Interview by Si Smith

In ancient history the auspex was a priest who interpreted the natural world around him in order to discover truths about the future. In a similar way the band Auspex evoke images of the world around them, both natural and cosmic, and use these to question our ideas of reality, identity and perception. This kind of eternal wondering seems perfectly matched to the progressive garb in which it is attired, above which soar the vocal energies of vocalist Elodie Buchonnet. I managed to snatch some time with Elodie to discuss the band, past present and future.

Two things immediately strike a newcomer to Auspex: the technical musicality of the performance, and the variety of musical influences represented. Elodie, you were involved in musical projects before Auspex came into fruition: what do you feel you personally brought to the band, and how did the various characters help shape the band's sound?

First, thank you for this interview, I’ll do my best to answer as Elodie but also on behalf of my fellow musician from Auspex. I think my previous or parallel projects helped me develop a taste for musical variety in the sense that every single project dealt with a particular kind of music, different from each other. These projects also gave me the taste of playing live and the will to write my own lyrics. This musical curiosity and the desire for diversity also comes from my musical background since I studied music at the university and the conservatoire. What makes Auspex’s singularity is probably the fact that every one of us has a different musical background (to summarize : Fred played in metal and reggae bands, Pierre-Yves comes from metal and classical music, Alexis from extreme metal and 70’s ProgRock, Lionel from 70’s Prog Rock and prog metal and Arthur from classical and prog music...) and I think that one can feel the effects of this diversity in Auspex’s music and and overall colour, even if all the music is composed by Pierre-Yves.

2005 saw the release of your first EP "Mysteries of the Stars". Already the progressive element was evident - 3 songs clocking in at 25 minutes. The artwork too was very "cosmic" as were the lyrical themes. How was the sound then compared to the Auspex of 2011?

To be honest, even if we totally came to term with the different musical steps that led us here, I feel that the Auspex of 2011 is miles away from what has been done with "Mysteries of the Stars" (it probably means that we grew up? At least, I hope so ^^). At that time, Pierre-Yves and Guillaume (our former guitarist) wrote all the music and lyrics and they were both strongly influenced by RPGs, Sci-Fi, and video games... Since this youth-time, I think that we stepped back from all that, and the themes and concepts are much more personal and complex. However, yes, Universe, Cosmos, Space, Time, Identity are some of the topics that were already there at that time but they were approached in a less subtle way...

Your first full-length "Resolutio" already saw a change of style, particularly in the cover artwork. Was there a definite attempt to "move forward" beyond your earlier material at this time? Did the involvement of a label make any difference here? 

Our involvement with the label Thundering Records did not affect our artistic choices, whether visual or musical (we provided the product "Resolutio" when it was totally finished).It is indeed a desire on our side to separate ourselves from the purely "heavy metal " of "Mysteries of the Stars" universe, and the desire to work (for the visual side) with this beloved friend and artist who has stayed with us since the beginning of the band. For the record, this is this same illustrator, Nicolas Freychet who introduced me to the founding member of the dawning Auspex, looking at this time for a male or female singer...

There were quite positive reviews of the first album - many agreeing that it was "really promising with a strong potential" (metalstorm.net) - do you feel that the band has gone on to take full advantage of this potential in the new album? 

It would be pretentious to say that we used all our creative potential on Heliopause but I think that in comparison with "Resolutio", we have widened and deepened our thoughts,both on the musical side on the thematic level. Once again we want to separate ourselves from the labels that stuck to us here and there (heavy / melodic speed / female singer ... ) with the affirmation of our own sound identity without thinking to fit to a "musical label" of some sort. That's probably the reason why "Heliopause" sounds more progressive than "Resolutio".

2010 came around and so did the release of "Heliopause", your most accomplished work to date. Already we see many literary references in the titles - references to Philip K Dick and his "electric sheep", and Lewis Carroll and his "Looking glass". Both of these authors asked questions about life, identity and reality and the deeper questions of humanity. Is there uniting concept to the album would you say? Are there any themes you would like to explore in the future? 

I would not say that "Heliopause" is strictly a "concept album" because we have not worked in this direction, but in terms of the themes, many elements intersect. Alexis and myself (we are the two writers of the lyrics now), we love to speak about topics such as identity, existence, the concept of life and time ... these are tackled issues by many authors and in so many ways it would be impossible to list them all in blink of an eye! Regarding future topics we have already some ideas but for my part I like to be guided by the compositions of Pierre-Yves. When I discover them, they inspire a universe and words …

"Heliopause" demonstrates a variety of vocal styles, from the choral melodies of "Ad Astra.." to the rough industrial vibe of "0101" and the more melodic sound of "the pulse of emptiness". Is there a particular vocal style thet you favour? Are there any vocalists that you look up to particularly that have influenced you?

Like I said, I like musical variety and I think I would get bored if I couldn’t “have fun” by exploring different kinds of vocals. Human voice is an incredible musical instrument, it has virtually no limit! For my part, I like to sing the blues and I have a natural tendency to tend to warmer sounds which can be found in metal in general. In Auspex, I don’t set any limit, the different vocal styles come naturally during the recording sessions. I don’t really know if some singer actually influences me during the recording (it is likely, we all are influenced in some ways, even if we’re not conscious of that fact), however, here are some of my personal key singers : Janis Joplin, Skin, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Shiina Ringo, Daniel Gildenlow, Robert Plant, David Bowie, Maynard James Keenan, Steven Wilson, Michael Akerfeld, Neil Young... (the list could be much longer, this is just a selection...)

Elodie, since you are quite involved in the lyric-writing in the band, could you tell us how the band comes to an agreement about how a particular song should sound?

The beginning of the writing process takes place between Pierre-Yves who comes with the musical foundations and Alexis and I who bring the lyrics. The homogeneity comes naturally, we don’t discuss too much as a band on how should the future pieces sound like. I think that each one of us brings a part of the sound from our musical personality.

Okay, I have to ask it - where do the Chinese/Japanese connections come in? Both full-lengths have had some Eastern language in there somwhere in the lyrics - is there any particular reason behind this? 

The lyrics are Japanese and... sure there is a reason ! a simple one: I am a huge "fan" of japanese culture, I went once in Japan with Nicolas Freychet (who drew both albums’ artwork) and this country has a strong influence on my personal life that I need to let shine in Auspex.

We do hear some noise in the rest of the world regarding French bands - for example, Adagio, Fairyland, Karelia, Heavenly, Blut Aus Nord - but not a lot else. Is there a growing French underground at this time? How difficult is it to get gigs and promote your music in France at the current time?

Yes, the french metal scene is a huge talent pool, there is a potential for musical creation: numerous talented bands and motivated organizations (promotion, clubs, radios, webzine, etc.). However, and I guess it’s the case everywhere in the world, you have to put a lot of yourself into it if you want to get something back. It is just like a job! We managed to play live frequently in our area lately but it hasn’t always been the case and it is usually rare to be given gig opportunities. We have to get involved in the network, spread Auspex’s music, and it  is not that simple at the beginning, we realize that.

I believe you have been signed to Pervade Records for a while yet still produce your own albums. Is there a clear line as to how far the label will get involved and where you have to step in and do the work yourself?

To be honest, the label does not get involved in the artistic process at all (music, lyrics and booklet). They just promote and distribute the album. We really think this is a good thing and hope we can work the same way in the future.

I think that it is clear that as a band you have a solid back-catalogue to stand on now as you look forward into the future. Will there be work on a new album this year, and how do you envisage the music developing? 

We are still working on promoting "Heliopause" (gigs, itw, etc.) and we don’t have musical material for the next album for now. There will be a third album, that’s for sure, and we hope we’ll play live more and more and why not that we’ll work on new projects. We performed an acoustic set for the release party of "Heliopause". We really enjoyed this and we’ve had really good feedback so we’ll try to do it again in the future. 

Finally, can I say a great big thank you for being involved in this interview and I hope that together we can promote the best of French progressive metal across the world!!