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By: Daniela Patrizi
Le Seul Elément is a solo project of a French musician. He does not want to be named by his real name, which has everything to do with the way he sees this artistic project: there is an air of danger coming from this music, that seems to come from a ghost or some other force out of this world, as an abstract shadow-play translated to music. Silence and absence plays as much a part in this music as does sound. Daniela Patrizi recently reviewed his new release Meradian for Echoes and Dust (read the review here) and asked the man behind the project some questions.
(((o))): Hello, many thanks for taking time to speak with us. Where are you at the moment, and most importantly how are you?
Le Seul Elément: Hello, first of all, thank you for this interview. I’m in my flat, I’m listening to Dear Reader, it’s 12:36 and I just finished my zucchinis. I’m fine, thanks.
(((o))): What have you been listening to today?
Le Seul Elément: Rimonia by Dear Reader, Aurora by Ben Frost and You’re Dead by Flying Lotus.
(((o))): I suppose there’s no use in asking you to reveal your identity, so I’ll just inquire about your decision to remain anonymous. How would you describe your music to your friends? And do they even know you as Le Seul Elément?
Le Seul Elément: Anonymous is not really important; I just prefer to show pictures of my universe, not of me. I can give my name, no problem. Le Seul Elément is my world, it’s a role, it’s my “Ziggy stardust”.
It was not a conscious choice at the beginning, but in live session I just wanted that the audience can see the video, and not me, and after that I decided to just show my shadow. To spread my feelings in front of the public is a kind of pornography, and I was not ready to do that. This approach strengthens the feeling of strangeness, it’s specific to my world, and I can play staying hidden. It’s the perfect mix…
And yes, all my friend knows that I am Le Seul Elément. I told them it’s a kind of cinematic music, or “cinematic horror music” for my family.
(((o))): Let’s start from the very beginning. How did you start producing music and who or what influenced you to do so?
Le Seul Elément: Making music came with punk rock when I was 15 years old. But at 18 years old, I bought a synthesizer and made different and darker styled music. I still have punk in my veins; I always tried to mix this sincerity and dirt with dark classical music.
And I always liked dismal things, the movie La citée des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet was a shock, a revelation, but my biggest influence was my sleep paralysis, which I’ve had throughout my youth, it’s really strange. Really, to be “haunted” every week changes your state of mind.
(((o))): What’s the idea behind the name Le Seul Elément?
Le Seul Elément: I don’t remember.
(((o))): What music inspires you? And, is there any artist or any music in particular that has a therapeutic effect on you?
Le Seul Elément: All type of music, specially sludge, dark wave and contemporary music. But many things inspire me, I try to translate my feelings when I compose, I try to see the song as frequency range (when I can put some sub bass? When I have to activate a cut off? etc). The tracks ‘01 03 47’ and ‘Meradiam’ are the best examples of this creative process.
Kate Bush always has a therapeutic effect, and more recently Tim Hecker and Oneohtrix Point Never.
(((o))): You just released Meradiam. Is it a conceptual album? What is its central theme?
Le Seul Elément: There is no central theme. For me, it’s an unstable album with some different songs, a tortured and lost album, like a human spirit. Sometimes happiness comes, but not for a long. As if you try not to drown you for an hour, but in the end you sink.
(((o))): I’ve been listening to Meradiam on repeat these days and, as I wrote in my review, you crossed every music boundary and you delivered something very special. What do you think of genrefication? How would you ‘tag’ your music style?
Le Seul Elément: Like I said before, I come from a punk-rock middle, it’s an environment where codes are quite significant. But it’s too significant for me, it was a “motivational trigger” to do really what I want.
So, genrefication is often an easy shortcut, it can betray music, but how do you want to describe an album in two words when the musical style is not a “cliché”? For now, it’s a mix of piano/noise/dark wave/post-rock.
(((o))): On Meradiam there’s a wide range of sounds and there’s a slow progression from the opening track throughout all the seven movements of the album that becomes darker and darker and deeper. Is this a reflection of yourself?
Le Seul Elément: Yes, I like the idea to “move” with and along the album, sometimes up, sometimes down. (In the end you’re going down).
(((o))): Should you pick a song from Meradiam to listen to right now, which one would you choose and why?
Le Seul Elément: ‘Heol’, because it translates power and sadness That’s belongs to Meradiam. Initially, it was the title of the album, but I change at last moment for Meradiam.
(((o))): What were some of the triggered memories when you worked on this album and when you listen to it now?
Le Seul Elément: It’s too hard to explain because Meradiam was composed during two years, so it involves many different feelings and memories. I don’t listen to it know, it remember the live sessions, and it’s not always a good experience…
(((o))): What is your production setup like?
Le Seul Elément: Numeric and acoustic pianos, synthetizer M audio Venom, acoustic and electronic drums, some effect pedals (TC chorus, TC tremolo, Way huge fuzz, Line 6 reverb and delay, Boss looper and voice effect) and an Orange amp.
(((o))): Who are your favourite musicians? Would you want to collaborate with any of them in the future?
Le Seul Elément: William Sheller and Phillip Glass. Or Michael Jackson, I can try to ask him for a collaboration, but I’m not sure that he will answer.
(((o))): Do you ever get lost in the music?
Le Seul Elément: Yes, I ‘ve a private room with vaulted cellar, red walls and right next to the woods. So it’s not really hard to get lost there.
(((o))): What are your plans for the near future?
Le Seul Elément: I will make a video for ‘Jancee’ next week and I want to release a new album for the end of this year, it’s an album that features guest appearances, so if somebody want to participate, we can try it!
I will be on tour on September and I’m looking for a booking agency now.
(((o))): Thanks for talking to us and good luck with your projects. Is there anything else you want to tell us that we haven’t already covered here?
Le Seul Elément: No, I just want to say thank you!
