Interview mit Set Sothis Nox La von L’Acéphale

Hello! I’m glad you could spare some time for this interview. How are you doing?
Hello! I am well. I just returned from our first Europe tour with our dear friends Fauna. The tour was great, we got to meet some fantastic people and hear a few new bands that I am excited about.

Your band L’ACÉPHALE is named after a French secret society from the time of World War II, is that right? What was it that first aroused your interest in Georges Bataille and his organisation?
I was first introduced to Bataille sometime in the mid 90’s. I was at a used book store and found the book „Tears of Eros“. Later that same day, a friend also lent me a copy of his book „Story of the Eye“. From there I have slowly tracked down most of his work in print. I return to his work often and find that there are many things that I relate to with his writing. In particular, the writings from the time periods leading up to and just after the original L’Acephale was active (1930-1950). „Guilty“, „Inner Experience“, „On Nietzsche“ and the writings associated with both the journal L’Acephale and the public lecture series that Bataille and Roger Callois lead entitled the College of Sociology are works that I find to have particular relevance. I find that writing very engaging and still important to our modern times.

As far as I know, Bataille’s secret society was anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist. Does this mindset also play a role for you personally?
This is correct. The original group had leftist inclinations and developed out of active political groups: Democratic Communist Circle, Counter-Attack, and a couple others. His work with the journal „Documents“ and the general outlook of L’Acephale was to acknowledge the base elements of society and life (Base Materialism) and elevate them. In some ways it can be seen as in opposition to the biblical line from Matthew 6:10 „ … As above, so below“. Bataille, and others, sought to integrate the base as a fundamental part of society and greater societal balance. Modern life seeks to eliminate that which is ugly, base and corrupt desiring to be pure or „sacred“. When in fact, the taboo and heterogeneous forces also provide essential „sacred“ components for most cultures going back to earliest times. Denying their societal function results in neurosis and societal malaise. Bataille was highly influenced by Emile Durkheim and French Sociology and both L’Acephale and the College of Sociology sought alternate ways to incorporate those theories into social and theoretical revolt. In both cases they failed, but their insight should not be lost as it is still particularly relevant to today and provide an excellent critique of the lure, draw and function of heterogenious sacred within society.
The original L’Acephale group was both anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist. I chose the name for the project specifically to reference the goals and aims of the original group which include the anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian elements, but also it is worth acknowleding they sought a spiritual revolution, one that would be fiercely Nietzschean. The choice was to reflect my deep influence from the writings of Bataille and many others from the group but also because the project is a black metal band and also influenced by other underground musical styles that are closely related in my mind. It was important for me to situate the project not only with some of the larger ideas mentioned above but also from the political stance as well.

Would you say that authority in and of itself is a bad thing in any case and if so, for what reason?
Bataille is an interesting character, he was active in several different leftist political groups but he also thought that they failed to address the concerns of their time. This is what lead him to create L’Acephale as a spiritual revolution. But he also had a more complex relationship than the traditional left/right binary political continuum. As Nietzsche sought to transcend beyond Good and Evil, Bataille too also sought to look beyond the typical polarized political spectrums as well. He was deeply commited human progress and equality but felt limited by a binary view of politics. I relate to his struggle politically and theoretically.
I do not think authority in and of itself is bad, but corruption lurks close to the heart of man, especially when people‘s fundamental approach to living is based on simple binary concepts.
In trying to view a fundamental approach to life outside of simple classifications and binary political lenses, I personally find the manifesto of the original group enlightening. For many, it will not clarify anything; but for me, I very much appreciate the „live the paradox“ feel of what these statements individually and as a collection of statments in total strive for. I try and include them in all of the physical manifestations of the recorded output of the band for contemplation and consideration.

„Programme (Relative to Acéphale)
To establish a community for the creation of values, values for the creation of cohesion.
To lift the curse, the feeling of guilt which afflicts men and forces them into wars they do not want, and which binds them to work whose benefits elude them.
To take on the function of destruction and decomposition, but as an achievement, not as a negation of being.
To achieve the personal fulfilment of being and its tension by means of concentration, through a positive asceticism and positive personal discipline.
To achieve the universal fulfilment of being within the irony of the animal world and through the revelation of an acephalic universe, playful rather than one of status or duty.
To take upon oneself both perversion and crime not as exclusive values but as something that must be integrated into the human totality.
To fight for the break-up and abolition of all communities, including national, socialist and communist communities and churches, apart from this universal community.
To affirm the reality of these values and the human inequality which results, and to recognize the organic nature of society.
To take part in the destruction of the world as it presently exists, with eyes wide open to the world that will follow.
To consider the world that will follow in the sense of the reality it contains now and not in the sense of some ultimate happiness which is not only inaccessible but also repellant.
To affirm the value of violence and the will for aggression as the cornerstone of the all-powerful.“

—Georges Bataille (4/4/1936)

Especially in black metal there are many bands that are (in)famous and successful despite or even because of their radical world views. What do you think about that?
Bataille was a fan and advocate of the writings of the Marquis de Sade. He wrote and spoke in defense of his writings. He did not believe they should be banned and thought that his writing should be available. Likewise, I do not believe in censorship, but that does not mean that there should not be clear, precise articulation and criticism of all work. If we allow complex engagement with all writing and dissect the merit and flaws of all cultural production and encourage a depth of analysis that transcends simple hyperbole and liable, I think we as people and humans will be better for it. I feel that too many people refuse to use their brains to process what they think and feel; worse, I feel that current trends seek to minimize engagement with content and simply slap labels of binary moral judgments onto things without critical appraisal. Cultural production is complex and positionality is personal, we all view the world from our various vantage points with a host of baggage based on our personal experience. Far too often people make personal judgements and brandish moral imperatives onto things without critical engagement and thoughtful consideration.
The issues with black metal are similar to discussions taking place in art and artistic production at large. Can we love the art and hate the artists? I believe so. But it also comes down to individual assessments that need to be made by each person on their own. These individual assesments will make sense for their own positionality and life, but must not also come into conflict with other individual’s assessments. Each person should be able to determine their own interpretation of art and what it means for them. Certainly there are other complex issues to consider, but space must be made for individual inquiry and assessment coupled with access to public engagement with the art and respectable criticism. Allowing people to have access to space and information to make an informed opinion on their own. Here is a link to a good analysis on the topic:

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Not just your lyrics, but also your music is very unusual – you use elements from black metal, folk and a lot of other styles and quite a few of your songs are around 20 minutes long. What do you think is the deep core within each of your songs, no matter how different they are?
When starting the project, I wanted to find that particular space where, black metal, folk, dark ambient and musique concrète intersected. I felt that there were similar themes and sonic elements consistent between them. It is precisely these points of confluence that I specifically found interesting in those genres. I do not like everything that is found in each of those genres, but there are moments where they intersect and I wanted to combine those elements in some meaningful way. To give the proper space for each part to occur and not feel like a collision of genres. I very much enjoy the abilities and intent of musicians who combine far ranging musical styles in a short space of time like the work of John Zorn and others like the French project Igorrr, but that is not my path as a musician.
I am interested in creating music that juxtaposes savagery, beauty and ugliness. So I seek out creating music that treads on that path. But I also want to write music that has melody and harmony with enough „riffs“ to be engaging. Working with the other musicians on this new release has been very rewarding in that regard and all the musicians present on the record understand and are also commited to that same goal. It has been fantastic working with each and everyone of them.

Your music can surely be called experimental. Why do you think there are so many bands in black metal that unlike you just want to keep the status quo instead of seeking out new artistic ways of expression?
I understand why bands are inspired to create the music that they create. I listen to a huge variety of music and enjoy bands that are fairly straight forward. To like only one genre seems a bit contrived and boring, but I get peoples motivation. It certainly is not my motivation. I feel that a lot of artists and consumers seek out status quo projects because they have this belief that the music that they consume or produce somehow gives them validation that they have a unique identity or that they are part of some subculture that provides them with purpose or „authenticity“. The metal world has always been rife with questions about who is a poseur, true, KVLT, or hipster. In the end, music is merely a commodity product where most sub-genres are just collections of agreed upon signifiers replicated to codify that particular sub-genre. These status quo projects are just collections of signifiers. That said, I don’t feel that the music this project creates is more valid than those that keep to the status quo, it is just the path this project has chosen and the path that satisfies others to pursue. Writing and performing status quo style of music is also completely valid.

For ten years you haven’t released a full-length record and instead focussed on splits and EPs. What was the reason for you not releasing longer albums for such a long time?
The first full band line-up was active from 2004-2006 and the second full band line-up was active between 2010-2013. Between 2006 and 2010 I worked on a large selection of music. The second full band line-up worked on combining previously created music and new music into both a live set and the current release. We entered the studio to track the music in late 2012, due to various reasons, the recording process occurred slowly from 2012 to 2018. It was a slow birthing process and I believe that the process was imporant to the result of the process. This project cannot be seen from the lens of a traditional band in any way. The splits and EPs resulted from a backcatalog of music created merely for the sake of creating music outside of the context of the music industry. I have been writing and recording music since 1989 and have seldom released much of it. Originally it was hoped that the full length would have been released in 2013 or there about, but… that did not happen.

What was it that finally incited you to create another full-length album that would become your self-titled record?
As indicated in the previous answer, we have been working on this release slowly since 2012. The decision to choose to title the record „L’Acephale“ was due to the focus on lyrics directly inspired by the original group. But also, the release achieves the larger goal of the musical scope that I hoped to include in one release. Additionally, it also includes music written over nearly the entire history of the band with „Runenberg“ and „Winternacht“ having been written in 2005-2006 and other songs written between 2010-2012. So for these three sets of reasons it made sense to self-title the release.

So you decided to name your new album after the band because the album reflects the essence that your music is all about?
Exactly, the record achieves the goals you indicate. Many of the lyrics directly relate to the ideas and motivations of the original group. But I think more importantly the record is one I am most happy with concerning the sound and scope of what I have been hoping to achieve with a release.

On the album you sing in in several languages – English, German and French. In which way does singing in several languages in your opinion help you to fully convey your lyrical concepts?
There are a few reasons for using multiple languages. On one level, the source material is either in French or German and a few of the musicians involved are native French or German speakers, so it made sense to me as a homage to the original ideas being presented to have the lyrics performed in their native tongues. My own process as a native English speaker is then to engage working with the source material in translation. I feel that language in general is limiting and I am always striving to better articulate ideas. Literary work also functions on multiple levels where terms can have alternate meanings depending of variant definitions. Good poetry uses this dynamic, so it is important to me to use lyrical concepts in multiple languages and also explore the multiple potential meanings of words within a piece.

The lyrics on your current album are very cryptic and mysteriously dark. Can you tell us a little bit more about the themes you sing about in the course of the album?
Good lyrics and writing should be cryptic and dark! That is the essence of the poetry I like and they work perfectly for the style of music we seek to produce. I tend to use lyrics from literary sources. I feel that the standard lyrical tropes of evil, darkness and whatever that many bands use for their music are wornout and meaningless to me. Yet, there are authors who have articulated themselves in amazing ways for hundreds of years that are speaking to issues or literary themes that are of interest to me and to others who may like these various styles of music that we are influenced by. As a collector and seeker of avant-garde literary writing, it feels natural to me to reference this material and hopefully encourage others to seek out these authors as well. It feels more honest to me than writing about some made up satanic rite or some other bullshit.
„Winternacht“ is based on the writings of Georg Trakl, an Austrian poet from around WWI. Several songs are based on poems by Georges Bataille, „Sovereignty“ is based on the writings of Bataille’s lover Laure from the original L’Acephale group. „Last Will“ is a poem by Nietzsche that fit the ideas of the original group and „Runenberg“ is based on a short story by Ludwig Tieck, a German Romantic writer from the late 1700‘s.

The track „Runenberg“ is the first one you’ve released beforehand, accompanied by a video. Why did you choose this particular song to give people a first insight into the album?
Picking a first song to promote this record was tricky. I view the whole release as a journey of songs and the sequence in which they occur is part of the journey. Many of the songs are pretty long for a first „insight song“ or they are experimental in a way that might not make sense as a first exposure for the release. „Runenberg“ seemed short enough and had enough of merit on its own and that is why I chose it.

Although your music is primarily regarded as black metal, with „In Gloria In Excelsis Mihi“ and „Hark! The Battlecry Is Ringing“ there are also two almost completely acoustic songs on the album. Why did you want these two songs in particular to have a different sound as a whole?
I wanted there to be a mix of black metal and more experimental songs on the release. I placed experimental pieces after more direct black metal pieces specifically. I wanted the record to have a certain dynamic flow, the non-black metal pieces provide contrast that makes each piece stand out more because of this contrast. The flow of the release is the composed whole where each part functions for a different purpose. „In Gloria…“ is a collaboration with Geneviève from Menace Ruine and Preterite, she did most of the writing and performing on the piece and I am thrilled with the result. „Hark!…“ was written before the record for another purpose but I felt that is should be included on the release due to the two specific styles of music it combines. As I stated earlier, I really want all of the releases to include different musical styles integrated within a singular piece and not go the route of Ulver with their trilogy. I love that each of those records has a vastly different style of music, but I want L’ACÉPHALE to combine those elements within the same release.

I have the impression that the production goes through some changes in the course of the album – in the first half it sounds quite massive and in line with professional contemporary standards, later on it sometimes sounds lo-fi. Was this a conscious decision and if so, what was your intention behind this unusual progression?
The produciton changes are partially intended and also part of the particular flow of the songs. Both „Last Will“ and „Sleep“ have vocal productions that are specific to those songs and we chose to make the vocals more gritty to fit with the songs themselves. „In Gloria…“ and „Hark!…“ were recorded in a different studio with elements that are more warm. „Sovereignty“ has a longer acoustic part that I also think feels more warm. „Winternacht“ was mixed and produced in that same way as earlier tracks, so I am not sure why that song feels more cold or lo-fi.

The track „Winternacht“ starts with disturbing, screeching strings. What exactly was your thought behind this introduction to the song that is rather peculiar even by your standards?
I created the samples for „Winternacht“ in 2006. At that time the line-up used samples throughout all the songs and Jared Huston triggered those samples and did percussion with Markus on all the songs. The sample at the beginning and the end are Krzysztof Penderecki from his piece „Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima“. It is an amazing piece of music that I highly recommend.

„Winternacht“ seems to be compiled of several different sections and it is not just the final track but also the longest one on the album. Why did you chose it to be the closing track and would you say that it is the climax of the record as a whole?
„Winternacht“ was originally written with the first full band line-up. It was the last piece that that project wrote together and it was the most complex. That first line-up was driven to write long intricate pieces and I was happy with how the song turned out and wanted it to be recorded. When the second full band line-up started rehearsing I introduced the song to the band and we revised it to fit with the current line-up.
As far as the placement of the song, it was always meant to be the last song on the release. From early on „Sovereignty“ was going to be the first song and I wanted the collaboration „In Gloria…“ to follow it. When thinking about releases in general, I think of how the songs will fit and flow on vinyl. „Runenberg“ naturally came next, and there was „Winternacht“ too long to fit after „Runenberg“ meaning that the record would need to be a DLP, so that meant we needed songs for the 3rd side. I wanted „Hark!…“ to be on the record after „Runenberg“ for contrast. „Last Will“ was written to provide a contrast after „Hark!…“ and I also pitched recording a full band version of „Sleep“ to provide additional contrast to the rest of the songs.

What are your next plans for L’ACÉPHALE? Do you think that the follow-up full-length might take as much time to be released as your self-titled one?
There are two main projects now. One is a collaboration release with a band that has been discussed since 2011 or so. That has been on hold while we finish the self-titled release. We recorded a demo version of our contributions for the collaboration in 2013 and now we just need to properly track all the parts and work out the logistics with the other band who resides in another country. So it is unclear exactly how that will work. But we now have the time to do it.
I also have 3-4 songs mostly written that need to be worked on with the other members. I am hoping that release will just be a single LP and also not take 6 years. But who knows.

Finally, I’d like to go over our traditional Metal1.info brainstorming with you. Please tell us what comes to your mind first while reading the following terms:
Ritual: Fauna
Notre-Dame burning: The loss of historic architecture
Cascadian black metal: Fauna
World order: Collapse
Three-minute songs: D-Beat Crust
Current favourite album: Rohit – Window

Thank you again for this interview. Would you like to give a few final words to the readers?
Thanks!
Besides future L’ACÉPHALE releases there should also be some new material from the other project I work on with Carl Annala – Hail. We should be recording that this summer.

Publiziert am 3. Juli 2019 von Stephan Rajchl