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Interviews
Dirge - Stéphane L
16/11/07 || Global Domination
This interview was made by ex-staffer/cocksmoker Stu.
Global Domination: First off, thanks for the interview. I’m gonna spar with you a little bit on some things I love about your music, some things I hate, and some other things that are just plain random, and hopefully we’ll both learn something deep and meaningful about each other in the process. Why don’t you go ahead and start our correspondence of love by telling us about you and your band while I grab a drink and get cozy.
Stéphane L.: The band has been created around Paris back in 1994 by Marc T. (guitars/machines) and Laurent P. (vocals/machines). During the first years, Dirge released 3 demos in the Godflesh-industrial-metal style. Then Laurent P. left the band in the middle of the 90’s. The first official release was the CD “Down, Last Level” in 1998. Back in those days, the core of Dirge was made of three persons, bass player David K. and guitar player Franck T. having joined Marc. If the music was then still strongly industrial-oriented, it grew darker, colder and slower. The second album “Blight And Vision Below A Faded Sun” was more focused on guitars. The arrival of synth/sampler Christophe [Zomb] D. and the drummer Alain B. brought Dirge’s music toward different atmospheres, more human and organic, since this album remains strongly claustrophobic. Since 2001 the line-up didn’t change a lot and the band belongs today to Marc T. (guitars/vocals), Alain B. (drums), Christophe [zomb] D. (synths/sampler), Stéphane L. (guitars) & Christian M. (bass). What are you drinking ?
So why did you have to leave the hour long song off the promo? Long songs are my greatest musical fetish, and you sir, are a cocktease.
You should ask the label. If promo working would have depended on us, you would have received the whole album.
Talk about the title track for a little bit, the hour long beast. Is it special to you guys, is there some great underlying point to it, was it just cool, did you intentionally go for the length or did it just happen? Answer those questions and anything else you wanna say about your masterpiece.
This long piece was a very good “laboratory” for experiments but, it was not the principle purpose to record such a long song. The modus operandi for the creation of this song was quite different from a “normal” Dirge’s one. While composing the album (the songs featured on CD1), Marc was working on some scattered pieces made of riffs, loops or samples textures. Then little-by-little, those pieces evolved, overlapped each others until it became a very long track of 30 min. The result was that interesting that we decided to put the piece on the album. And as we didn’t want to draw back some other new songs, the idea of a double CD set quickly grew on to us. As we knew the second CD would be entirely dedicated to “Wings Of Lead Over Dormant Seas”, we were then able to extend the song again and again, free to experiment what we felt. So yes, as one goes along, recording a very special long song became quite logical for us. But we didn’t want to enter the Guinness book with it. But without any real temporal boundaries, this song allowed us to satisfy a lot of “sonorous phantasms” and gave us a quite endless creative liberty, which was very exciting. I hope you’ll be happy with this wobbly answer, dear.
Why
couldn’t you pick a name that was easier to search for with Google?
Have you tried googling “Dirge” looking for the band? It’s a fucking
nightmare! Considering the digital age of music distribution is upon us
as the modern record label dies, do you think maybe you should have
taken more care to pick a name that would be easier to find on the
internet?
You’re fucking right !!! We should have foreseen when we created the band back in 1994 that one day, something called internet would appear, simply to break our balls. I think the solution for us to remain the only one is to kill every other bands called Dirge (even though bulk of them are already buried six-feet under). Or even destroying the internet network. We’ll work on it.
Who writes the riffs? Or for that matter who writes the songs? Do you guys all come up with ideas and put them together, or is it mainly a one man affair? I want some elaboration on this one! No answers like, “Oh yeah, I just write some riffs and the song comes out!” or shit like that, I wanna know how you guys craft your songs, with details. Go!
Oh it depends…
What type of bands influence you more: Neurosis type bands or doom bands? I can hear both styles fighting for dominance in your music.
We have a very precise technique of working. We generally start working during several months the guitars and drums parts at Marc T.‘s home-studio. We shape there the body of songs, then only afterwards we play the song in our rehearsal studio with the rest of the band. The loudness of the volume reveals, betrays or confirms there certain things, making evolve the musical pieces, sometimes quite far away from their original forms. And in those live conditions, we begin to extend tracks, to experiment. Creation doesn’t stop at rehearsal studio’s door. But as you can imagine, the total creation process from its first steps to its final result takes a lot of time and we must be totally focused on it.
Does Dirge have any particular philosophy or agenda through their music, or is it just about making some kick-ass metal?
We don’t have any particular philosophy and most of all, we don’t give a shit about metal. Except Cinderella, Poison, Warrant, Ratt or Doro who feed our inspiration.
Any other plans for extended long songs? Maybe some in the range between half an hour to an hour?
We’d hope to release one day our secret 40 minutes hit-single.
The guitar sound on “Wings of Lead” has this constant fuzz in the background like someone’s chord wasn’t plugged in all the way. Was this a conscious decision for the sound, an accident, or just a bad choice of ambiance?
It was totally intentional to plug the guitars in the studio’s fridge. And if you listen with care, you’ll sense the sounds of mice running in the snare drum.
I noticed in your lineup you have someone listed as “samples” rather than having someone doing keys. Was it a case of not being able to find a keyboard player, or do you prefer ambient backdrop noise as opposed to orchestral/synth keys?
We weren’t rich enough to rent the guys from Nightwish or Cradle Of Filth, so we pitch on for the Roland PK-5 midi master keyboard, which is finally a better choice as you don’t need to know how to play the keys. And the results fits perfectly with our music as you noticed we prefer industrial sounds to symphonic structures.
Why did you guys choose to use the ‘tuff guy’ screaming vocals instead of something that doesn’t suck, like a death growl, or clean vocals? The clean singing on Nulle Part is great, but the vocals on the rest of everything really detract from the music. Is this just a situation of not being able to find a good singer or do you guys actually think that style is cool?
Irish Stew (makes 4 to 6 servings)
Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large garlic cloves, minced
8 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.) Transfer stew to serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
So
what’s the story with switching vocalists between “And Shall the Sky
Descend” and “Wings”? I honestly haven’t heard “Descend” yet, but is
Marc really better than Chistophe? No wonder he’s just delegated to
samples now. Poor guy.
The poor guy didn’t want to sing anymore.
Last question about the vocals. I’d like to thank you for using vocals sparingly in your music. Most bands have vocalists that demand to sing through every part and leave only 30 seconds a song to be instrumental. Conscious decision?
Absolutely. It has always been like this with the band. We like vocals, but I think the less you listen to them, the more they’re effective.
I haven’t looked at any pictures yet, so I need to know if you guys all have long hair. We all know that short hair is definitely NOT metal. You guys are metal though. Right?
We have long curly hair.
Has one of you guys ever been enough of an egotistical ass to wear a Dirge shirt on stage?
Crappy bands often wear their own band shirts on stage. It allows them to break-even with their shirts stocks.
The middle section of Meridians where the song fades to drone ambiance and then enters back into pure heaviness is fucking badass. Most bands do either strictly drone or strictly ________ doom. As similar as the styles are a lot of bands don’t mix them too much. Is it your intention to mix various doom genres or is your brand of doom just what comes naturally without a lot of thought to the genre?
That type of consideration never cross our mind. We don’t compose of music thinking of “doom”, “drone”, “sludge” or whatever. Our music is not a label catalog.
You guys know that you should have gone back into the intro bassline in “Meridians” during the drone part right?
I don’t understand what you say, but never mind.
The final song on “Wings”, “Nulle Part”, is quite different from the rest of the album. Between the samples, it being the only song with traditional keys, and the clean vocals, it’s obviously a stand-out track from the rest of the album. Talk about this song for a bit, and why it is the way it is.
This song is sung by Hichem, our ex-bass player (2004/2005), a very close friend of us. He’s a very gifted person with the same state of mind. So its contribution to the record was quite logical. We let him totally free to do what he wanted with this track. He perfectly knows how a Dirge’s song (even a lighter and cold one) has to sound. So we were completely confident. He added his vocals as well as the keys, and the result is that cold and minimal song, which shows another aspect of Dirge. We’ve already done that type of song in the past, especially with the closing title “Pulse (Of ending star)” on the “Blight & Vison Below A Faded Sun” album. This time, we pushed the experience further.
Do you guys just hate chord progressions or something? While it helps to minimalistically apply ambiance, your music tends to get a little static tonally. Did the circle of fifths molest you as a child or something?
Yes, they did.
What’s your favorite doom genre (deathdoom, funeral, drone, etc.)? Why?
I’m the only person in the band who sometimes listen to doom metal. But to be honest with you, I’m not very aware of the classification within the genre. I like early Paradise Lost (especially “Icon”), Anathema, the” violin-era” of My Dying Bride, Shape Of Despair, the 3rd & The Mortal, early Cathedral, things like SunnO))), Khanate… But we like so much different kind of music…
This one’s a GD classic, I give you the names of some bands, and you give them a score from 1-666 with one sentence justifying your judgment.
Sunn O))) – 310
Neurosis – 514
My Dying Bride – 446 (until 34,788% complete)
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – (don’t know them enough)
Maudlin of the Well – (don’t know.)
Pantheist – (don’t know)
Candlemass – (too old)
Blut Aus Nord – (don’t know enough)
Skepticism – (don’t know them enough)
Mariah Carey – 650
Thergothon – (don’t know)
Deathspell Omega -(don’t know)
Monolithe – (don’t know)
Why do you think that there are so many French/Quebec metal bands that are playing eccentric metal and pushing the genre forward? The French areas have been a hotbed of metal creativity in the last decade and even genre specific bands (such as yourselves) casually innovate where other countries’ bands tend to be more genre specific. I feel it’s due to the “modern” classical music boom in France at the beginning of the century, but no-one asked me, we’re asking you.
It’s weird, because I ask myself the same question concerning Switzerland, a country which always bred very innovative and gifted bands (Celtic Frost, The Young Gods, Coroner, Samael, TROM...). France, a hotbed of metal? I rather think you’ll never find in Europe a less-metal country than France, honestly. That’s right, France bred some very interesting innovative/avant garde metal bands, like Kill The Thrill, Hint, Blut Aus Nord, SUP, Deathspell Omega or Proton Burst, but it is only a minority group, lost among lots of crappy bands.
Do the cities in France have good local metal scenes?
No. Metal is nothing in France. Lille had a good metal scene in the first part of the 90’s (Loudblast, Supuration…), but it’s over now.
Do you write your lyrics in English? If yes, how come you hate your native language and homeland so much? If not, are you a terrorist trying to destroy our youth through audiological subliminal manipulation?
We do love our country and we do love our mother tongue. Simply, English is the only language for rock n’ roll. It is very hard to write in French and if you’re not good enough, your lyrics will have 9 chances in 10 of sounding ridiculous. And personally, I’m used to write in English rather than in French. This is the language which inspire me the most.
Here
in the States we like nice ice cold beer. What’s the common alcoholic
beverage of choice for metalheads in France, and how is it usually
consumed/served?
You’re not very lucky, because I’m the only one in the band who doesn’t drink alcohol.
Tell me about your first few albums. I’ve only heard “Wings”, and am very curious about hearing your older stuff, but how you describe it is going to decide whether I download it or actually buy it and get you paid, so describe your older albums, and how you’ve changed and matured, if at all, over the years.
The first album “Down Last Level” was a sort of industrial-metal in the vein of Pitchshifter/Godflesh style. Inhuman, stifling, corroded. The second one “Blight & Vision Below A Faded Sun” was more guitar-oriented, and the arrival of a real drummer turned the album into something more human, since the music was then still crushing and nauseous. This evolution in our sound opened the gate toward a more progressive and ambient way for us to structure our music. This led to the recording of “And Shall The Sky Descend”, an album which allowed us to find our own personal sound.
I download music (metal and otherwise) on a daily basis. Am I a horrible person? What are your thoughts on the whole downloading thing?
Do whatever you want. I just think, if it worries the big record company (which is a funny thing), in another hand it is not the best way to support independent bands. Downloading Michael Jackson or Metallica doesn’t pose a problem to me. But downloading the small local band or something like that is not something you have to be proud of. And also, I consider an album as a whole. I can’t understand the people who download an album they do love without having the real cover, the artwork, the real “piece”. And mp3’s often sound like shit. But I don’t care, I just hope people are intelligent and passionate enough to know what is right or what is wrong to do. They just have to be aware of things that could happen in the future if they still consider Art like “junk food”.
Any chance of playing in the States? I’ll buy you all a beer if you do.
Yes, why not. It is not our dream to play in America, but it could be a very interesting trip. I’d like to meet people there, especially in NY or San Francisco. But most of all, I’d like to experiment Mojave desert.
And that’s all I got for ya I’m afraid. I’m spent on questions and I’m sure you’re spent on answers, but I need you to do one last thing for me, besides write more hour long songs. Give us some final thoughts. A last comment unanswered by my questions to tidily wrap this whole thing up. Tell us the meaning of life, the many reasons why GD pwns all other metal sites, or maybe explain why wings of lead over dormant seas are more dangerous than say, crashing waves or tides of doom. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and thanks for the quality music!
Your interview exhausted me so, forgive me if I don’t answer this last question. Anyway, thank you for your support and your questions.
