Igorrr I
INTERVIEW WITH PROJECT MASTERMIND GAUTIER SERRE BY CALEB R. NEWTON
gorrr’s invigorating music operates completely outside of traditional genre boundaries. Where else would you hear George Fisher of Cannibal Corpse-fame delivering his signature, monstrous growls over antsy, 8-bit electronic music?
pretending to be anything else than what the music says,� Serre explains. “The music and this album particularly represent the complexity of a human brain by showing all those states of mind, sometimes at different times, sometimes together at the same time—like with life, sometimes you may get confused, having mixed feelings. Everything is not always black or always white. Things are sometimes a bit mixed up.�
includes Serre’s “personal musical do that, during the lunch break, heroâ€? George Fisher featuring I went back to the studio, alone, on “Parpaingâ€? and contributions and I just sat at a piano to play across the album from violinist anything that came to my fingers Timba Harris (who has performed without any conscious thinking.â€? with Mr. Bungle, among others), pianist Matt Lebofsky, accordion That’s when the melody that player Pierre Mussi, and many Bardiaux eventually performed on more. Some of these collaborative “Hollow Treeâ€? came to him. sessions sparked whole, new tracks for the album, Serre explains. For “I feel very glad that we succeeded example, the track “Hollow Treeâ€? doing this record,â€? Serre shares. grew from a melody that Serre “It’s every time a real challenge–I stumbled across while playing the really mean it; it takes 100 percent piano to unwind from strenuously of my life doing such a thing, and, careful recording sessions with to be honest, I’m happy to be still harpsichordist Benjamin Bardiaux. alive now with this piece of music in my hands. This time, again, I “I choose to record on an ancient was going through a long and Neapolitan harpsichord, a very hard journey that was completely small one with an impressive sound unknown to me, not being sure definition and quality. The slightest where it may lead or if it would be sound of breath or movement of good or not. I didn’t even know if feet was destroying the recording,â€? I will be able to finish it, but I kept Serre explains. “It is like spending going instinctively, like in the fog.â€? five hours watching every one of your breaths and movement, Eventually, he succeeded, adding: and being one hundred percent “Now that the music is finished, I feel focused. This whole process went happy, proud, and I feel that I have something extremely valuable in down twice a day.â€? my hands.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł Yet, that’s not where he stopped.
The France-based band’s new album Spirituality And Distortion is available on March 27 via Metal Blade Records and also includes contributions from a 1950s, Syrian version of an instrument That’s where the completely known as an Oud, a Neapolitan unbridled sonic adventurism on harpsichord, a violin, and another the album comes in. Middle Eastern instrument called a Kanoun. Intense metal “Spirituality And Distortion is a and electronic beats also make journey through many feelings,� bombastic, attention-grabbing Serre notes. “Coming from deep, appearances, many of which and honestly strong, human get topped-off with dramatic, emotional power, sometimes even operatic vocals from collaborator an introspective psychological Laure Le Prunenec. feeling, contrasted with groovy, stupid, hangbangable, and funny Project leader Gautier Serre explains parts. It also passes through that he used the development of this delicate and refined baroque new album as a chance to freely parts and vintage French musette dive into the complexity of the heavy, waltz mixed with death metal.� mental states that we walk around with, himself included. Serre assembled a large cast of musicians for his latest venture, “This album represents a state of which he feels is especially “I had to let go of my mind a bit and mind without any filter, without “spicy� and “theatrical.� That list relax it,� he continues. “In order to
58 NEW NOISE
