Demande à la Poussière rebuilds.
Three years after their last album, the Ile-de-France outfit comprising Neil Leveugle (bass), Edgard Chevallier (guitar), Vincent Baglin (drums) and their new vocalist Simon Perrin (guitar/vocals, Anthropovore, Muertissima) unveil Kintsugi, their third album, on My Kingdom Music.
Inapte opens the album with ominous sounds, which quickly become dissonant, then massive and heady, before the vocal parts kick in. The macabre desperate howls fill the air while being regularly interrupted, breaking the dynamic to crush us with equal power before Kintsugi, the eponymous track, takes its place, revealing a devastating Black Metal-infused rage that creates a contrast with the more melancholic elements. The lament picks up again on La Parabole des Aveugles, where more ethereal parts nuance the heaviness of the rhythm while the vocalist places his gripping cries along this path of pain, then it’s with Ichinawa and his luminous leads that the road continues, exploring more majestic territories. Some more aggressive Old School roots give certain passages a taste of violence before letting the rhythm strip back to ignite again as we join Le Sens du Vent and its simple yet calm approach, which darkens after a minute to become heavy and anchor itself in our minds while the terrifying vocals lead us towards Vulnerant Omnes, Ultima Necat where fury rubs shoulders with the usual languor. The diversity of vocals makes the track very raw, in contrast to the sinister, wrought sounds of Attrition, which relies on hypnotic melodies in the background before the blast shatters everything, while Fragmenté immediately offers more unhealthy penetrating tones that don’t hesitate to fade away so that the samples can pour out their sonic malaise. Sweetness resurfaces with Miserere, but it naturally turns into a persistent oppression where laments come to life, then the band follows up with Brisé where some darkness is felt, coupled with a deep pessimism that allows the track to sail through the shadows of its steady riffs. The musicians close this third chapter with Partie, a short final composition letting a clean voice haunt the wind and an eerie soothing guitar, which ultimately chooses silence.
A new milestone has been reached for Demande à la Poussière. The band had already demonstrated their mastery of heaviness and darkness with their previous opuses, and it’s now oppression and melancholy that they illustrate with Kintsugi and its suffocating riffs.
95/100
Photo credits: Alex Le Mouroux
Hello, and thank you for your time! How could you introduce the band Demande à La Poussiere without using the usual labels of musical styles such as « Sludge » or « Metal »?
Neil (bass): Hi Matthieu! First and foremost, we’re looking for heavy, unstructured music with a lively, sludgy, analog sound – we don’t like it when it’s too clean, too trippy, too crisp! With our music, we don’t really question the label we want to give it or the style we want to evolve in…. We listen to a lot of things, all of us – we just try to bring these influences together in a coherent whole that carries the lyrics and that we enjoy playing.
The name Demande à La Poussiere dates back a long way. How do you personally relate it to the band’s current music?
Vince (drums): It’s true that John Fante‘s novel is not new. It gave the band its name and a lot of the lyrics on the first album, so it was the starting point, but by the second album we’d detached ourselves from it. It’s the same with Kintsugi, the story continues to be written but no longer refers to the novel. Musically, however, we’re clearly in the continuity of the first album, and it’s in this sense that I make the link with Demande A La Poussière.
Kintsugi, your third album, comes out almost three years after the previous one. How do you feel about it? Have you had any feedback on it yet?
Vince: We can’t wait to present this third album. And for the first time, we’ll be able to defend it live on stage the day after its release. So we’re in the middle of preparing the live show and merchandise for the tour, and we’ve just received the CDs – it’s a very exciting time! Very few people have listened to the whole album, just a few very close friends and you webzines, but the initial feedback has been very good, and the two singles have done really well, so we can’t wait to show off more!
Simon (vocals/guitar): I’m not expecting anything special, I let a few months go by between two active listens to the whole thing, and I’ve pleasantly « rediscovered » the album. That’s already a good sign, and so far, the feedback we’re getting is unanimously positive.
How would you sum up Kintsugi in three words?
Neil: Life is a bitch.
Simon: That’s four words! I’d say « life’s a bitch », to get an accurate count.
The term Kintsugi comes from Japanese, and is quite poetic, describing a « method of repairing broken porcelain or ceramics using lacquer sprinkled with gold powder ». What inspired you to use this expression?
Neil: It came about a bit by chance. When we started writing the album, we were working on a rather dystopian theme, but heavy events in our respective lives redirected our lyrics towards intimate wounds, depression and grief. I once saw a book on Kintsugi at a family gathering, and found the image very interesting – this art of repairing broken objects to make them unique, more beautiful and stronger, while at the same time repairing oneself. It fitted in perfectly with the mood of the texts in general, and helped to bring together the material we had in a strong theme.
This album also marks the arrival of Simon Perrin (Anthropovore, Muertissima, Supplices) on vocals. How did the composition go, and how did you manage his contribution to the band’s sound? Have you noticed any changes from the band’s previous productions? What are the main influences on Kintsugi?
Vince: Simon joined the band in the summer of 2022, and we set about preparing the dates that were coming up in September. It was a good introduction to the world of Demande A La Poussière. A few months later, in early autumn, we started work on the third album. We started working together as a team, testing things out, telling each other what we liked and didn’t like, without necessarily restricting ourselves. I think that, in the end, we stayed in the continuity of the previous albums, while adding some new touches, so that listeners won’t be lost.
Simon: In any case, I hope they won’t be disappointed!
The first track to be unveiled is La parabole des aveugles, why did you choose this one rather than another?
Vince: La Parabole des Aveugles was actually the second single, and the first, Kintsugi, was released a month earlier. We felt that these two tracks represented the album well, both musically and in terms of the themes addressed in the lyrics. La Parabole had a very Doomy feel, while Kintsugi had a Black tinge. We also thought they would be interesting for the video clips, because even if we had the idea of going into the abstract, we could see that the lyrics were quite visual. We talked to Daphnéa and Paul from Studio Matière Noire, who produced the videos, and had them listen to several tracks, but we immediately agreed on the choice of two titles.
As for the Kintsugi cover, what guidelines did you give Vaderetro, and what appealed to you about their art? Was the visual reference to a certain brand of hoppy beverage deliberate?
Neil: We discovered Vaderetro thanks to Post in Paris. Their engraving work, with all those little lines, really spoke to us. We liked their animal representations – but we left them quite free to suggest things. After several attempts, the chimera finally won out for its « reconstructed » and unique aspect… it suited the theme, and was pretty. And there’s no reference to any hoppy beverage in this drawing – I don’t even know what you’re talking about, despite all the beer I drink!
I know this is a tough question, but do you have a favorite track on this album? Or the one that seemed the most natural to compose?
Vince: Personally, I don’t have a favorite track. Everyone has their own universe, and that’s what matters most to me.
Neil: Le sens du vent – for its simplicity, its emotional charge and Simon’s raw interpretation.
Kintsugi is released on the My Kingdom Music label, which also worked with you on the previous album, how is the collaboration? What about your partnership with Agence Singularités on the promotional front?
Neil: Francesco from My Kingdom is someone with whom working is simple and fluid. The release of this opus on his label came about quite naturally, we agreed quite quickly, and communication with him is a pleasure – he’s present, responsive and involved with the bands in his catalog. The same goes for the singularity agency: they’re always just a phone call away to discuss album release strategy… In short, you don’t change a winning team.
I’ve obviously been lucky enough to see you in action several times on stage, but how do you feel about a Demande à la Poussière live show? Do you think the band’s visual approach enhances the performance?
Vince: I love live shows in general, and particularly in this style of music, I’ve always found the scenography to be even more important. We’re very much about sensation, energy and violence, and it’s important for me to create the visual universe that goes with the musical universe. It’s not really for me to say whether it enhances the band’s live performance, but in any case that’s the aim. I spent a lot of time creating videos for the songs that weren’t clipped, and programming the lights to best convey the band’s universe whatever the venue. I’m having a lot of fun doing it.
Simon: We’re very much into the visual side of things. There’s not necessarily any interaction with the audience, and no speeches between songs. We let people be transported by the atmosphere, the sound, the light… It’s almost like a film concert, and breaking the fourth wall is out of the question!
You’ll soon be touring France with Vesperine (and local openers). How are you preparing for this escapade? Are there any other projects in the pipeline?
Neil: We’re sticking to the same fundamentals for this tour. We’re always asking ourselves what we could do to improve our live shows, but we’re sticking to the same recipe for the time being. We’re concentrating on the basics: putting the right energy in the right place, accentuating nuances… and Vince‘s video and lighting work does the rest.
Are there any musicians or artists you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
Vince: Yes, absolutely. We actually didn’t do any featuring on this album, but we’ve got a few ideas for the future. We’ll keep that to ourselves for now.
Simon: I agree. I’d add that we could have had a featuring on this album, but the person I had in mind wasn’t available at the time we were recording. What’s more, the decision to feature wasn’t thought through carefully enough.
Do you think you’ve improved as a musician with this album?
Vince: I hope so, every album has its challenges for me, but then I’ve come a long way…
Neil: As musicians I don’t know, but as composers and songwriters we’ve had a deeper approach than on previous albums. I don’t know how the album will be received, but this job has been very gratifying, and we’re all proud of it.
Simon: As a singer, I explored new singing techniques which I put to good use during the recording process. So there’s no doubt that I’ve improved a lot!
What bands do you dream of playing with? I’ll let you imagine your dream date with Demande à la Poussière opening, and three other bands.
Neil: I’m dreaming about a lot of bands, you know! My personal trifecta would be: Yob, Cult of Luna, Neurosis.
Last question: what dish would you compare the music of Demande à la Poussière to?
Vince: Cooking is a very important subject for DALP, for me it’s like a big raclette, it’s heavy, it tastes good, it feels good, but it can create a bit of bloating if overdone… 😉
That was my last question, so thank you again for your availability, and the last words are yours!
Vince: Thanks for your interview, and thanks to everyone who supports us in one way or another. I look forward to seeing you on the road!