Lalu, Vivien (November 2005)

Interview With Vivien Lalu

Take the seminal works of Dream Theater, mix them up with some Symphony X aggressiveness, then add a little gothic touch ... how can we name that elusive alchemy? Oniric metal? Sounds good!

Igor Italiani: Hello Vivien, first thing I would like to know is if the title of your album, Oniric Metal, can be seen as the definition you like about your music or not?

Vivien Lalu: Hi Igor! Well I don't really think it's a good thing to categorize music, and I wouldn't dare to say that I invented something, but YES, this is a definition that I like. Because I love dreamy soundscapes melted with heavy metal guitars. I'm trying to keep it fresh and dream-like. But I don't pretend to anything, many artists did what I do before me. I'm just speaking my own voice, that's pretty much everything.

II: OK ... let's talk about the album. First of all, congratulations because, in my opinion, this is one of the most dynamic albums out there in the last few months. So what about the compositions and the entire work behind this "debut"?

VL: Thanks a lot for your encouraging words! Writing is always a quick process for me, it can take a couple of weeks actually. It's just easy to make the material but the most difficult part are the actual recordings. As a producer of your own album you have to arrange everything for the drums, bass and any other instruments, like files, studios, not mentioning the vocals (which takes most of the time) and mixing/arranging and that can actually take some months before you're ready to send anything for mastering.

II: However I've read that you're already working on a sequel, entitled Temporal. So the songs for both albums were written almost at the same time or not? Do you think that there will be relevant differences amongst the two records?

VL: Temporal has been written after Oniric Metal. It's, from my point of view, a totally different experience because of the context. Oniric Metal was kind of the "throw everything you have" type of album, and Temporal is a real concept album. It comes with a story, but you will see and hear lots similarities with Oniric Metal, because of the line-up which stays the same, because of the music which remains mine, and because of the artwork which is made by Carl André Beckston again.

II: Vivien, is it true that on the new album we will see Gary Werkhamp and the mighty Virgil Donati? How did you manage to get in touch with these two fabulous musicians?

VL: That's true! I got in touch with Gary first, many years ago. I contacted him as a fan of Shadow Gallery, and presented him my project called Shadrane. He couldn't record anything at the time. But a couple of years after, he got back to me saying he finally got time and he'd like to record stuff together. Of course, it was the same for me. Just a dream come true... So it's about some material you will hear on Temporal first... But he also recorded guitars and keys for the Shadrane project to be released later on.

Regarding Virgil, we got in touch thanks to a common friend who sent him my music and we set up things like that. I had the pleasure to have him on the phone afterwards and he's a great guy, very humble, also one of the most talented musicians on the planet. I was of course amazed to hear him blast the drums on my music, and I actually can't wait to unleash these tracks, I really can't wait till Temporal is released hahaha! You will hear what I mean, soon, I hope.

II: But Lalu can be considered like a real band, right? Do you think you'll soon be able to go on tour with it?

VL: Nope, I'm sorry to say that Lalu is not a band. That's very important to mention it, it's an "ego" project, and the line-up could change from an album to another. Just like Arjen Lucassen and Ayreon. So far the musicians I'm working with like what I do, and I also love their sounds and playing, but nothing clear is planned on the "live" side of things yet. Moreover nobody knows about me, I released my debut few months ago so I guess I won't be touring before a while?

II: Vivien, can you tell us what are your roots as a musician?

VL: Progressive rock! I was in the belly of my mother when she was playing keys in my dad's progressive band, and I was not even walking yet when I was present at my parents' rehearsals! I guess it influenced me. I've always been surrounded by progressive rock. My favourite band has been Yes for ages ... But I had a discovery around the age of 14: metal! I started to listen to Sepultura, Megadeth (one of my favourite bands ever) and some serious acts like Death and Strapping Young Lad, later on. At school I was in a doom-metal band and listened to lots of black-metal music for a short period of time. But it didn't last long ... I got a Dream Theater CD as a present for my birthday, called Images And Words, and it's been quite a shock, you can see the results today. :) I must also mention that I always been playing video games since the day I could handle a paddle in my little hands, so video game music inspired me everyday. I was copying music out of my old Amstrad CPC computer to my tape recorder, and listened to it at school.

II: There are some instruments that you play more than others? Have you seen, for example, that the great Robert Moog just passed away some weeks ago?

VL: Nope, I didn't know that; I'm sorry about him passing away. My parents got one of the first Moogs ever but it went away? What a shame! Regarding your first question, I love orchestral sounds and I try to do all kind of things with it. I don't care if it sounds realistic or not, I just love to use it. Now I don't know, I don't have any "favourite" type of keyboard instrument, mine is a workstation, I mean a machine made for composing and coming with all kind of sounds bundled from any types of keyboards, so I'm using pretty much of everything.

II: France is not considered a hotbed for progressive rock and metal, even if it produced an incredible act like Magma in the past. Do you think it's something that is going to change or not?

VL: Well I don't know. I heard some good stuff coming from there, Adagio, Regency and recently a cool band called Lord of Mushrooms (killer name, I love it). Especially a metal band called Yyrkoon. However, most of us seem to have very recognizable influences ;) I'm dreaming of a "French" progressive style of music; that would kick ass! Can you imagine that - with electric French bread and red-wine solos! No, more seriously, I don't know from where it comes, Germany and Italia - our closest neighbours - are full of talented metal bands, and also bands that are known worldwide and with a solid reputation. So maybe the fact that French people are not open internationally is one of the problems. I had to find a vocalist in Germany because we miss talented people singing progressive-metal in English here? Or singing progressive-metal at all (not even mentioning the French accent).

II: Can you tell me something else (also lyrics-wise) about "Yesterdayman," which I consider a fantastic opening track, with a great bridge and chorus?

VL: Thanks! "Yesterdayman"'s lyrics and vocals are Martin LeMar's own creation. In that song he's talking about a man pissed off by human stupidity, how mad the world is gone and finally he wants to [be a] refugee on a far island, far from civilization. It's the kind of thoughts we all have some day I guess, it's a song about escaping our society and flying away to find the real sense of our life, somewhere else, far from humans.

II: Vivien, I would like to end the interview with something completely different. Do you have any hobbies besides music?

VL: Sure! Video games are my second hobby. I am addicted to World of Warcraft, an on-line role playing game where I'm playing a human thief with my girlfriend, who's playing a human mage. I also possess all the possible game consoles systems released, and I am a sucker when it comes to emulation. I could speak about it for hours ... I especially love Capcom's fighters series and also Squaresoft's role playing games (Final Fantasy) and stuff. I never sleep before I've played a good game on my Gameboy Advance. I know, I'm a real geek, but I can't help it, I don't care. Games are just too good. I'm collecting Star Wars comic books right now, manga of all sorts and my room is looking like a child's room ... hahaha.

II: Last question. I see that you have a nice website. Are you for or against the internet revolution that somewhat influences music nowadays?

VL: Thanks, the site was done by Geoffrey Rousselot, a friend of mine which is running a cool design company called Deep Peace Design. I am totally going for the internet revolution, it's giving everybody a chance to be heard, but unfortunately, some people shouldn't get a chance to be heard (if you know what I mean). It's like a double-edged sword ... However, I'm convinced of its utility in regards of the music industry. It's only a shame when big music companies are saying bullshit or confronting people in court to make more money ... Let's go back to music and art please.

II: OK, Vivien. I think that's all. Thank you very much for your time and I hope to see Lalu live in Italy sometime in the near future.

VL: Thanks a lot Igor! Thanks for asking me these questions, I would really love to play in Italy (I have many friends here), but I hope people will know me better and enjoy my next release, so maybe I could finally tour in your country. Thanks again for this great interview! Progressive World rules!

Discography:
Oneiric Metal (2005)
Atomic Ark (2013)