When considering avant-garde techno, frantic solos and instrument-thrusting may not be the first thing to come to mind. Nor the second. But an In Æternam Vale show may see modulars hoisted upwards in frenetic displays of showmanship, offering up a particular and aggressive brand of French synth punk.
Originally conceived of as a band in 1983, In Æternam Vale became the solo project of band leader Laurent Prot two years later. His synthesis of techno, post-punk and drone is documented in DEMENT3D’s upcoming release Pink Flamingos. The album is comprised of unreleased tracks selected by the label that span 27 years in Prot’s career as In Æternam Vale.
IAV answers a few brief questions below. For more from DEMENT3D or to purchase the album, click here.
This compilation takes in recordings from the last almost three decades. How did you choose which tracks made the cut?
In Æternam Vale: I didn’t, Julien and François from DEMENT3D did for most of them, that was the deal. I just gave some advice for the coherence of the LPs and suggested recent productions to be included.
Did you aim to make it all work as a coherent album or do you view it simply as a collection of tracks? If the former, did you find that difficult taking in music made over such a long time period?
IAV: Yes, it was built to be a coherent album, that’s why there’s indications about when the tracks were recorded. It’s difficult for me to choose tracks that have been recorded long ago because it was not just me but several aliases of me not coherent one to another in different periods of time that made it, so it’s better for the coherence of the album that external ears made the initial choices to build this triple LP project.
Do you see a lot of similarities between the ‘80s material and the more recent material on the release?
IAV: It’s difficult for me to say. The tools, synthesisers, drum machines and instruments are different,
but the compositional process and the music language is the same.
How do you feel about revisiting your past material? Do you prefer to be more futurist in your thinking about how you produce?
IAV: I’m not a nostalgic guy, I’m stuck in the present as we are all anyway, the future is only an idea.
This apart, I was dreaming in the 80’s of all we have today to make electronic music.
What plans do you have beyond this compilation?
IAV: Always a lot as usual.
