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Monolithe Interview with Sylvain Begot


With the release of a second platter of highly transcendental music, Sylvain Begot has placed his Monolithe studio project on a compositional level which few musicians could hope to attain. A soundtrack to the surreal, "Monolithe II" whisks away the listener on a dynamic musical adventure that breaks musical barriers and sets a new precedent for musical creativity. There's no doubt that all types of devotees of highly creative, textured metal compositions will be deeply engaged in the doom-laden sonority of a truly cosmic magnitude that Monolithe has to offer.


The Gauntlet: The music which graces "Monolithe II" is extraordinarily well named. What inspires you to create such vast sonic landscapes?

Sylvain Begot: Well, thank you. Actually it's always difficult to put the finger right on what is a real source of inspiration. I'd rather say that the kind of music Monolithe does comes to life naturally, rather than through precise thoughts. I've always been fascinated by space, infinite and all that stuff that is REAL but much too wide to embrace for a human mind. To some extents, it leads me to Science Fiction, which has developed a lot of imagery of space, galaxies, planets, etc. That must have been quite influential. Monolithe is probably just a mixture of these things that have always interested me. The band tries to paint the picture of the infinite, the everlasting; I mean all that useless and dead matter in the universe.


The Gauntlet: Who are the musicians that were responsible for recording the new album and why were they chosen to execute the material?

Sylvain Begot: There was Richard Loudin on vocals, Benoet Blin on guitars, Kristofer Lorent on bass and myself on guitars and keyboards. I programmed the drums too. We got helped by a guy named Manuel Mechling who played the accordion parts and Marc Canlers who was responsible for the sound. All these people are playing in different bands though.They were chosen obviously because they are good musicians and nice people to work with. They have their own specificities in their playing which add a lot to the record. I shared the guitars parts with Ben because it would have been too much work for a single guitarist as there was really much to record.


The Gauntlet: Why did you choose to go with a single fifty-two minute song as opposed to breaking it up into sections? Did you feel the music flowed better without interruption?

Sylvain Begot: Yeah, the idea is to get the listener totally immersed into the music, to keep the constant flow of the music and to force people to listen to it just like if they were watching a movie, from beginning to end. The music is indeed quite cinematographic. That's also a concept. The purpose is to create one epic song on every album, each being a chapter of a kind of saga. The lyrics are part of a bigger story. When the story is over the band is over. Then you'll get a monster album dispatched in several parts.


The Gauntlet: How did you come to be associated with Appease Me Records?

Sylvain Begot: That was not something spectacular, I'm afraid. They got in contact with me when they heard about the project because they felt it could be interesting. They listened to some demoed parts of what would become "Monolithe I" and they liked it so they wanted to sign the band. I was pleased by this offer because I liked the idea of being one of the first rosters of a very promising label.


The Gauntlet: Exactly how long did it take to compose the record? Was it difficult for you to find song parts to bridge the gaps between the primary themes?

Sylvain Begot: I can't tell you exactly how long it took, I'm afraid. I actually worked sporadically during a long period of time, maybe a year and a half or something. It could have taken 3 or 4 weeks if I had more free time, though. Maybe. The work on this album was done rather differently than on the debut, which was written, composed and arranged in a month or so but I could work nearly every day back then. The method is even different for the third album because I have the rhythm guitars ready . I mean composed and even recorded - but nothing else has been done so far. And nothing else will be done before few months. There are actually no gaps to fill because I write the music in the chronological order. Well, at least it's usually like that. There are some exceptions though, like the last riff you can hear on the album which was one of the first I did but it sounded so much like a middle section and ending riff that I kept it for later when I started to seriously work on the song.


The Gauntlet: This record is to be but a part in an ongoing saga of albums. Is it your intention that the entire body of work will stand as a singular piece of art once it is completed?

Sylvain Begot: Yes, exactly. Like I said earlier, you'll get the real finished monster album once every chapter is completed. And then, there will be no purpose to go on with this band.


The Gauntlet: How does the new record compare to the first one? Do you feel that this is a more substantial representation of what you were looking to convey as an artist?

Sylvain Begot: I don't know. I guess the album is a representation of what I wanted to do in a certain period of time. I could say that "Monolithe II" keeps the basic foundations of what made "Monolithe I" a special record within the Doom Metal scene but with a different approach. M2 is a more minimalist album but the arrangements and the drums are much more worked. The general atmosphere of the new record is also quite different, I mean more focused on beauty and sad feelings. I can't say one is better than the other. I like both for their own specificities.


The Gauntlet: Is Monolithe purely a studio project or do you intend to take this material before the public in a live format?

Sylvain Begot: It's a studio project and will remain so. Such music doesn't fit a live situation in my opinion. I don't want to spoil the "magic".


The Gauntlet: What are some of the emotions that you hope to stir inside of listeners with this effort?

Sylvain Begot: This is a tough question because it's nearly impossible to describe what music can provide to people. It can be really different from one people to another. I would rather see things this way: there is a world to explore while you listen to the music and that's it. It's up to you to decide if you'd like to visit it or not. Then, depending on your tastes, patience, cultural background, relation to music in general and personality, you will be receptive or not. Most of the feedback I got from people who really liked the album told me that the music was a good "mind pictures" maker. And some bad reviews I could read here and here spoke about boredom or something. Actually it just means that it's not music for everyone.


The Gauntlet: How difficult was it for you to get this project to come together in the studio? Were the individual musicians breaking their parts into sections for the purpose of recording?

Sylvain Begot: Actually the technical side of things in the studio is the same than any other record. Musicians usually don't record songs in a row, especially in Metal, but if they want to record 10 minutes in a row it's up to them. One thing about Monolithe is that there are no rehearsals or even meetings of any kind before the recordings. We don't even know how to play the song but everything is written on notes so we just have to look at them, practice a little and then press the "record" button. There's nothing spectacular, really.


The Gauntlet: Exactly what goes through your mind when you are rehearsing and recording such an epically lengthy piece? Can it be challenging for you to remember where you are at in the song?

Sylvain Begot: You know the studio work is not a fairy tale as people imagine sometimes. As I said in the previous question, everything is written on notes so the studio is more about the quality of the takes, of the sound, and so on. Now it doesn't mean there is no creative input during the studio because some things are changed and some new ideas come from the interpreters. But the real challenge is to do things the right way to make the whole stuff sound good. The playing itself is never a problem.


The Gauntlet: Were there any special techniques that you used in the studio to bring this record all together?

Sylvain Begot: I'm not sure I understand the question. One thing we did is that we cut some parts in the song. The finished thing lasted 54 minutes or so. It was reduced to about 50 because I thought that there were 4 weak minutes when we were about to master the album.


The Gauntlet: How often do you plan on releasing the individual albums in the overall saga?

Sylvain Begot: I have no idea. If I would be the only one who could decide such things, that would probably every 6 months! But you know, that's not so easy because the release dates are fixed by the label and they don't want to release new albums too soon after the latest. The next Monolithe release will be a MCD called "Interlude Premier" featuring a 20 minutes song. This MCD is nearly ready but Candlelight still works on "Monolithe II" so I have no idea of a potential release date. I'd like to have at least a new album released every year or something but I don't know whether it's possible or not. Time will tell.


The Gauntlet: What is the most gratifying aspect of undertaking a project such as this?

Sylvain Begot: For me the most gratifying aspect is to lead a project like this from the original idea to the materialization of it. It's great to have two albums released already and to be pretty satisfied of them. Monolithe is 4 years old but I still have the feeling that it was born yesterday. There is still much work to do to fulfill the whole concept but I have no worries. I know how the next two albums will sound like so it's getting closer to the conclusion.


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Tags:  Monolithe  , Sylvain Bégotinterviews

    September 15, 2005

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