more.
Arts of Erebus:
- Salü this is Michel, Guitarist and composer.
- Hi, and I am Damien, I am the singer and writer of all lyrics.
- I am Tommy, Bassist and producer of Arts of Erebus.
L: The line-up changed several times. What do you think to be the positive and negative effects of such changes within the band?
Damien (D): Yes, there have been a small change and a major one. The small has been the fact that Stephane became a full band member as live-keyboard player. The major one has been the change of the bass player. Ghislain, our ex-bass player, has quit due to personal reasons. He simple had no time for it any more. There has been no argument; it was just a normal step to be done. And we were lucky to find in Tommy a very excellent substitute. And this is at the same time the answer to the second question: These changes had been very positive, as there had been new influences coming into the band. There has been no negative impact so far.
L: And how did you get the idea to start a musical career? How did it come to the foundation of ARTS OF EREBUS and did you know from the very beginning, which sound and style you wanted to play?
D: Well, all band members have been making music for a long time, in different projects mostly. How we came together to ARTS OF EREBUS is simple: There has been a first project called YUUL which had been a purely French band and we did a few gigs. With a different front man, not me. The front man suddenly quit and the band was looking for a new singer. With YUUL there had been songs in French, but mastermind Michel wanted to have English vocals, so the remaining core was looking for someone singing in English. I have applied for that and made it finally. Of course we have intended to pursue that style of music from the beginning and we will continue to do so in the future.
L: You’re perfectly blending electronic sounds with guitars. Do you have a special recipe for the production of your songs? How does a typical song come to live? Is it a team-process or do you have a mastermind?
D: Guitars and Synths are no contradiction for us. We like to listen to electronic music as well, like 80s or DEPECHE MODE. We do not see any gap between guitars and electronics. We want to put both together in a good mixture. Sometimes it’s more of guitars, sometimes more synthesizers. Production is quite easy. We have a strict separation of working processes. Michel writes the songs, but we arrange them together. We have played together and tried different methods, there are always changes and new things that will be added and modified. That’s teamwork. The basic song comes from Michel as well as the idea of the general sound and atmosphere. This is done by our mastermind. He does not like to hear that, but it’s the way it is. I write the lyrics for the music and we continue together to finish the song. This is how it works with our band.
L: The EP ‘Dawn of the dead’ is your latest release. How long did you work on the disc and how’s the feedback from your fans so far?
Michel (M): It took us not too long, about 4-5 months, I think. We wanted to present older songs in a new sound, with better production and add some alternative versions of ‘Dawn of the dead’ from our album. And of course we wanted to present our video to the fans.
D: We wanted to widen our horizons and walk on other fields as well. How we estimate the resonance of the fans? That’s hard to say. We don’t make music to get feedbacks. We are happy if people like our stuff, of course. But so far we haven’t got too much of a feedback. But what we got yet has been very good, and we are happy about it. It is an addition to our previous album and we hope that many people will like it.
L: Looking back on your previous releases, how would you characterize the development between them up to the present day? Where are you standing today and what do you want to add to your sound in the future?
Tommy (T): Between the debut ‘Negative White’ and the second album ‘Icon in Eyes’ has been a gap of several years. ‘Negative White’ has been released in 2003, ‘Icon of Eyes’ in 2007. In the period, besides changes in line-up, there had been changes in the style as well. Compared to the first album we have become more rock-orientated, the development towards the next album will most likely bring even more different influences. We are currently working on it and try not to limit ourselves. We will probably go back to the roots of gothic, less rock than on ‘Icon of eyes’ and there will be a bit more electronic elements on it.
L: Let’s get back to the EP ‘Dawn of the dead’, which has been released on 6th March 2009, featuring 9 songs, all arranged around the song ‘Dawn of the dead’. Have you selected that particular song because to the success of the previous album? There are some very intriguing and differing versions on the EP - who came up with the idea to use ‘Dawn of the dead’ as basis?
D: Success has not been the reason to use ‘Dawn of the dead’. The answer is quite simple. Tikwa, the director of our video, listened to the album and has picked that song and made the video based on the inspirations the got by ‘Dawn of the dead’. Thus, we have used that song.
L: ‘Dawn of the dead’ is the title of a cult horror movie. Do you like to watch those movies or do you even get inspired by them for your music?
M: Well, a bit of blood on the screen is cool and we like to watch it, that’s for sure. And yes, a tiny bit of that movie has been incorporated into the song as well.
D: Because this is a classic, and its original version has surely inspired us, no questions about it.
L: The song ‘Pitch Black’ really invites to dream and creates a great atmosphere. Is there a connection to the movie with Vin Diesel? Have you ever thought about creating music for movies or did you even have a song used for one?
D: ‘Pitch Black’ is a strange thing. It’s a song that was intended to get lyrics but I could not think of something. So why shouldn’t we do an instrumental? There had been very successful examples like Alan Parsons Project’s ‘Lucifer’. That is a great song. So why not creating a good song as instrumental? In my opinion, the song has volume and potential to get by even without vocals. A link to the movie ‘Pitch Black’? Hmm, maybe a bit of the atmosphere that we have built in. But there is no direct connection to the movie.
L: The EP comes with a video additionally to the various versions of the title track. Can you reveal something about the story behind the video and its production? How important is the medium video for bands in your opinion, esp. in regards to such media like Youtube & Co.???
T: The video clip for ‘Dawn of the dead’ has been directed by comic painter and video artist Tikwa. We have been visiting him in Frankfurt on a cold and rainy day and shot all the outdoor takes, so all the trembling on the video has been no fake - it’s real! We have been really freezing. The video has been produced in a very short time with much of effort. The shootings took only two days. We had more than 20 people on the set for it - from make-up artists to light operators, photographers and additional characters. We have used custom-made masks. It has been much of an effort but on the same hand a very good experience to gather. The story and concept deals with the classic horror theme “Zombies”, as it is used in the classic movie ‘Dawn of the dead’ as an action movie. But Tikwa has transformed it onto a social-critical basis - the figure of a zombie compared to certain elements and tendencies in our society - some sort like a similitude. Regarding the question of the importance of videos for contemporary bands, I reckon it to be uttermost important. Esp. in regards of the aspect of drawing attention, it is important for bands to get noticed by the people among the sheer flood of releases. Especially in times of ignorance of major media.
D: You should not take the music as a commercial medium, you can express more with a video than with “just” your voice and music. You can visualize it, and this supports the message a lot!
L: In some of your songs there are elements like guitar riffs that have the typical sound of the 1990s. Are you keeping true to your line or image here or is it just due to your own, personal taste?
D: The 90s, of the gothic-rock of the 90s has influenced us a lot, of course. Because we like to listen to that stuff a lot as well. If you make music, you cannot stay free of influence of what you like to listen personally. That’s just normal. I think there will be no change in the future. We will continue to make that kind of music and, whenever possible, try to incorporate other elements in it. That’s not always that simple. It’s natural to make that kind of music you like to listen to privately, otherwise you become incredible.
L: You can look back on a rather long band history. What are the most unique or funny, or remarkable events or experiences? Are there any curiosities you can share with us?
D: Strange things? There had been that on gig we have played on a ship, a kind of an old riverboat. During the gig the boat becomes to slope backboards, or steer boards? I can’t remember. Anyhow we even had to hold back our amps that had been on wheels as they tried to slip away. That has been the strangest thing ever.
L: Where did you perform with ARTS OF EREBUS already? Is there a difference between Germany and other countries?
Michel: We have played mainly in Germany, the land said to have the biggest scene. But also France, Luxembourg, Belgium. There it is much easier to get the crowd into it. Germany is much more difficult...
L: Have you planned any live gigs for 2009 already? Where can we see you live? Do you prefer festivals or club gigs?
D: Preparations are still in progress. We will focus on finishing the album first. We are right in the middle of production right now. That’s always a lot of work and organisation, so it is not easy to plan a gig in-between. A tour? Tricky topic. We are all independent musicians; we do not make a living from our music. We have our day-time jobs and a tour is not easy to be fit into our schedules. We like to play wherever the audience is good. It doesn’t matter if it is a small club or a festival. We just want that the people like our music and if the feedback is good, we don’t care if there are 50 or 5,000 people. It’s all about the atmosphere...
L: You are currently working on your third album. What can we expect? Tell us a bit about the inspiration for the new material and how you’re feeling about it. When is it going to be released?
D: We have just finished our EP. We are now in the creative stage of the new album. The style will be darker and dark romantic this time, I guess. That does not necessarily mean it will be slower or something. We will not limit us now. We will follow our feelings, Michel lets his feelings float. Inspiration just depends on what mood you are in and it can be all around you - e.g. a movie or something happening around you. We want to become darker and hope that we can transfer this into our new material. When the album will be finished is hard to say. We are and independent-band. We are not pressured; our producer leaves us much freedom. Tommy, the producer is very open and liberal in that respect. We make things coming from the depths of our hearts and we will release when we feel it is done and ready to be published. We cannot name a date now.
L: Who are your musical idols or heroes, if you have any?
M: Musical idols? Who is at least a bit into electronic music will recognize it. Bands like FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM or THE MISSION are very much appreciated among us, and I think you can hear this clearly in our music.
D: There are also electronic bands that have inspired us... DEPECHE MODE or others we like to listen to, as well. DAVID BOWIE, SISTERS, THE MISSION, THE CURE. If you create such kind of music, than you cannot get around those guys. Recently I have from a friend not into “dark music” that we sound like a mixture of DEPECHE MODE and SISTERS OF MERCY. Okay, guess we can cope with that...
M: Yep, we can cope with it.
L: Many thanks for that interview. You can now send out some words to your fans out there!
D: On behalf of the whole band ARTS OF EREBUS we want to thank for that interview and hope that we will meet you somewhere on a gig. Many thanks!
Interview conducted by Lucy von Leibnitz (Promofabrik) in April 2009
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