Alcest
Neige's French project from Bagnols-sur-Ceze, a pioneer of blackgaze, whose Les Voyages de l'ame (2012) opens with "Autre Temps", the song they have played more than any other.
Fairy Land
Alcest began in 2000 as Stephane Paut's black metal solo project; he goes by Neige. French Wikipedia says 1999, English Wikipedia 2000. For a short time it was a trio with the bassist Argoth and the guitarist Aegnor, who left after the 2001 demo Tristesse hivernale on Drakkar, and Neige carried on alone. The name comes from Alceste, the hero of Moliere's The Misanthrope, with the second e dropped. The concept is Neige's childhood memories of a far-off realm he calls Fairy Land, and the music is his attempt to translate it. He told Metal Blast in 2012 that it is not a conceit: it's real. I did experience something.
The EP Le Secret (May 2005, re-recorded in 2011) is credited with pioneering blackgaze, black metal's tremolo guitars and blast beats set against shoegaze's wash and clean singing. Neige signed to Prophecy Productions in March 2007, and Souvenirs d'un autre monde followed on August 8, 2007. Jean Deflandre, called Winterhalter, took over the drums in 2009, freeing Neige to play guitar and sing; live, the band adds Pierre Corson on guitar and Indria Saray on bass. The related projects are Amesoeurs, Les Discrets and Peste Noire.
The records
Ecailles de lune came out on March 26, 2010 (Pitchfork 8.4), with Martin Koller producing at Klangschmiede Studio E in Mellrichstadt, Germany, and Les Voyages de l'ame on January 6, 2012. Shelter (January 17, 2014) was produced by Birgir Jon Birgisson of Sigur Ros with strings by Amiina, and Kodama (September 30, 2016) takes its cue from Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke; Alcest played it in full at Robert Smith's Meltdown festival in London in 2018. Spiritual Instinct (October 25, 2019) was the first on Nuclear Blast, followed by Les Chants de l'aurore on June 21, 2024.
Neige names Summoning and early Dead Can Dance among his influences, with Slowdive as a current one, and Burzum, Ulver, Joy Division and the Cocteau Twins appear in other accounts. The band recorded a BBC session at Maida Vale on February 27, 2012 (released as an EP on December 19, 2012) and a live album at Hellfest on June 19, 2022.
Albums
- Les Voyages de l'ame 2012 · Prophecy Productions
Their third album: eight songs, opening with "Autre Temps".
Songs
- Autre Temps Les Voyages de l'ame · 2012
The opening track of Les Voyages de l'ame, their first single and, by setlist.fm's count, their most played song.
Sources
- Alcest, Wikipedia
- Alcest, Wikipedia (French)
- The Subjective Reality of Alcest, Metal Blast (2012-05-23)
- Les Voyages de l'ame, Wikipedia