-Infernal
hails,let start off by introducing the band a bit? When and by whom had it been
started ?
-Haskel : AUTARKEON
is a one-man-band » which has started 3 years ago.
I was
involved before in another « one man band » which has been duo and
sometimes trio
-Do
interviews mean anything to you? Do you have to have a special state of mind
when answering one ?
-Haskel : That
means recognition for my work.
I am
glad to have chance to talk about my music, to talk about it to make people get
desire to discover !
I feel
comfortable cause I am talkative.
-
Autarkeon it comes from the word autarkic why this name speak a bit about the
meaning ?
-Haskel :This is
an invented word.
First I
simply wanted to call my project “AUTARCIE” (AUTARKY in English). But it had
already been used, as the Greek origin “autarkeia” ! Then I decided to invent a
name, keeping root “autar”. I made a list of many names. And we (my sound
ingeneer Spike and me) have made a choice among them. She is my sound engeneer.
-Autarkeon
is a one-man band, right? Do you feel comfortable with this? Might it be
possible to see some additional musicians joining your rank in the future ?
-Haskel :Yes, it
is a one-man-band. There is only one person working with me, it’s Spike, whom I
talked about before. She performs mixdown and mastering, edits videos. In
short, everything that is technical. Except recordings, that I do by myself.
Working
alone (almost) is the best way for me. I am autodidact also. I wanted to
include all of this in the concept of autarky. The” Autarkeon” is his own
master, his own guide. It might sound self-important, snooty. I haven't any
trouble with that. I am not perfect. I make mistakes, as everyone. But I am
learning by my-self. I take my failures. What I succeed is due to my work.
I don’t
think I will ever work with any additional musicians. I am not interested at
playing live music. I prefer creating music, alone.
-What
made you decide to start a one man project ?
-Haskel :I used
to play in garage bands, many years ago. There were too many things to take
care at once. Character, taste, way to work, availability of each one. The more
people you are, the more difficult it is. Most often a natural leader emerges;
he federates more or less. Unfortunately sooner or later dissent grows. When
the band contains two leaders or it is made of several strong personalities,
the project may turn more quicker to failure. Otherwise the band works on a way
of compromise. And that would be a trouble for me.
So, in
short, I am working alone cause I like it. According to my methods, my desires,
and my pace.
-Are you
also busy with some other projects/bands ?
-Haskel :No, I
don’t.
I
imagine I could release songs under another name, if I had some that don’t fit
to AUTARKEON.
I have
no side project for now.
-Do you
consider AUTARKEON to be a band or a
project ?
-Haskel :I don’t
like the word « project ». At least in its French meaning. A project
is something you are going to do. Something you are thinking about or just a
draft.
But « band »
doesn’t really fit. Except if you consider I am working in team with Spike.
By her
work, she gives color, emphasis to my music.
-What
music do you generally listen to ?
-Haskel :Metal,
only Metal. There is everything in Metal : every ambiences, every spirits.
Melody and brutality. Basic compositions, tribal. Works developed as in
Classical music.
Death is
my favourite (80%). Back and Thrash for the rest. A few old Heavy too.
-In what
part of France do you live? Is it
attractive for tourists? What can you recommend ?
-Haskel :An Area
called “Region centre”, although it isn’t really le middle of the country.
It is
attractive for tourists fond of history or castels. For those that love good
wines too.
Otherwise
it isn’t one of the most beautiful areas in France. There is no mountain. It is
far away from sea. It is an agricultural region. There are forests around here.
-How is
the metal scene in France ?
-Haskel :The situation
has always been incomprehensible, paradoxical. There is a huge public for
Metal.
According
to a lot of foreign groups, the French public is one of the best. Yet even the
most famous bands make shorter tours in France. Profitability issue. Tours boil
down to a single date in Paris. They make sure that it will be sold out or
almost.
Meanwhile
French bands have to make their proofs abroad before being recognized in
France.
This is
hardly a caricature !
Nothing
to do with German or Spanish unconditional support to their bands.
I read
in a magazine, that in the eighties, one of their famous bands filled a
stadium. We were far away from this in France.
And the
issue of lack of support to French scene is still right today. Hard to explain
this French exception. The reasons are many.
-How did
you get the inspiration to do music ? Any bands or albums that did it for you ?
-Haskel :I have
no recipe !
Sometimes,
it starts with a riff. A melody comes to my mind. I go further by playing on my
guitar.
Sometimes
I have fun by playing anything. I play dreamily. I improvise. And something
interesting comes : then I go further too.
Or, I
get an idea while listening to music. I imagine another version of the song I
am listening to. So I work on this digression to create my own song.
And last,
this is stuff I’ve heard that I rework.
About
bands or albums that inspire me ? It ‘s hard to say… More or less consciously :
Slayer, Sodom, Kreator, Coroner, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Death… Death old school
in general.
-How you
define your style of music ?
-Haskel :First I
didn’t care to define AUTARKEON’s style. I thought it was too reducer. But not
doing it brought me disillusions !
To add
AUTARKEON on Encyclopaedia Metallum, I had to fill “genre”. I wrote “extreme
metal”. This had been convert to Black Metal !! Thanks to this entry in the
Encyclopaedia Metallum, some guys contacted me…. Then AUTARKEON was included in
a NETLabel focused on Black Metal. Finally nobody was interested in AUTARKEON.
-How do
you describe the music and the title of your
"Demo 2011" ?
-Haskel :Death
Old School first. Thrash or Black influences on some songs.
“Demo
2011” had been replaced by “ETERNEL CONFLIT” this month ! The same songs
remixed plus two news.
“ETERNEL
CONFLIT” is downloadable for free at http://lc.cx/GLM
-Your
first demo was raw ,I think there are just the drum programming not fit with
black metal why do you not play drums think if you will play drums the sound
will be like some true black metal music
-Haskel :As I
told before, AUTARKEON isn’t a Black Metal band.
That is not
really drums programming. I used sound bank, I mean real sounds of kick, snare,
tom… The real trouble was mixdown and mastering.
Fortunately
I met Fred Uniwëria Zëkt through facebook. He really listened to my demo and
had been able to feel a potential whatever the sound was. He has been able to
guide Spike to improve mixdown and mastering. Great thanks to Fred !
-Why do you not play drums ?
-Haskel : Learning guitar takes me a lot of time already. I’ve been starting learning it quite late.
-Haskel : Learning guitar takes me a lot of time already. I’ve been starting learning it quite late.
As I
played in garage bands, I was only a singer.
I would
have loved to play drums. The thing is I lived for a long time in flats. It’s
hard to train to play drums in those conditions ! Because of space and noise !
-Speak a
bit about your lyrics: the subjects it deal with, influences, the way it's
written ?and how was your self recording
of your demo are you satisfied ?
-Haskel :My songs
are made of two types of lyrics.
Lyrics
which denounce dysfunction, violence, injustice, indoctrination in the world.
That’s not very original, that’s true. I don’t pretend to change the world. I
describe it. I externalize that’s it.
There
are more introspective lyrics, with multiple meanings sometimes. To summarize,
it’s about duality in each person. Something more complex than a Manichean
logic.
My
self-recording had been a very hard work. I did it again and again. It’s quite
impossible to be totally satisfied especially because of the sound. I used to
record my guitar connected to an amp through my pedal, and the amp connected to
a sound card… I now connect my guitar directly to the sound card and it really
improves the sound.
-The
track Caligula it‘s about what ?
-Haskel :About
Roman Emperor Caligula. It’s metaphorical too. It’s about human being generally
and its bad instincts. Its dark side that prevent him to raise spiritually, to
get to a superior level of conscience, knowledge, wisdom.
About its
faults, vulnerabilities which make human being a complex and sensible thing
too.
.
-Which
label would fit your music ?
-Haskel :A label
that requires nothing : No delays, no touching up.
-Can you
write a few words about the cover artwork of your demo? How does it fit
together ?
I see it’s poor ,I wonder what it means ?
-Haskel :Each can
interpret it as he wants. It’s a suggestive picture, not a descriptive one.
-When
you think of the people who enjoy your music, is there any particular thing ??
It’s strange.
I think it’s justified that people take
interest in my music. Because
I‘ve worked a lot, for years.
And according to my mind, work must pay. Because I’ve been waiting for a long time
to be recognized. Because I
think I have the right to have a place too (if
only geniuses had the right to display, record stores would
go bankrupt. YouTube would be a top-secret
media and concerts would be extremely rare)
At the same time, I'm still (pleasantly) surprised
by the positive enthusiastic feedbacks. As if I was talked about something familiar but which I am not the
author. Something that does not
belong to me. Which I'm
just the promoter.
-Have
you ever played live or do you plan to do so?
-Haskel :I did a
single time. As a singer for a duo. It was with a friends’s band.
About
AUTARKEON, I think it won’t happen.
-You see
some additional musicians joining your rank in the future ?
-Haskel :Honestly,
I don’t know. There are two important things : musical and human compatibility.
Both aren’t always linked.
-If you
could choose one band to support on a tour, who would it be?
-Haskel :What do
you mean ? Which group I would to go on tour with if I had a band for such a
project ? Obituary, Bolt Thrower, Slayer…
Do you
mean which band I would like to follow on their tour as public ? The list may
be long…
-In case
someone is interested in your music, how and where can this person buy your
stuff ?
-Haskel :My music
is downloadable for free at http://lc.cx/GLM
Or you
can listen at www.autarkeon.fr or https://www.facebook.com/autarkeon
On
YouTube there are 2 videos from this demo. http://youtu.be/B84YVB8jBC0 and
-What is
your daily consumption amount of alcohol,cigarettes.... ?
-Haskel :I’ve
stopped smoking for 15 years. About alcohol, once or twice a week, at the
week-end most often. I used to drink more as I was young. I take care for my
health now…
-What
are some of your non-musical influences ?
-Haskel :My life.
My relationships with others. Observation of individual behavior in society.
Dysfunction of the world. All I can see in documentaries. History. Sociology…
-What is
your occupations outside Autarkeon ?
-Haskel :Sports.
I gym, run, fight… I don’t practice Krav Maga anymore for a few months… Lack of
time.
Autarkeon
had became my priority.
I read
less for the same reason (France history for example)
-What
kind of music do you play in your car? What car do you own ?
-Haskel :For long
journeys I bring a stock of CD : I take the latest purchases, some favourites
and some I didn’t listen to for a while. (Metal only !)
-What
are the future plans of Autarkeon any split or compilation, promo……. other things ?
-Haskel :My new
demo is now available as I said. I am going to work on videos to promote my
work. The next should be “Labyrinthe”.
-What is
your greatest wish for Autarkeon ?
-Haskel :Increase
my audience, that’s it. I have no unbounded ambition.
-What
are you doing in daily life? How do you earn your money?
-Haskel :I don’t
want to talk about this or about material things (like talking about my car…).
-What is
your guitar arsenal (axe/strings, amps, effects) ?
-Haskel :Skull
Strings Drop C
Pedal Metal
zone Boss and Amp CUBE Roland for training.
Imac and
Logic express 8, Amplitube Metal, Recabinet, for recording.
-What
instruments do you use ?
-Haskel :It is
very simple. I use especially a Ibanez “RG series”. My bass is a Yamaha.
-Thanks
for answering my questions bro soon , any particular messages or any closing
notes , last words are yours ……..eternal hails .
-Haskel :AUTARKEON
can only exist through your support !
I only
have social networks or YouTube to spread my music. I let my work for free on
Internet. I need you support to going on (each “like” or “comment” or “share”
is important to me !)
Thanks
you very much !
