Folk music is usually associated with minimalistic, simple compositions. On their current album „Milharis“, however, the French pagan folk band STILLE VOLK takes a different path and therefore does not shy away from opulent arrangements. Why multi-instrumentalist Patrice Roques still doesn’t consider the new songs to be overloaded, what the mythological background of the record is all about and why the supposed grammatical inaccuracy in the band’s name is quite intentional, you’ll find out in the following interview.
I’m sure at least a few people have already pointed out to you that your German band name STILLE VOLK is a bit grammatically inaccurate. Have you ever considered renaming yourself – even if only to stop people from asking you about it?
From the beginning we knew that it was grammatically inaccurate because the German teacher at my high school pointed it out to me.
But it should be noted that „Stille Volk“ is a proper name: It is the name of a people of troglodyte elves from German mythology, which we had found in Dubois‘ „Encyclopedia of Elves“. So there is no grammar problem.
You mostly play folk music, but there are, of course, different approaches to the genre, shown for example in the different sounds of bands such as Empyrium, Tenhi and Sangre De Muerdago. What in your opinion is the special thing about STILLE VOLK that sets you apart from other folk bands?
You’re absolutely right, folk music is like metal music, very diversified with different sub genres: Autopsy or Dokken, Anal Cunt or Bon Jovi both of each belong to the metal music genre but are very different with their own characteristics. (laughs)
I think we have our own characteristics for different reasons: First of all, we all come from extreme metal, namely death metal and black metal, which allows us to approach folk instruments in an original way. Then, the specificity of our Occitan culture, from the Pyrenées, inevitably brings an originality to our music: We didn’t try to copy Norwegian and Swedish bands and we sought originality from the beginning in 1994 (anyway, before we did in 1994, nobody played pagan music!). Finally, we have sought to develop original pagan concepts from our own culture but also from different cultures such as the Pan archetype for „Le Satyre Cornu“.
Previously you released most of your albums via Holy Records, with your new album „Milharis“ you have now switched to Prophecy. What made you decide to do that?
It turns out that our contract with Holy Records was over and that „Pèira Negra“ was our last album with them. Since 2014 we had therefore been without a contract and without a record company.
It was all more or less over when we played Hellfest in 2016. It turns out that Martin of Prophecy Productions was also there for Empyrium and The Vision Bleak and that he saw us playing on stage in front of nearly 10,000 people, a concert that was perfect for us.
So we set up an appointment with Philippe from Holy Records and Martin, and we verbally agreed on a future collaboration between STILLE VOLK and Prophecy Productions, a collaboration that immediately seduced us because it gave us complete freedom over everything: Artistic, planning…
In your early years you released new albums quite fast, now there are usually up to five years between two records. What are the reasons for these longer time gaps between your releases?
Quite simply because now we all have a job, children and above all we record at home which allows us to refine the new songs, to make really professional demos before recording the final songs.
In this fast-paced world, we are taking more and more time!
In which way do you think you’ve evolved as musicians since your previous release?
Since the beginning we have been operating in the same way. But over time, we probably became better at arranging the songs, making them more powerful or emotional and above all we know how to use the right instruments at the right time and not necessarily overload the songs.
When you look back at your discography, which one of your albums do you think was the most significant for your development as a band?
Like many bands, I think that the album that gathers the most emotions for me is the first album „Hantaoma“ released in 1997: There are a lot of imperfections, naivety but we were young and at the time few bands had the opportunity to release records. We were musical UFOs signed by a metal label, Holy Records. In addition, there are a lot of memories linked to this record, especially the photos taken in extreme conditions but in fantastic landscapes and the recording: We decided to record this album in the Pyrenees mountains in a studio set up in a barn in the middle of the forest. We knew the sound engineer and the setting could only inspire us. We were staying in a caravan next to this studio in the cold weather being the only campers present! The recording sessions were fantastic, the sound engineer being always motivated to fulfill all our most adventurous requests like the one at 3am to come out of the cable meters to record the sounds of the forest that can be heard in „Esprits Des Bois“. All the sounds on this disc are guaranteed 100% natural!
Occasionally you also use heavier metal sounds. What is it that moves you to use your instruments in a rougher way during these sections like the one on „Parmi Les Monts Oubliés“?
Indeed, we can speak of a vibrant tribute to Bathory. (laughs) In fact, it all depends on the mood of the song: Instinctively, we now know which emotion should be included in a track and we have the experience and know-how to record these different moods.
There’s a lot going on in your songs musically, although in folk music rather minimalist compositions are common. Do you sometimes have to restrain yourselves in order to not overload the songs?
You’re absolutely right. We play many instruments (I have a dozen at home) and we can quickly fall into the trap of overloading the instruments, which is something we have often done in the past.
But from „Maudat“, we started to simplify our songs in order to vary the moods so that each new instrument would bring something new to make the songs much more effective.
It actually depends on the tone we want to bring to each album. „Nueit De Sabbat“ unlike „Maudat“ was much more loaded with instruments because we wanted an orgiastic atmosphere in every sense of the word.
That’s why „Milharis“ is much more refined because the atmosphere is more melancholic and tragic and there was no question of overloading the songs.
On the other hand, with „Dans Un Temps Quite N’A Pas D’Histoire…“ and „Neige Que Versa Le Ciel Noir…“ you have two sparse sounding interludes on your new album. What is the idea behind these two short tracks?
In fact, at the beginning, these two tracks were supposed to be the intro and the outro but it seemed very interesting to us to make them titles in their own right for the impression of heaviness and tragedy they bring: We are truly in the chimeric world of Milharis.
I suppose that your songs sound different from each other because they tell different stories or deal with different topics. How do you handle the process of harmonizing the lyrics with the music?
I think this is done very instinctively. For my part, I focus on the spontaneity and dazzling nature of ideas. Often the lyrics are written before the music and when we compose we don’t worry about which text will go with which music. However, once the music is composed, we look into the list of lyrics which could best suit the music.
On „Milharis“ you sing about the mythological figure of the same name, which is associated with the origins of the Pyrenees. How did you come across this myth for the first time?
Very simply: When I started to be interested in the mythology of the Pyrenees (before the Internet era (laughs)), I went to the library in my town and there was a little book called „Les légendes des Pyrénées“ in which this myth of Milharis and the first snow was transcribed!
Could you briefly explain to our readers what the myth of Milharis is about?
In fact, this myth is one of the founding myths of the central Pyrenees, a very beautiful story that was transmitted until the 20th century. This patriarchal shepherd of 999 or 909 years old (according to different versions) is linked to the original myths of the Pyrenees and evokes the arrival of the first snow on the mountain which undoubtedly symbolizes the beginning of Christianization and therefore the end of paganism. I took up this myth and developed it by also imagining „Milharis“ as a kind of „shamanic hero“. I reflected on the thoughts of this patriarch, his relationship with nature, the mountains, his trances and incantations, his links with the primordial gods of the Pyrenees.
Some specialists consider that it would be one of the last avatars of an original Pyrenean cosmogony of which there are only very few traces left.
This myth may also be an explanation for a climate change that seems to put an end to mountain agriculture and introduces pastoralism and its migrations that have been imposed on the population and an explanation of religious changes with the emergence of Christianity. We would therefore still be in the definition of myth as an explanation of the world. The societies that created this myth have made the new sacredness visible by using the mythological narrative.
The track „La Mòrt De Milharis“ (in english „The Death Of Milharis“) is placed in the middle of the album and not at the end. What are the following tracks about when the main character of the record already dies halfway?
The order of the lyrics is not necessarily chronological because we are „in a time that has no history“. The texts alternate between the living character who then dies and returns in the form of myth and escapes into another dimension through the shamanic trance. There are „several“ Milharis, the character of the shepherd, the mythical hero, the magical hero. The order of the texts reflects these different avatars.
Do you think myths can still be important for people today – and if so, in which way?
Two words: Dream and understand!
What are your plans for the near future of STILLE VOLK? Will you maybe also perform the songs of „Milharis“ in a live setting?
In the immediate future we are playing at the Motocultor Festival on August 15th with Corvus Corax, Alan Stivell, Eluveitie and the Celtic opera Excalibur.
Then we will focus on our side projects (the celebration of L’homme Sauvage in September and my death/black occult project called Aurost).
For the next concert, we plan to play three new songs.
At this point I would like to go through a short brainstorming with you. What do you think about the following terms?
Mountaineering: Not for me!
Climate crisis: A human tragedy created by human stupidity.
Tradition: Good and bad
Electronic music: Probably very good things but quite unknown to me.
Prophecy Fest: Beautiful and original in a great place: I hope we can play it sometime soon.
Kitsch: I don’t know it. (laughs)
Thanks again for this interview. If you would like to say a few final words to the readers, please feel free to do so at this point:
Thank you very much for the interview. As I have already said, since our inception, Germany has always given us a special welcome, I hope it will continue!
7. August 2019 Stephan Rajchl
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