The band started up around 2016. What motivated you to create the band? Why did you choose the name Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa and what does it refer to?
At the time we were very much into Post-Black Metal and Atmospheric Black Metal such as Darkspace, Mare Cognitum, The Great Old Ones. We all knew each other from other teenage bands, and we decided to progressively abandon these projects to focus on Ætheria Conscientia, as we felt it was a more serious project.
As for the name of the band, the Ætheria Conscientia refers to the main deity from the universe we created within the band, which in reality is an artificial intelligence that was given the task to save humanity.
You have just released “The Blossoming”, your third album, an album in which you face certain lineup changes and where you have delved into aspects less related to black, such as psychedelic or progressive rock, to finish shaping Regarding the sound of the album, how did you approach the process of writing and recording the album? What brands of instruments did you use in the process?
Following the departure of our former saxophonist, and Paul switching from the drums to singing and playing percussion, we had a rather long period of searching for new ways to work and a new equilibrium within the band. We spent quite some time in rehearsal jamming around and looking for new sounds. Basically we all bring ideas forward like riffs and rhythms and we try to glue them together in a more or less coherent ensemble. The process was a long one for this album as we wrote a good number of tracks and discarded them until we found what we wanted. Valentin’s arrival (drums) in the band also gave us the impulsion we needed to put our creativity back on track.
For the production of the album we recorded everything in our home studio except for the drums, which are programmed. We then sent our work to Cyrille Gachet who made magic with what we sent him.
As I mentioned before, in your sound there is more and more weight and space for melodic, progressive or psychedelic elements, without forgetting the weight you give to instruments like the saxophone, the treatment of voices, etc., which makes your music, It is very immersive, managing to trap the listener in a futuristic setting of darkness and terror of the unknown. How would you describe the sound of this new album? What bands or styles have influenced you when composing the album?
The goal was indeed thought out to be more psychedelic, and maybe less spacey than before, which also permitted us to dial down the atmospheric aspect of our music allowing for more creative rhythms and shorter songs with simpler but more coherent structures. We still have an influence of Black Metal with bands like Enslaved Melechesh, Oranssi Pazuzu, Blut Aus Nord, but serves more as a base on which we add other influences from other styles like Prog Rock, Psychedelic, like King Gizzard, Magma, Yes, King Crimson, Rush…
In your sound there is an instrument like the saxophone that has a fundamental weight when it comes to defining it, however you have had a new saxophonist, Guru Pope, for the new album, just when this instrument has the most weight in the final result of the music, How did the possibility of having Guru Pope for the new album arise?
In our former albums saxophone was a central part of our music, however this time we decided to finish the composition of our songs without the saxophone and added it at the end as an arrangement and not as the main characteristic of our music. We chose to work with Guru because he usually plays in a different style, which gives originality to his arrangement and he is able to make so many different sounds some of which you may have thought were synth.
The setting of the album recreates a certain psychedelia, darkness and terror, all from an atmospheric plane, with a certain avant-garde tone and with lyrics that refer to a group of astronauts lost on a planet that they believe to be uninhabited until they are kidnapped by aliens, of course? Where do the ideas and concept of the lyrics arise? Is it something that you have already been presenting in previous albums but in the new one perhaps you have given free rein to all your imagination and concepts?
The story of the album takes place in the same universe as the former albums, except this time the story does not take place on Hydhradh, as we follow the story of a group of Maphoros, the missionary sent to spread the word of the Ætheria through space. We had seminal ideas for a story in a new setting before starting the composition of this album, which triggered us to compose more psychedelic music. We wanted the album to reflect our interest for nature and the environment as a whole, so our goal is that the story influences our sound. We wrote a complete story for this album, but we want to let people find their own interpretation of our music.
That setting arises both from the use of synthesizers and from the development of guitars, although I think that without the treatment you give to the voices the result would not be the same, in fact you have had Cindy Sanchez and Dolorès Anapeste, as of course band members Paul Breheret and Tristan Brachi, is it essential for your proposal and for what you want to convey to have an elaborate work of vocal textures? Where does the idea of having collaborations in this facet come from?
On our former albums sax was taking a lot of room in the mix and the composition was much denser so we couldn't explore new vocal techniques. This time we wanted to leave room for more textural experiments, and it was our will to have more guests participate. There are many more non Metal parts on this album so it allowed some exploration of different vocal techniques like inhale throat singing.
Cindy plays in Lisieux which is a Neofolk band we love and we’ve known Dolorès for years, they are both very talented and it was natural for us to ask them to participate on this album.
I mentioned previously the complexity of your sound, which has led you to be linked to bands in some ways as diverse as Plebeian Grandstand, White Ward or Oranssi Pazuzu, however those psychedelic influences in your proposal, the use of the saxophone, some avant-garde parts as well, It makes your sound quite unique, in each song different things are always happening, which keeps the listener always expectant. What do you want to express with your music and what feelings do you want to awaken in your listeners?
People are free to feel what they want with our music, but on a more personal level we want to evoke a certain eerie feeling, a sense of wonder and we also tried to make the mood of the music stick with general feelings of the characters in the story as a progression through the album.
You have worked with Cyrille Gachet and with Cartoon Theory, for the mixing and mastering of the album, why did you choose to work with them? I suppose that achieving your ideas has not been completely easy when it comes to transmitting what you want to these people outside the group?
Cyrille has worked on a ton of albums and many bands that inspire us like Year Of No Light, Fange, Chaos Echoes, and a lot of different styles, so we felt he would understand what we were trying to achieve. We spoke a lot on the phone with him to narrow down on what we wanted and he was really helpful in shaping the sound we had in our mind into reality.
Cartoon Theory is a great producer who does a bit of everything and has worked a lot with Frozen Records in the past, so it was easy to choose him for the mastering of the album because we knew we were in good hands.
For the design of the cover you have worked with Ëmgalaï, in it there is a link with the most cosmic sound of the album, but experimental and psychedelic elements are also palpable. What does this cover really represent and how does it relate to the content of the album?
Ëmgalaï is a good friend and we’ve known him for some time now. We hired him for this album because we wanted a new start, something different from the former albums while also keeping our visual identity.. We love his capacity to work on textures, diverse materials and his broken perspectives evoke perfectly the sense of strangeness we want to infuse in our music.
For the new album you have taken the step and are collaborating with Frozen Records for its release. Why did you choose Frozen Records for the release of the album? How was this first experience when it comes to working with a record label?
It was a no-brainer to work with Frozen Records, Paul (vocals/percussion) is the co-owner of the label, and we’ve also known Eddy (the other co-owner) for some years now so they should not screw us up. Also, we know where they live. On a more serious note, having someone who owns a label in the band allows us to go the extra step in designing awesome physical editions, just like we wanted.
You haven't been on stage for a considerable time now. How has the reunion with your fans been? Is it very difficult to bring the complexity of the new album's sound live?
We had a blast playing in le Ferrailleur in Nantes, it was great coming back on stage in a packed venue in our hometown, with all our friends. It gave us the confidence we needed to get back on stage with serenity. Now we can’t wait to play more.
We are not going to say that you have invented a style, but it is true that the proposal is not the most common. What bands would you recommend that are similar to your sound?
We would recommend a few band that, even of they don’t particularly sound like what we do, are pushing some of the genre’s boundaries :
Laster, Epectase, Wayfarer, Hail Spirit Noir, Five The Hierophant, Oranssi Pazuzu, Blut Aus Nord…
Black Metal is a true territory of experimentation.
How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What happened in your lives that pushed you to want to be musicians?
First albums we ever bought :
PA (guitars) : Iron Maiden - Live After Death / Venom - Black Metal
Tristan (vocals, guitars) : Metallica - Ride The Lightning / Master Of Puppets
Alexis (bass) : Scorpions - Blackout / Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
Paul (vocals, percussions) : Slipknot - S/t, on heavy rotation for a few years when I was a child, still a gem nowadays
Valentin (drums) : Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
First concerts :
PA : First metal show I ever attended was Gama Bomb in 2009.
Paul : The First that comes to my mind is Darkest Hour and Norma Jean in Nantes with Alexis in 2012 but I'm not sure it’s the first one.
Alexis : I agree with Paul, my first concert was with him in Nantes, to see Darkest Hour and Norma Jean. Two amazing Metalcore shows.
Valentin : As for me I think it was Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Tristan : My first concert was a punk band, very solid performance but I don’t remember their name.
Which album represents for you the essence of black metal? What latest albums have you bought?
P.A. :
-Album which represent the essence of BM : Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
-Latest album bought : Split Sodom/Hellhammer (bootleg)
Alexis :
-Album which represent the essence of BM : Melechesh - As Jerusalem Burns... Al’Intisar
-Latest album bought : Sorcerer - Devotion
Paul :
-Albums which represent the essence of BM : Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II // Enslaved - Below The Lights
-Latest album bought : I’m kind of in an Emo phase those days, sorry, it’s not really trve, my last purchases are Fleshwater - We’re Not Here To Be Loved and Basement - Colourmekindness
Tristan :
-Album which represent the essence of BM : Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
-Latest album bought : Abduction - Toutes Blessent, La Dernière Tue
Valentin :
-Album which represent the essence of BM : Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
-Latest album bought : Deftones - Gore
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for the followers of Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Thank you very much for having us, and thanks to everyone who took the time for checking this interview, and those who supported us.
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