With their debut „Dans La Joie“ the French post-black-metallers AU CHAMP DES MORTS featuring Stefan Bayle (ex-Anorexia Nervosa) have created a deeply atmospheric album, which is still deeply rooted in black metal. In the following interview singer/guitarist Stefan and drummer Wilheim reveal the meaning behind their bandname as well as the title of the album, where there’s cold wave in their music and why the album’s release was a bit peculiar for them, despite the great feedback.
AU CHAMP DES MORTS, which can be translated to „on the field of the dead“ is quite a specific bandname. What exactly is the meaning behind it?
Wilheim: Your translation is not perfectly accurate: we would prefer “to the field of dead ones”. French conjunction “au” can be translated equally by “at” or “to”: we wanted this ambiguity between the two meanings of the word, suggesting both the travel and the destination, an idea of transfer.
Stefan: At first, it’s the name of a remarkable site in Glozel, in Auvergne, where cuneiform writings were found. It would make this site the cradle of human writing. It’s related to lost and hermetic knowledge, which is very important to us. The name also implies a concept around death, and it’s also a central point of our work. And you can also relate it to battlefields, and memory of soldiers of the ancient time. We chose this name, because it can be interpreted in many ways and because it is the perfect symbol for this project.
What bands and musicians had the most influence on your music?
Stefan: It‘ hard to quote every artist that have influenced our music!
Wilheim: With AU CHAMP DES MORTS, we have decided to express ourselves without any restraint, and to use all our influences, every music that particularly resonates with our souls, without thinking if it fits well or not. It goes from cold wave, black metal, old hard rock…
Stefan: I can say that there are bands I have listened to for decades now, and which make part of our DNA, like Bathory, Celtic Frost or And Also The Trees, Dead Can Dance, but we’re also influenced by more contemporary bands like Austere, In Solitude, Alcest, The Devil’s Blood, and a lot of things between these.
Stefan, you previously played in Anorexia Nervosa, a symphonic black metal band. AU CHAMP DES MORTS, however, are categorized as post-black metal. Why the change of genre?
Stefan: AN stopped its activities practically ten years ago. It was another project, another time. What Anorexia Nervosa had to express went through this symphonic and hysterical music. Here, I’ve chosen to create something much more personal, we have written every song in a visceral, spontaneous way, without thinking of what it should sound like. Now I want to express something deep in order to move forward on my personal journey, and to create the most sincere, uncompromising album we can. We never attempted to play a special genre or another, or to fit with a particular sub-category. We just try to extract music from the ether, because we need it. I think this kind of music is something you have to feel, to deeply understand, AU CHAMP DES MORTS sounds like this because it has to be. I don’t make any difference between cold wave or black metal or post-black if it’s just profound art.
Despite having traces of post-rock, „Dans La Joie“, your debut-full-length is mostly black metal. Do you think, too many post-black metal bands are too much relying on post-rock and shoegazing?
Stefan: We cannot speak for other bands, and do not want to spend time dissecting how they elaborate their construction of their music. I think there are a lot of great bands in post-black metal, it’s just an evolution of black metal, and I’m not very sensitive to the balance between black or other influences in music. As long as an album has something to say, as it is sufficient in itself, then I try to appreciate it to myself. It’s sometimes a long process, like every spiritual journey, and this is the only thing that matters.
Your music is also showing elements of cold wave. In which way, do you think, can these elements be heard and which bands served as inspiration for this aspect of your music?
Wilheim: As I said, cold wave has always been part of our cultural background, so it naturally made its way through our interpretation of the songs. On this album, I think you can hear reminiscence of bands like And Also The Trees, The Cure, Dead Can Dance or Fields Of The Nephilim.
How is the general feedback on the album?
Stefan: Far better than what we could have expected. We are very glad, and proud that a lot of people have understood what we tried to do, and it’s really pleasant to be part of this. On the other hand, it’s a bit peculiar for us, because we’re not used to this whole internet thing. When we were young, diffusion of the music was set on tape-trading and fanzines; getting a picture of a band was a quest. During the AN era, magazines were the standard of making a band known. Now, it’s worldwide and instantaneous: we got reviews, interviews, news, pictures circulating, about three or four a day. Even kids in their rooms using webcams can make a review.
Is there a particular song on „Dans La Joie“, which is the most special to you and if yes, which one and why?
Stefan: It is quite a difficult question to answer… We had so much pleasure and thrill composing and playing those tracks. Each song represents a facet of ourselves, of our culture, of our vision of the world.
Wilheim: If I had to make a choice, it would be „L’Etoile Du Matin“. Its solemnity, the The Cure-like drum pattern, this prime cold wave atmosphere mixed with this whole black metal sound makes it a very special song to me.
Your first EP „Le Jour Se Lève“ featured the titletrack and „Le Sang, La Mort, La Chute“. The former is not on „Dans La Joie“, the latter is. Why?
Wilheim: Just take it the old-school way. “Le Jour Se Lève” was a single, and “Le Sang, La Mort, La Chute” was its B-side. We really like this song and wanted it to be part of the full album, to be considered as a main part of our repertoire. This song really deserves it.
„Dans La Joie“, which means „inside joy“ is a rather strange title for the album, considering that the album sounds really bleak and desperate, especially because of the vocals. Why did you choose this contradicting title?
Wilheim: We liked the contrast between this name and the feeling that emerges from the album. We used the word “joy” in its biblical way, talking about the unveiling of the true meaning of God’s speech. We had to go through deep darkness and despair in order to see the light again.
What are the subjects of the lyrics of „Dans La Joie“?
Stefan: The lyrics were written in the same way as the music, it just came like this. But, once we were working on the track listing, we found that a kind of concept has emerged. “We are the witnesses of death in all its forms”. Death is omnipresent in our work, in each of its levels; death of the flesh, death of the soul, death of civilization, death of the world.
Quite fitting with the music, the album artwork looks really dark and dreary. What can you tell us about it?
Wilheim: The artwork has been created by prolific artist Dehn Sora. He managed to integrate every part of our music into this piece, and his mastery in black and white makes the whole art, image and music all together, homogenous.
„Le Jour Se Lève“ and now your debut „Dans La Joie“ have been released through Debemur Morti. How did you manage to get a contract with this label?
Stefan: After recording what would become our EP “Le Jour Se Lève”, we sent a few copies to our network to get a contract. We received propositions and among them was Debemur Morti. This label was our first choice anyway as they support many talented artists in the dark scene. But what they proposed to us was really beyond expectation: We met people with the same vision and sensitivity as ours, and it’s a really important aspect for us to be confident with people we’re working with. It’s an honor to be part of this label.
What are your next plans for AU CHAMP DES MORTS?
Wilheim: Going back to composition and preparing for live shows. We are now evolving as a trio, so we don’t want to haste things and we wish to construct something worthy of the album for our performances.
We are now approaching the end of our interview. At last, I want to do our traditional Metal1.info-Brainstorming with you. Please tell us, what comes to your mind while reading the following terms:
Alcest: A wonderful band, so awe-inspiring.
Front National: Thought we were talking about music here…
Most expected album in 2017: Next Immortal effort
Favorite french dish: The Limousin’s beef, especially rib of beef, a tradition in our region.
AU CHAMP DES MORTS in five years: If art continues to transcend us, we will be here, if not, we won’t.
Black Metal: A spirit more than a genre.
Again, a big thank you for doing this interview with us. Would you like to tell something to our readers?
Let yourselves be invaded with joy and light.
8. März 2017 Stephan Rajchl