It’s been five years since Alcest’s last studio album, and after tackling a spell of writer’s block, the French blackgaze duo are back with a surprisingly uplifting new release. Les Chants De L’Aurore takes the listener on a magical journey through childhood memories of a past life. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Neige recounts the dreamy record’s creation and explains why he considers it to represent the real Alcest.
“In my mind I still see myself as that awkward kid, living at my parents’ house, making strange and ethereal music about my experience in a past life, and I wonder why people would listen to that,” says Neige, aka Stéphane Paut, frontman and mastermind behind Alcest.
The humble French duo have recently released their seventh album following an unplanned hiatus. Having overcome the stasis caused by a worldwide lockdown and Neige’s self-confessed writer's block, the new album, Les Chants De L’Aurore, takes the listener back to Alcest’s original path – a journey into singer Neige’s childhood memories of a past life in an other worldly paradise.
“Although Alcest’s music is introspective and the music comes from within me, I think that like many musicians, I need stimulation from the outside world,” he says. “Going out, meeting people, going to places and seeing landscapes are triggers for my inspiration. After my writer’s block, when the inspiration came back after a year, it came back in full swing.”
Having explored mellow post-rock on 2014’s Shelter and dynamic dream pop on Kodama two years later, on Les Chants De I’Aurore – the follow-up to 2019’s Spiritual Instinct – the band have created a catchy masterpiece. Neige and longstanding drummer Winterhalter fill its seven new tracks with soft yet uplifting melodies and hard-hitting choruses that wouldn’t sound out of place on a dreamy shoegaze album.
“I needed to press the reset button because, although I like our latest albums a lot, they’re not what I consider to be the real Alcest,” explains Neige. “The first albums are about the other world that I felt connected to when I was a child, and in these more recent albums, I tackled other subjects. It felt good to go back to what I consider to be the band’s original concept with this new album.”
The opening tracks, Komorebi and L’Envol, set the tone for a melodic and atmospheric trip into this ethereal sphere. The bold guitar riffs and loud drumming patterns work in parallel with Neige’s soft and celestial vocals. The album is a return to Alcest’s original self-coined ‘blackgaze’ sound and otherworldly landscape theme.
“The first two songs are similar to the ethereal music that we used to make and then the other songs are heavier or more experimental. Komorebi is a reference to our first album, Souvenirs D’Un Autre Monde [2007], and in particular to the first track, Printemps Émeraude. There are many similarities between these two songs.”
This album positions itself in complete opposition to all of the darkness in the world right now – it represents light, spirituality and beauty
The light tones and harmonious melodies in Alcest’s songs are a distraction from the daily doom and gloom in the news; and although he admits to being frustrated and disheartened by the world’s current state, Neige explains how he was able to compose such blissful and positive music in these dark times.
“This album positions itself in complete opposition to all of the darkness in the world right now – it represents light, spirituality and beauty. I made this album firstly for me, to make myself feel better during these troubling times, and then hoping that the listeners might find some hope and beauty, spiritually or visually, in the music too. I wanted this album to be an overload of magic, light and hope.”
Despite finding it difficult to describe his otherworldly childhood experience with words, Neige has created a beautiful musical canvas of many layers, colours and dreamlike soundscapes. His unique view on existence and his own personal experiences of that which lies beyond are ever-present in every Alcest song, video and album cover.
“I’m convinced that we’re only here for a short time, and when we die, we return to where we came from, which is our real home. Believing in reincarnation brings a sense of hope – it means that we never truly die and life is a succession of lives. I believe in a place where souls can rest between two lifetimes. In this place, we don’t have our five senses; instead we have total perception.
“I could feel all of the energy and love that was around me, and I felt like I was part of nature and a part of the surroundings. People who have taken psychedelics or who have had a near-death experience have described a similar feeling. But I felt this while I was conscious, and it wasn’t necessarily when I was surrounded by nature. I felt it everywhere, in the car or at school... The first album, Souvenirs D’Un Autre Monde, is literally ‘memories from another world.’ The new album, Les Chants De L’Aurore, is going back to this subject.”
The screaming vocals represent the frustration that I feel being trapped in this human body… this world isn’t my home
In keeping with the tradition of naming songs after stones, such as Opale on Shelter and Onyx on Kodama, the heaviest-sounding track on the album – with a fast black-metal riff and a powerful growl-filled chorus – is called Améthyste. “The screaming vocals represent the frustration that I feel being trapped in this human body, having been uprooted and feeling lonely because this world isn’t my home,” he says.
Following in the footsteps of fellow prog metal band Opeth, it’s likely that growling vocals have become a thing of the past for Alcest. “In all honesty, they’re not something that I’m going to keep doing for much longer,” Neige explains. “I know that it’s a part of Alcest and some people are very attached to it, but I find it very tiring, especially during a whole tour. When I started out, using my voice in that way made sense. Now, at the age of 39, I don’t feel the need to scream any more.”
The love song Flamme Jumelle – meaning ‘twin flame’ – is a beautiful ballad about the feelings emanating from a loss or separation. The song is paired with a mesmerising music video featuring two women skilfully performing a contemporary dance routine on a mountaintop. “It’s the most personal track on the album for me. It’s about loss, whether it be the loss of a life or the end of a relationship; the feeling of longing and finding closure.
“Some people are so deeply connected, like soulmates or twin flames, that their separation is even more intense. As someone who tries to stay positive and optimistic, I believe that twin flames will always find a way of finding each other again in this life or in another.”
In a world with so much digital and AI art, we wanted to make something completely organic and traditional
After meeting with Neige, artist Yoann Lossel created the album artwork, which is a still from the unique and charming music video for L’Envol. The video depicts a time lapse of 8,000 photos taken between a sunrise and a sunset, with animated visuals laid on top. “In a world with so much digital and AI art, we wanted to make something completely organic and traditional,” the frontman explains.
Having toured for more than 10 years and released seven outstanding albums, the band’s return to their initial musical inspiration and message is a welcome and comforting direction for the duo. “The reason I created Alcest was because I felt incredibly lonely.
“I wanted to make this music on the offchance that someone would tell me that they had experienced the same thing as me and that they recognised what I was describing in the music. This experience is a huge part of who I am and I feel the need to share it with people.”
The wondrous outpouring of spirituality and positivity throughout Alcest’s discography promotes self-healing and reflection, and remains an enriching contributor to the modern progressive music scene. Says Neige: “I believe each person has a life mission; something they were born to do. It can be making art, having a child or helping people in some way.
“Every time I begin working on a new Alcest project, everything falls into place and it feels easy. I feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do in this lifetime.”
