The inteview with Eric Rogers was done in 2005.
:: I've heard a lot of rumours about GAE BOLG AND CHURCH OF THE FAND, but I haven't seen interviews or any info about the band, so I'd like to start the interview from some basic and even well-known (for some) stuff. So, please introduce yourself. Where are you from? For how long do you play music? Is music your full-time job or a hobby?
It seems that I began my musical carrier very early: in the belly of my mother, at each time she played in her orchestra (she was - and still is - an amateur violinist), I apparently manifested my satisfaction with many foot beat! I particularly appreciated Liszt and Wagner, and most generally all music who made noise!!!
I began to learn trumpet when I was 6, and began to play in various student orchestras at the age of 14. I composed my first work at 16 (a complete megalomaniac atonal symphony), continue musical studies in university at 18 for 6 years, time during I made 7 symphonies, various concertos, and several pieces for piano and chamber ensemble.
I was completely passionate by contemporary music, especially the "independent composers" like Steve Reich, Alfred Schnittke, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Harry Partch or Karlheinz Stockhausen, and consequently, I opened gradually my mind to other forms of music. During the following years, (it was at the end of the eighties), I discovered industrial music (something completely new and exciting for me at the time!), Krautrock and other prog-psychedelic acts, then played with several French new music bands and artists (like Palo Alto and Denis Frajerman). Around 1993, I began my project SEVEN PINES, then, few times after, GA¨ BOLG and SILVER LADY. I was also an active member of THE HYSTERICAL FRENCH BAND with which I recorded several hours of music, most of them unreleased.
I became member of SOL INVICTUS in 1995.
Under the name of GA¨ BOLG, after some confidential 7", 10", 12" and other various more or less private cdr, the French label Cynfeirdd released John Barleycorn must die in 2000. In 2001, Tintagel in his early vinyl version saw the light of day, then La ballade de l'Ankou in 2002, Tintagel II (a new ÑD version) in 2003 and Aucassin et Nicolette in 2005. During these years, I also released several ultra limited vinyls.
Under the name of SEVEN PINES, The garden of Fand CD appeared in 2001 and Nympholept in 2003.
Despite the high number of hours consecrated to all these projects, I can actually not living from my music.
:: I continue my previous question. I've heard that you were playing in SOL INVICTUS. Is that correct? Could you tell me about your pre-"GAE BOLG..." activities?
I played in SOL INVICTUS during around 10 years but I'm actually no more a member of this band. (About the pre-GA¨ BOLG activity, just see the previous question).
:: What has influenced to start GAE BOLG...?
I think mostly a wish to do a sort of phantasmal industrial-orchestral bombastic and martial music, but without the only morbid way you found at that time in this scene… I wanted something medieval and maybe mystical and dark sometimes, but also plenty of life and life pleasures. Without any doubt, I prefer Rabelais to Villon!!!
Years after years, the humoristic aspects (probably more in the imagery than in the music) have been more and more important in GA¨ BOLG, mostly as reaction to the seriousness of this scene and to refuse to participate to all this smelly political ambiguity made of stupid nationalism and extremism topics. To be absolutely clear, despite I like trumpets and drums, I don't want to have anything to do with right wing ideology!!!
:: May be I'm wrong but it seems that GAE BOLG... was a conceptual band from the very beginning. Your songs, your image, your artworks for CDs are very solid and seem to feet some kind a concept. Could you tell me a bit about idea behind GAE BOLG...?
I like to imagine GA¨ BOLG as a sort of modern Rabelais who play in an episode of The Avengers on which you could find the Monthy Python disguised in knights of the round table dealing with a dwarf played by Tim Burton in an old tavern where people drink hippocras and hydromel, speak philosophy and hear a strange mix of psychedelic and martial lounge music danced by fools escaped from a psychiatric hospital imagined by Fritz Lang!!!
:: What is "Church of Fand" and who is Gae Bolg?
Both are pure nightmares!!!
:: I've heard a lot of rumours this year that GAE BOLG... exists no longer, but not long ago you have released your new album. So, what was behind those rumours? And could you tell me a bit about current activities of GAE BOLG...?
Ga¸ Bolg is an inconstant guy! He died, but bored by the inactivity who reign in master in the kingdom of Death, he decide to come to life again!!!
Well… Actually, I'm working on a new GA¨ BOLG album called Requiem. I did till now around 40 minutes of music. I've still a lot of material to record and who know, it'll be maybe a double album at the end… The only thing I'm sure, it's that it'll be premiered with a whole choir and orchestra in Paris, for a festival I organise the 5-6-7-8th of may 2006.
I've also some vague ideas for a DVD; and also some others for another album…
:: Unfortunately, I had no chance to listen to you latest album, so could you tell me a bit about it? How different it from your previous releases?
Without any doubt, it's my more personal album to date. Less systematically bombastic, more serious in some way, more mature probably…
The subject in itself is also closer to what I'm, with a clear pacifist, tolerant and humanist background. It's based on the medieval piece Aucassin et Nicolette, a sort of pre-Romeo and Juliette with a pacific prince (who prefer wine and girls to war and religion!) issued from a catholic family (Aucassin) in the rule of Romeo, and a sarrazine and consequently muslim slave (Nicolette) in the rule of Juliette. It's a nice pamphlet for tolerance and difference in an intolerant world - something very actual in fact! - with a funny happy end who've absolutely no respect for the traditional conveniences of the time!
:: I have one album of your another project SEVEN PINES (unfortunately, it's not easy to get underground music in this country :) and for my ear this project sounds more experimental than GAE BOLG... so, what was the reason to start another project - SEVEN PINES? What is the main difference between SP and GAE BOLG...?
In fact, I began SEVEN PINES before GA¨ BOLG, despite it was released after. SEVEN PINES was at the beginning something much more serious and personal than GA¨ BOLG. I consider these 2 projects with the same importance now, but it was not the case at the beginning: GA¨ BOLG was on its early days just an ironic side project, with a very specific sound, but in a pure traditional "pop" format.
It's probably why SEVEN PINES sound more experimental. I never censor myself in this project, what I did sometimes with GA¨ BOLG in the past (even if it's no more the case now).
:: Could you tell me a bit about your future plans for SP?
I've also a certain number of plans for this project: very soon will be release a cd called Blue, a music I did for a film some times ago. Soon after will be release "Le Cri", a proper new SEVEN PINES album. I've also promised a 7" for an Italian label, as well as a split with DER BEKANNTE POST INDUSTRIELLE TRUMPETER, who will be a sort of trumpet duel!!!
I also work actually on 2 other SEVEN PINES albums, but who will be not released before at least 1 year…
:: You have released a lot of music, a lot of songs and albums. What do you consider you greatest achievement so far as a musician?
I'm not sure to be able to speak of "achievement". If I use this word one day, I'll probably stop to do music just after!!!
Saying that, I'm quite happy of La Ballade de l'Ankou, Aucassin et Nicolette and Nympholept, despite of their defaults.
I've also to say that my biggest satisfaction as musician till now was probably when I conducted 250 amateur musicians last year in "Alexander Nevsky" of Prokofiev! A so intense and powerful experience!!!
:: May be it's a bit stupid question, but still... who is John Barleycorn you are singing about? I own only your Tintagel CD so I have missed possible explanation in your other CDs...
In fact, it was no explanation in my other CD! John Barleycorn was a symbolic image for the return of the sun, something related to solstice. I liked this pagan image of a pacifist and peaceful sun personalised in a human figure. John Barleycorn, despite numerous tortures, refuses violence and always come back with smiles and good intentions, without any spirit of revenge.
:: GAE BOLG... probably the only band among neofolk scene who doesn't sing depressive songs, and I would say your albums are very joyful and positive. You seem to like to go against tide and do not follow trends. What do you think about modern neofolk/ military pop scene? From my point of view it's growing fast and at the same time too many bands clone and repeat old ideas...
You're probably the first to tell me that, and I've to say that I'm very happy, because I absolutely agree with you!!! GA¨ BOLG is really something happy and optimistic. Of course, it can be dark and sometimes depressive, but finally, it's always turned to the light side of things. I strongly believe in humanity and intelligence, despite all the atrocity and destructions it can product sometimes! Well… It's a dark side in humanity, but it's also so many nice things… And anyway, hate and misanthropy didn't interest me. It's a stupid attitude, sterile, empty, negative and anti-creative. Waste of time and energy that could be used for so many positive things…
About the neofolk/military pop scene, I also absolutely agree with you!!! The uniforms, stinky ideas and other insane fascination for militarist topics (and related) are finally just a new form of marketing who try (often unsuccessfully) to hidden the emptiness of inspiration and discourse.
As I said in a previous answer, I've definitely no interest for right wing (and most generally for extremism in any form) and for all this bands who pretend to a certain sort of ambiguity in the name of art, ambiguity that I find insane and dangerous and who finally serve only some extremism ideas (even if most of this bands have in fact probably not this ideas) and certainly not music, intelligence or art.
|
