Talamasca – The Interview

1. So, firstly, the name Talamasca - coming from the name of a secret society, it has several links with the dark, paranormal and more mystical side of society. Did you intentionally choose the name because it reflected aspects of the music you make? Or did it just sound interesting to you?

First of all, before becoming a producer, I was DJing under the name of DJ Lestat, and this name comes from a series of books written by Anne Rice- books that I was reading when I was 16 years old. That was 20 years ago. Then, when I had to choose a « project » name, I thought Talamasca was nice for many reasons..first of all, it can sound from anywhere…it can be said the same way in Japan, Russia, Brazil, England. But beside this, I loved the meaning(s) of Talamasca …

The first one, is that in Latin language, Talamasca means « animal mask », and I liked this idea…But the second meaning, the main one, was that in the book, the talamasca members have « mind powers »….and as many people know now, I am doing magic for some years, and I have specialized in mental magic, (which is not paranormal ! it ‘s just psychologic manipulations, mixed with some tricks…) and I hypnotise people also…so i thought it was really fitting….and this « magic » thing followed me throughout my career …

2. The idea of using Zodiac signs for your album produced music that people could connect with, it is as though you are showing them a part of their character in music…how exactly did you come up with the concept of using star signs?

Well, even if musically Zodiac is not my favorite album, I must admit that It is also the one that I am the most proud about, conceptually. The idea came when i was searching for a good reason to make an album with different styles in it, without being « unstructured »…I had a lot of ideas, but I was searching for something that everybody knows, I mean that people from different countries and culture would know…it could have been colors, planets or many other things….(I keep the best ideas for future albums..haha) and astrology, even if there are many different astrologies, (chinese, aztec, arab…etc…) but most of the people know quite well the occidental astrology…and, what I really loved in this idea, is THAT! And it doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not, but everybody is related to one of the tracks, and could feel more attracted to it..even by curiosity..(i don t personally believe in astrology myself…) because everybody knows more or less what signs are suppose to be…so artistically it was a challenge.

3. Is there a common theme linking your albums together?

Well, I think that of course the music, the quality of production, and the technology that goes together with this music, have increased during all those years but I believe that I always kept the same line in my music. I like the epic side of the trance. I like to be able to close my eyes and to have big visions when I listen music! For me, this is possible with classical music, Pink Floyd, ambient, and a few « trance » projects, (goa, psy, euro..name it as you want…) and I like the idea of being part of those few ones.

4. Of course, there is also a progression that is noticeable in your music - from more tribal jungle sounds to slightly more dark. Was this an unintentional change, or a change that reflected changes in your life?

Of course my life is influencing my music! Being a father today when I am 36 years old soon and being a young teenager of 17 years old who is just beginning DJing, are two very different perspectives in life. Also, I am becoming extremely difficult with myself in the studio compared to before, when I could, 15 years ago, finish a track in two days, it takes me now around two weeks, and even more before to finish a track. And it can take months of weekly changes until

I am satisfied with it. For example, I have two tracks in my live act that are more than a year and half old and I am still not completely happy with them. So, of course in the studio, this affects my way of working. But I don t think that I changed my style that much. Of course it is not “goa” anymore, but who does *goa* now?I tried recently and even with new production, “goa” melodies are sounding a little bit old nowadays. Whatever is the kind of music, you have to follow the evolution. I mean, new “rock” bands are not doing Deep Purple or Elvis Presley styles right? There is evolution in every music, and artists are following it also. Compared to before, the speed of tracks has increased, the “full on” part of trance won against the “mystical” side of it but it s not necessary or bad, because first of all, and after all, this music is made to be danced to in parties, but also, there is always a cycle, and when for 2 or 3 years a kind of music will go in one direction, then will arrive the logical response to it! I think those last two years were very dark, musically speaking, and I can see nowadays that melodies and happy music is coming back because there must be a balance and the way this affected my music is that this year, I did my most melodic tracks ever but I also did my hardest ones! A track is a short story, a live or a DJ set is long one made with little ones. My goal is to give people different feelings with my stories.

5. So coming to India, a lot of Psytrance and Goa Trance relies very heavily on Buddhist and Hindu spiritual concepts - do you have a special set that you’ll play here to include that spirituality in your music?

No. I want my music to be listened to, appreciated, and understood by everyone instead of focusing one one culture, I want to find the similar points in all of them. But of course, if one day I do an album called “The Frenchman In The World”, and if there is (there will be for sure…lol…) a “frenchman in India” one in this album, then I would really study the case.

6. What made you want to start making music - was it a person, or an impulse or just a hobby that developed into a passion?

I’ve always loved music and I’ve always wanted to be a musician. I was a piano player when I was kid, then I dreamed to be a rock singer but I realized that I am the worst singer EVER! And to be live from rock music, classical piano playing was not the best weapon to have! Hahaha! But one day I discovered electronic music and I knew that this was my way, my chance to be a musician. I took the bet…fortunately.

7. What inspires you most, to make you compose the music that you do?

Well, I try to not be influenced “musically” by artists similar to me. What would be the goal if I was getting inspired by Astrix or Spacecat? We would just be copying each other. No, I try to get inspired by feelings. I want to share these in my tracks. I am planning to do a future album where every track would be a mood, an emotion. Now, musically speaking, I am of course influenced anyway by my musical background tastes which went from classical music to heavy metal through many different genres. But I can also admit that with my Talamasca work, I have been influenced a LOT by a French artist called Jean-Michel Jarre. He is what I consider as the father of electronic music and the atmospheres and melodies of his music ARE the ones who convinced me, more than 20 years ago, that it was possible to make music, and not noise, with a computer!

8. Hypnosis and mind control are some of your interests - is music your way of channeling that interest to people?

No, it is not really connected yet. I had some ideas to mix those two passions of mine together, but it is quite complicated to do. I prefer to do music as a job, and make magic and all kind of mental tricks as a side hobby. But one day I will make an ambient album where I will find how to link those two worlds!

9. What can we look forward to in the future? New projects? Collaborations?

Collaborations are always welcome and I am very open in the choice of the styles to produce- from ambient to hard trance, through electro or any other style, I am always open artistically to make and learn new things. But I will not do a full collaboration album as I just did one last year with XSI. It was really a cool experiment, I really enjoyed making the entire album “Not Alone” in my studio, as I enjoyed traveling with friends to play with them on stage. I had a really good time. This gave me all the necessary energy to go back in the studio now and produce my own tracks. Again it is a cycle. I need to work intensely with people, then intensely alone, and then with people again…

My 1 st album (beyond the mask) was a collaborative one.

My 2nd one was a solo album (Musica Divinorum)

My 3rd one (Program Change) was a collaborative album with Nomad,

My 4th (Zodiac) was a solo one,

My 5th, (Made In Trance) was a collaborative album with many new French artists,

My 6th (Obsessive Dream) was a double cd, one collaborative, one solo,

My 7th was a collaborative album with XSI, and I am now working on my 8th album which will mainly be a solo one, or maybe with one or two collaborations maximum.

10. What are you expecting from this India tour?

To meet nice people. This time, I will have some days to visit a bit more because most of the times (in the past), I came for 4 or 5 days, to play in 3 or 4 parties, so in the end, I saw only airport. This time I really hope to see a bit more even if I know that the week ends will be busy and that I will not have time to visit ever cities I’ll play at. But believe me, I am more disappointed than you about it!

Talamasca’s India Tour begins on the 9th of July, here are dates:

9 July 2010 :: Blue Frog :: Mumbai :: Talamasca + Shivamoon

10 July 2010 :: Taj Krishna Ahala :: Hyderabad :: Talamasca

11 July 2010 :: Palace Grounds :: Bangalore :: Talamasca + Janux + Vivek Phoenix

14 July 2010 :: Club Escape :: Chennai :: Talamasca

16 July 2010 :: Tantra :: Kolkata :: Talamasca

17 July 2010 :: The Love Hotel :: New Delhi :: Talamasca

18 July 2010 :: 1 Lounge :: Pune :: Talamasca + Dragon Boyz