1. Greetings, Malphas, and thanks for taking the time to share your story with our readers! What can you tell us about Idaaliur these days? Anything new and exciting we should be aware ov?
I'm arriving to a period where things slow down a bit with Idaaliur... i have the feeling that i reflected all the emotions i wanted to put in these 4 albums.
I am still trying to compose atmospheric pieces but my current schedule doesn't give me much time and life is having lots of turns for me right now... I don't promise that i'll release anything new in the future, i give myself time to think about it. Maybe i will just give time to other side projects like "Solar Wanderers" that express my feelings better currently.
2. You recently released My Frost, Your Solace this year. How has the release gone? Any discrepancies from the other releases in Idaaliur's discography?
"My Frost, Your Solace" is, i would say, a total UFO if you compare it to my preceding releases! and yet, this is the album i'm the most proud of. I would say that it is the most mature release with a real and deep concept which i took the time to think about. The female vocals are giving this unique feel that missed, so far, to my musical world. I gave for my latest album a whole new sound, a new concept without really going off topic compared to my whole discography. I would say that it ends up a natural maturity that has grown during the years. Starting from the very first album, my music has appeared very wild, brutal, angry...and throughout the years and releases, it became more relaxed, self conscious, sedentary. It totally reflects me in some way.
3. What can you tell us ov Idaaliur's origins? Where did you get the name, and what ideas drive your music?
Idaaliur started from a will, 5 years ago, to put all my dark feelings into music. A very personal music driven by personal experiences. I also wanted to be the
very own master of my music, that is why i got addicted so fast to this freedom of the "one man band" concept. I was, at that time, part of a metal band which was mixing many influences and in a certain extent i didn't think that it reflected everything i wanted to realize musically. About the name "Idaaliur", it is pure invention. It basically started from the root "ideal", "idealism".
4. How would you describe your music? Any differences between what you perceive it to be versus what your fans perceive
it to be?
My music has always been changing throughout the years and releases. And yet, to a loyal listener's ears, i would say that the global feeling always remained the same. What interested me the most was mixing the raw sound of black metal representing a brutal and concrete world with its pains, sufferings, the disillusioned realities, with the beauty and majesty of ideals. In the manner of Baudelaire, i wanted to find Beauty by describing dirt, the every day dirt.
That's why you can find very surprising gaps in my discography between an album like "Above Your Existence..." where brutality, pure madness are the master feelings and the following EP "Winds Of Beauty" where beautiful and enchanting symphonies are leading.
5. Please illuminate our readers to your modus operandi when it comes to crafting your signature Idaaliur sound. What drives
you to create? What do you feel throughout your creative process?
By writing music for Idaaliur or any other project, i am just answering to my need of musical creation. My mind is always wandering through diverse worlds that i need to describe through music. Its "signature" comes very naturally. I like to think that all the songs i've written so far are all linked by a same global concept which is a description of a mighty world, the sight of humanity from a far point...
6. Listening to all four full-lengths ov your works, I've noticed some differences in the quality and overall style ov
Idaaliur. How would you say your music has evolved?
(see question 4)
7. What influences do you draw upon when coming up with tracks for your various releases? Any specifics such as bands?
I got influenced by my favorite bands at the time, which are actors of the atmospheric/depressive black metal scene: Imperium Dekadenz, Lustre, Araxas, Nyktalgia, Gris,...
8. Returning to your most recent release, My Frost, Your Solace [which is very good, in this interviewer's opinion!] what
sort ov influences and ideas brought this release to fruition? Anyone you want to thank?
For this album, i wanted my music to be composed of very epic and memorable hymns, melancholic and yet hopeful. I like this contrast of melancholy and hope because they are my feelings of every day. I mostly got influenced by the doom/death metal band Swallow The Sun with their album "New Moon", and by Saturnus. For this album, i got the very kind help of Juleah, a very talented artist from Austria, who gladly accepted to give me a hand on my work. Her voice is one of the reasons why i'm the most proud of this album. It highlights very well the key moments of the compositions and the atmosphere i wanted to set.
9. I noticed that you're also in several other projects, including Solar Wanderers [another band that I follow]! How has it gone for you since you started with these other bands? What are your goals for these bands concerning their future?
Solar Wanderers is my new post-rock/shoegaze side project that i'm leading with B. from Beyond The Dawn following our split album that we've released in 2012 between our two official projects, called "Far Beyond Melancholy".
The new common project has started very well and we are both very proud of the way it is turning out. We are already preparing a split with Seaeye which is a Ukrainian post-rock band. This project happens at the right moment because i needed to change my musical horizons and to try my clear vocal skills. It is a big renewal that i'm enjoying a lot!
10. Out ov all your various bands' discographies, are you satisfied with their progression? If not, what would you change?
I am very satisfied with the progression of the Idaaliur's discography. As i said before, it follows a very natural path and i think that if it had to stop, it would be now. I'm not saying that i will stop it for sure, but right now i don't feel the need to keep going with it...
11. You're based out ov Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, France, yes? How is the musical scene over there? Any good underground acts besides yours that our readers should be aware ov?
The musical scene in Lyon is very rich...i actually spent my teenage years going to support local bands giving concerts (being part of one myself, at that time). We have very good black metal bands like Ad Hominem, Udyr, Neige Morte... in the same region we also have Nocturnal Depression, Pagan Blood, Aldaaron and many others!
12. Upon doing research into your bands, I noticed that Idaaliur is currently signed to Depressive Illusions Records. Can you tell our readers more about this label?
Depressive Illusions is an Ukrainian independant label which was the first to release my work in limited copies. The guy behind it is Pr. Sergiy, the mastermind of Moloch. His productions have definitely increased in quality these last months and his work is outstanding!
13. I also noticed that you are an ex-member ov Landriss and Feather Complaint. What happened that led to you no longer associating with those bands?
I spent my whole teenagehood being the guitarist of Feather Complaint, a black/death metal band with Deathcore influences. Things turned out complicated for us since our studies prevented us to see each other often... even myself, i need to travel a lot for my studies and my future career in international business. That is why i can't really be part of a stable band any longer.
14. [Inevitable question] So, I must ask: What are your thoughts on things like religion/spirituality, politics/war, etc.?
Believing in something is part of being a human. We all have to believe in something. If we don't (and i know that many people will tell you that they
believe in nothing), they never really took time to think about it. I personally think that everything that comes to us during our life happens for something.
We have to make something about it, to get the best out of what we get. We have to be in accordance with ourselves, with whoever we decide to be; and without forgetting to be open-minded. Our reality is not necessarily other people's reality. Due to this misunderstanding, many horrors on earth have happened. It would be time for people to get back to their spiritual roots and start to think deeply over themselves.
15. Thanks for your time, Malphas! Any closing thoughts you have to share?
Even if i'm not as active as i usually was with Idaaliur, i can't stop being musically creative, launch projects or taking patr of them... The best way to keep aware of it is to follow me on my Facebook page "Idaaliur" or to add me as contact "Malphas Idaaliur". Thanks for the interview and your loyal support to my work! Cheers!
I'm arriving to a period where things slow down a bit with Idaaliur... i have the feeling that i reflected all the emotions i wanted to put in these 4 albums.
I am still trying to compose atmospheric pieces but my current schedule doesn't give me much time and life is having lots of turns for me right now... I don't promise that i'll release anything new in the future, i give myself time to think about it. Maybe i will just give time to other side projects like "Solar Wanderers" that express my feelings better currently.
2. You recently released My Frost, Your Solace this year. How has the release gone? Any discrepancies from the other releases in Idaaliur's discography?
"My Frost, Your Solace" is, i would say, a total UFO if you compare it to my preceding releases! and yet, this is the album i'm the most proud of. I would say that it is the most mature release with a real and deep concept which i took the time to think about. The female vocals are giving this unique feel that missed, so far, to my musical world. I gave for my latest album a whole new sound, a new concept without really going off topic compared to my whole discography. I would say that it ends up a natural maturity that has grown during the years. Starting from the very first album, my music has appeared very wild, brutal, angry...and throughout the years and releases, it became more relaxed, self conscious, sedentary. It totally reflects me in some way.
3. What can you tell us ov Idaaliur's origins? Where did you get the name, and what ideas drive your music?
Idaaliur started from a will, 5 years ago, to put all my dark feelings into music. A very personal music driven by personal experiences. I also wanted to be the
very own master of my music, that is why i got addicted so fast to this freedom of the "one man band" concept. I was, at that time, part of a metal band which was mixing many influences and in a certain extent i didn't think that it reflected everything i wanted to realize musically. About the name "Idaaliur", it is pure invention. It basically started from the root "ideal", "idealism".
4. How would you describe your music? Any differences between what you perceive it to be versus what your fans perceive
it to be?
My music has always been changing throughout the years and releases. And yet, to a loyal listener's ears, i would say that the global feeling always remained the same. What interested me the most was mixing the raw sound of black metal representing a brutal and concrete world with its pains, sufferings, the disillusioned realities, with the beauty and majesty of ideals. In the manner of Baudelaire, i wanted to find Beauty by describing dirt, the every day dirt.
That's why you can find very surprising gaps in my discography between an album like "Above Your Existence..." where brutality, pure madness are the master feelings and the following EP "Winds Of Beauty" where beautiful and enchanting symphonies are leading.
5. Please illuminate our readers to your modus operandi when it comes to crafting your signature Idaaliur sound. What drives
you to create? What do you feel throughout your creative process?
By writing music for Idaaliur or any other project, i am just answering to my need of musical creation. My mind is always wandering through diverse worlds that i need to describe through music. Its "signature" comes very naturally. I like to think that all the songs i've written so far are all linked by a same global concept which is a description of a mighty world, the sight of humanity from a far point...
6. Listening to all four full-lengths ov your works, I've noticed some differences in the quality and overall style ov
Idaaliur. How would you say your music has evolved?
(see question 4)
7. What influences do you draw upon when coming up with tracks for your various releases? Any specifics such as bands?
I got influenced by my favorite bands at the time, which are actors of the atmospheric/depressive black metal scene: Imperium Dekadenz, Lustre, Araxas, Nyktalgia, Gris,...
8. Returning to your most recent release, My Frost, Your Solace [which is very good, in this interviewer's opinion!] what
sort ov influences and ideas brought this release to fruition? Anyone you want to thank?
For this album, i wanted my music to be composed of very epic and memorable hymns, melancholic and yet hopeful. I like this contrast of melancholy and hope because they are my feelings of every day. I mostly got influenced by the doom/death metal band Swallow The Sun with their album "New Moon", and by Saturnus. For this album, i got the very kind help of Juleah, a very talented artist from Austria, who gladly accepted to give me a hand on my work. Her voice is one of the reasons why i'm the most proud of this album. It highlights very well the key moments of the compositions and the atmosphere i wanted to set.
9. I noticed that you're also in several other projects, including Solar Wanderers [another band that I follow]! How has it gone for you since you started with these other bands? What are your goals for these bands concerning their future?
Solar Wanderers is my new post-rock/shoegaze side project that i'm leading with B. from Beyond The Dawn following our split album that we've released in 2012 between our two official projects, called "Far Beyond Melancholy".
The new common project has started very well and we are both very proud of the way it is turning out. We are already preparing a split with Seaeye which is a Ukrainian post-rock band. This project happens at the right moment because i needed to change my musical horizons and to try my clear vocal skills. It is a big renewal that i'm enjoying a lot!
10. Out ov all your various bands' discographies, are you satisfied with their progression? If not, what would you change?
I am very satisfied with the progression of the Idaaliur's discography. As i said before, it follows a very natural path and i think that if it had to stop, it would be now. I'm not saying that i will stop it for sure, but right now i don't feel the need to keep going with it...
11. You're based out ov Lyon, Rhône-Alpes, France, yes? How is the musical scene over there? Any good underground acts besides yours that our readers should be aware ov?
The musical scene in Lyon is very rich...i actually spent my teenage years going to support local bands giving concerts (being part of one myself, at that time). We have very good black metal bands like Ad Hominem, Udyr, Neige Morte... in the same region we also have Nocturnal Depression, Pagan Blood, Aldaaron and many others!
12. Upon doing research into your bands, I noticed that Idaaliur is currently signed to Depressive Illusions Records. Can you tell our readers more about this label?
Depressive Illusions is an Ukrainian independant label which was the first to release my work in limited copies. The guy behind it is Pr. Sergiy, the mastermind of Moloch. His productions have definitely increased in quality these last months and his work is outstanding!
13. I also noticed that you are an ex-member ov Landriss and Feather Complaint. What happened that led to you no longer associating with those bands?
I spent my whole teenagehood being the guitarist of Feather Complaint, a black/death metal band with Deathcore influences. Things turned out complicated for us since our studies prevented us to see each other often... even myself, i need to travel a lot for my studies and my future career in international business. That is why i can't really be part of a stable band any longer.
14. [Inevitable question] So, I must ask: What are your thoughts on things like religion/spirituality, politics/war, etc.?
Believing in something is part of being a human. We all have to believe in something. If we don't (and i know that many people will tell you that they
believe in nothing), they never really took time to think about it. I personally think that everything that comes to us during our life happens for something.
We have to make something about it, to get the best out of what we get. We have to be in accordance with ourselves, with whoever we decide to be; and without forgetting to be open-minded. Our reality is not necessarily other people's reality. Due to this misunderstanding, many horrors on earth have happened. It would be time for people to get back to their spiritual roots and start to think deeply over themselves.
15. Thanks for your time, Malphas! Any closing thoughts you have to share?
Even if i'm not as active as i usually was with Idaaliur, i can't stop being musically creative, launch projects or taking patr of them... The best way to keep aware of it is to follow me on my Facebook page "Idaaliur" or to add me as contact "Malphas Idaaliur". Thanks for the interview and your loyal support to my work! Cheers!