1. First of all, please tell me more about how Noirsuaire came into being and what plans you had when you started the band. Have you played in other black metal bands before deciding to form Noirsuaire?
Nothing exceptional or amazing was done as a musical experience and I finally understood the casual band’s life was not for me. In the sense, I always had to make compromises, damaging the nature of the music I was creating: changing or even throwing away songs because the other musicians could not play their parts the way they should. Considering how simple and raw is Noirsuaire, you can easily guess the pitiful level of the musicians I used to play with.
So I never fulfilled my own music with my own concept and ended up disgusted and stopped playing. After some years I discovered some home recording tools and found interest in thoses as they were very simple (I’m really dumb when it comes to geek stuff). I did some tests and ended up demoing bits of songs, telling myself “one Day maybe”. A couple of songs were written and demoed with a drum machine and one Day i was talking with Agravh whom I met when he was playing in ACOD, I mentionned I had a couple of songs, he asked to listen and expressed his will to record some drums parts as a test. He recorded drum parts for the two songs that appeared on the demo and I was totally blown away by the result. His drumming fits perfectly to the songs and enlightens the most obvious motto « each instrument must be at the service of the other ». The result motivated me enough to record the rest of the instruments. The first demo was created and we can say it’s the real birth of Noirsuaire.
2. You handle everything in Noirsuaire, except the drums which are done by Agravh who helps on the recordings. Why did you choose this approach? Is it better to work alone or it’s hard to find dedicated and reliable musicians for a full line-up?
Not only finding a line up is hard, but I don’t want to play in a band. I cannot stand practicing with people being late, attending rehearsals to tell about their lives, drinking beer, stuck to their phones. And on the other hand, I am writing my music, creating concept, artworks, lyrics, I know how my songs have to sound etc and I don’t want to impose this to others in a rehearsal room. That’s why rehearsals and band life are useless to Noirsuaire. Agravh is the best drummer I could dream of. I send him the songs demoed with a drum machine then he records his parts and even mixes them. How could I ask for more ?
3. Noirsuaire is a new project but it seems that you run the band as if it were back in the 90s. By that I mean that you release material mostly on tape, you use simple black and white imagery (covers and promo photos) and you also prefer a certain distance from the outside world. Why did you choose this rather reclusive approach?
Because it’s Black Metal.
I run Noirsuaire my own way. in the sense that I am not accountable to anyone.
When the first demo was finally recorded (“Possessed By A Malignant Lust“), I put it on Bandcamp and somebody uploaded it on Youtube. The next day, I was contacted by Nachzehrer Records who proposed to release it on tape. I agreed immediately and this set up another side of Noirsuaire. I love the underground (black) magic where some guy living thousands of kilometers from you runs a small label during his free time and releases music he has a crush on, contacts you to release your music. For me, it’s enough, it’s perfect. I was contacted a bunch of times by labels willing to reissue the debut demo and I always said yes. I love limited releases and I am not running after fame.
Like everybody, I live a life with all the responsibilities it involves and Noirsuaire is far from being an absolute priority and I don’t have rehearsals to organize and attend and a defined schedule to fulfill. I don’t care. Noirsuaire is like a dark wooden cabin lost in the forest where I go when I need to immerse in the darkness where I can create and craft its songs. Crafting songs (writing and recording) in my small wooden attic covered with old posters is a huge step away from life and world. It’s demanding dedication through isolation.
4. Your music is deeply rooted in the old ways and I absolutely love that. The EP “Black Flame of Unholy Tradition” is even dedicated to PK from Abigor. What does black metal mean for you and Noirsuaire?
I discovered Black Metal music in september 1996 when I bought Metallian magazine. I was a metal fan already but extreme metal and underground were stranger things to me. All the universe, music, sound, imagery hit me like a knife in the heart. Sometimes I tried to take out the knife but when the Devil calls your name, you always return to him. That’s the main topic of « Black Flame Of Unholy Tradition » song.
5. As mentioned in the review I wrote for the “Black Flame of Unholy Tradition”, your music has a strong aura of the early 90s and you have perfectly captured on tape the nostalgic vibe many of us old souls long for when it comes to black metal. What inspires you the most when creating such music? Does the area you come from play a role in this?
Noirsuaire‘s music is not voluntarly rooted in the old days of Black Metal. It’s naturally rooted. Why ? Because I am simply not able to write something else. I listen to many different bands from different styles but I cannot write a death metal song as I good as a Noirsuaire song. In a nutshell, I can say my influences draw from Marduk, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Nastrond, Enthroned as well as the french scene from the 90s and early 2000.
I live in a beautiful area surrounded with deep, vast and endless forests and mountains. It has a direct influence on my well being but not on the music I create. It reminds me an interview of Gates of Ihstar where they said « It’s not because temperatures is 15 degrees below zero that we are interested to play extreme music » .
6. You’ve been quite active this year, having released 2 EPs and a compilation, while another EP, “By the Screams of Porphyric Seraphs”, will come out on a limited tape on the 15th of December. How does the writing/composing happen in the band? What is the secret to this productivity of yours? Do you have plans for a full length as well?
There’s no secret in fact as everything comes naturally. As mentionned before, I live a life like everybody, full of responsibilities and obligations. And creating music is important for me first. I sometimes have a melody in my head and I jump on a guitar and make a quick recording of it with a drum line to use it later. Or riffs can come when I have a guitar in hand. Sometimes, I create the song in one hour. There’s nothing defined, no obligations.
In the attic of my house, I chose a little wooden room and I managed to adorn the walls with posters of Mayhem, Marduk, Emperor etc and fill it with some music equipment . Just a computer, a soundcard, a microphone, a pair of monotoring speakers and my guitars and bass. The vast majority of today’s musicians would label this their « studio » and even give a pompous name as thoses people tend to exagerate everything when it comes to their musical activities (you know, when they play a show they destroy the audience and venue, they have big plans, their recording slaps the face of labels, studio owners etc). I can create riffs easily but they can end up making a huge pile of draft songs. Making songs out of them is something way more difficult for me. But sometimes I finish them and they are recorded straight. And released quickly because I want to work on something else.
For the limited tape, it’s a different story as I found 2 songs that were supposed to be used on another recording (The « Black Flame Of Unholy Tradition »I think) and I decided to finish them and have thoses released quickly. As I could not ask a label to release such a short EP, I decided to release it myself.
It looks like a full length is the next step. There’s enough finished songs to make an album since a year but I didn’t want to release an album after the two tracks demo. I thought it was way too soon and pretentious to release a full length so quickly, that’s why I went step by step, little by little, releasing EPs. Agravh will start recording his parts for Noirsuaire debut album in a few weeks and I must admit I am sincerely impatient to record my parts and see thoses songs materialized. In order to clear my mind and start working on new songs. But you know, I may have a couple of songs somewhere that will be released as a new EP.
7. Do you ever pay any attention to the reactions your music receives? Do these reviews, positive or negative, influence you in a certain way? What do you want your listeners to get from your music?
Yes, I pay attention to critics and reviews even if all tend to be the same. People seem to love the raw, old fashioned, melancholic vibe of Noirsuaire. That’s What I want.
Noirsuaire has nothing to offer aside from its music. It’s not meant to influence.
8. I’ve read on the internet that Noirsuaire lyrics deal with vampirism, satanism, occult etc. What exactly do you write about, can you elaborate a bit on this topic?
Themes are endless and I love old european dark folklore. And I will also ad that Black Metal history is vast enough to be a lyrical influence.
9. If you want to be noticed as an artist nowadays, unfortunately you need a strong online presence on all the media platforms. How does that work with black metal in general and with an underground band like Noirsuaire in particular? Does excessive exposure kill the mystery black metal is supposed to remain in or are these platforms a necessary evil?
Everybody will agree to call social medias a virus as it’s so easy to look like a “famous” person (well you see what I mean), invent friendships and relationships with artists etc.
But yes, I use thoses for promotion and contact. That’s all. Not to débat, create dramas or make “practice reports” like other bands do. “great rehearsal today. We made another new song and let me tell you it’s going to kick your ass”. Seriously, who cares ?
Exposure is one of the tentacles of the ugly octopus of egocentrism that is currently plaguing our world. It’s the own will of people to show themselves like posting a selfie to wish a happy week. Why are you doing this if it’s not for showing yourself ?
Of course, thoses fucking platforms are a necessary evil and I do my best to use them wisely without killing the mystery inherent to any Black Metal act.
10. How do you relate to your music and lyrics, once you finished the writing and recording process? Do you still remain attached to them in some way, or once they’re completed and released, they “die” and you move on to the next step?
Once a song is recorded, it’s trapped in ice until its release. There’s is no real “next step”. I rarely “write songs to write songs” if you see what I mean.
11. Is Noirsuaire a studio band only, or you’re planning some live shows as well? In case that it’ll happen, what would be the ideal setting that you’d like to have on stage for your shows?
That’s the tricky question. Noirsuaire was made by me and for me. Playing live can be a good experience if all the conditions required are there. We sometimes talk about this with Agravh and we have already received a bunch of offers. But, musicians are needed. So if I have the proper line up and can have the proper stage setup and decorum, yes Noirsuaire will play live. A show of Noirsuaire would feature some macabre decorum and a few lights as well as the smell of the grave or the depths of the woods.
12. France has always had a strong reputation when it came to underground black metal but in the recent years more interesting new bands have emerged from the crypts (Noirsuaire, Zeptenvr, Iczhihal, Mesfetor etc). What do you think might be the cause for such a resurgence, strongly influenced by the glorious period of the 90s?
From the list you mentionned, I only know Mesfetor I just bought and received the debut demo. I don’t know the others and I will take a listen as soon as I finish the interview.
I don’t know the reason of this resurgence but yes, I agree with you when you mention the strong reputation of old french scene. French bands had something of their own and I could not explain that. I was fortunate enough to know this scene as I did correspondance by the end of the 90s, mostly because I had that project to make a fanzine (I collected a lot of interviews but for material reasons I could not fulfill the project).
France had a vast variety of quality bands . Very raw like Seyiren, Seigneur Voland, Chemin De Haine, melodic like Osculum Infame, In Articulo Mortis, Puritas Virginum, Blessed In Sin, melancholic like Celestia, extremely brutal like Antaeus, Arkhon Infaustus. And of course, Les Legions Noires. I don’t know where it comes from. Wine maybe ?
I will forever worship and cherish this scene and thoses bands but let’s not forget thoses ridiculous wastes of flesh and bones who played on a demo nobody remembers 30 years ago and inflate their torso in front of youngsters, bragging like if they were members of the Inner Circle or Les Legions Noires. Ok, what did you do between this demo and now ? Nothing, right ? You only deserve to be settled among thoses bald guys who keep their Stratocaster in their living room.
13. Thank you very much for this interview. I leave the last comments to you.
I send you all my greetings for the interview my dear. My last words will be for the most supportive person Noirsuaire will ever have, my beloved wife.
Band links:
https://noirsuaire.bandcamp.com/
scrollsofdarmoth.com 
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