Vision Eternel Interview For ReGen Magazine

Vision Eternel Interview For ReGen Magazine

Journalist Stitch Mayo from ReGen Magazine recently interviewed Vision Eternel founder Alexander Julien. The interview was conducted between January 27-31, 2024, and covers a great deal of ground, from the band’s inception and early years, the importance of the extended play format, the band’s progression over the years, production method, the making of Seul Dans L’obsession and Un Automne En Solitude, the development of the soundtrack and the Echoes From Forgotten Hearts extended play, and the making of the Deluxe Edition and its accompanying novella, and some announcements of upcoming plans.

Unfortunately, the interview was crudely edited by the online music magazine’s editor, Ilker Yücel, and published in that modified edition without the band’s consent. Over half of the band’s answers were suppressed, numerous inaccuracies were interspersed, and the answers’ meanings were at times changed. The band, therefore, considers the published version of this interview a derivative work, not representative of the band or its members. Provided below is the original, unedited interview, as originally intended for publication:

-Can you tell us about the origin of Vision Eternel and what inspired you to start this musical project?

Vision Eternel was formed in January 2007 due to a few timely elements. To begin with, and most importantly because this established the mood and theme for the band, I was going through an especially dark and depressive phase, which stemmed from my inability to recover from a failed relationship. I have spent most of my life in a depressive state, but the added heartache at the time made it difficult to get through each day. To give you a deeper perspective of my state of mind at the time, I was also working on a short film treatment titled A Perfect Suicide. The theme of loss became the driving force behind Vision Eternel and all of the music that I compose and record for this band continues to revolve around it.

Though I was struggling with depression, I somehow remained creative and prolific during that period. This was in part due to the artistic support that I received from members of Triskalyon, a black metal and dark ambient circle (or collective, to use a more accessible term) which I had co-founded in August 2006. Triskalyon encouraged its members to start side-projects, so many were often experimenting with different styles of music (though never veering too far from the general black metal/dark ambient fields).

Another factor that made Vision Eternel possible was that I had just established my first proper recording studio, Mortified Studio, in my parents’ house in Edison, New Jersey. This gave me the freedom to record music on a whim and allowed me to be more meticulous during studio sessions. Because I was principally a metal musician, I had never used audio effects other than distortion. But at Mortified Studio, I began to play around in Cakewalk Sonar and discovered other audio effects, like reverb, delay, and echo, which broadened my style and creativity.

On a particularly sad day, I was trying to play one of my guitars but felt too depressed to record the planned material. Instead, I decided to uninhibitedly let my fingers flow through the fretboard of my guitar and play notes that came to me naturally, without any genre or style in mind. At the time, the reverb effect was turned on, and the music that came out resonated so beautifully with me that I decided to record it immediately. That piece was later titled “Love Within Beauty”; the first Vision Eternel song. But I had no immediate plans for this recording because it was so different from the music that I normally played.

A couple of nights later, while I was again extremely depressed, though this time sitting up in bed, I was holding another of my guitars and decided to let my broken heart speak through my fingers via the fretboard. Out came “Love Within Isolation”, and I was so moved by the music that I rushed downstairs to record it in my studio. It was only once these two compositions were recorded that I had the idea of starting a new band, or rather, to continue making music like this and release it as a separate project from my active bands.

All solo projects affiliated with Triskalyon were named Vision Something, and since this new band was formed out of my obsession with an ex-girlfriend, I named it Vision Éternel (the accent was later dropped). Simultaneously, I came up with the idea of recording a concept extended play that documented this past relationship and heartbreak, from meeting the girl to dating, being romantically involved, the deterioration of our affection, and finally, having to move on. I deepened the concept by having a common prefix for all the song titles and spelling the girl’s name with the proper titles. Her first name was Brandi – six letters – six songs. The release was titled Seul Dans L’obsession, which is French for Alone In Obsession, and finally, I decided to release the extended play on Valentine’s Day, all of which tied the concept of love and loneliness together.

Although I did plan to release the music to the public, the emotions with which I dealt during the making of Seul Dans L’obsession were very private; I was completely on my own. I was not trying to make an album to share with this ex-girlfriend (in fact we had not communicated in many months), I was making this music for myself. As such, I made no compromises and handled every aspect of the release, from composing, arranging, performing, engineering, and mixing to music, then taking pictures and designing the artwork, filming and editing the music video for “Love Within Narcosis”, burning the compact discs, printing and cutting the artwork and assembling the jewel cases, releasing it on my record label, Mortification Records, and promoting it myself. I needed that control because it was so dear to my heart.

Recording that extended play was a way for me to capture that heartbreak and keep documentation of the pain I felt forever. In the process, it helped me move on from those emotions because I could be nostalgic about them while listening to the music. It is instrumental music, but my guitar emitted notes from my heart. What was so special was that I was not trying to play any specific genre or style (I did not even know what to call that type of music; genres were affixed later), I was simply playing what came naturally, what in basic terms would be “Alexander Julien music”. Vision Eternel may have ended up as a one-off project once that heartbreak was documented, but this is the music that I was meant to play, and when other heartbreaks needed documentation, more extended plays came to life.

-Your discography includes various EPs. Could you highlight any particular release that holds significant personal or artistic importance to you?

Vision Eternel’s second extended play, Un Automne En Solitude, has always been my favorite. Perhaps it seems an unlikely choice as it is the least popular from Vision Eternel’s catalog (partly because it was never promoted). But it still sounds sincere and beautiful to me. Not that other Vision Eternel releases are any less sincere, but I find that Un Automne En Solitude sounds slightly more hopeful than the others.

What I find ironic about that choice and reasoning is that it was such a difficult release to complete (little did I know that each future release would be exponentially more difficult). I remember that it felt a little forced, as if I was trying to put together a release that was not emotionally ready. Whereas the six songs from Seul Dans L’obsession came very quickly and naturally, within less than a month, I worked on the five songs that make up Un Automne En Solitude for two to three months, between May and July 2007.

There was a reason for it being so difficult. Seul Dans L’obsession was recorded while I was between jobs, and during winter-time, when the nights are longer. I am a night person and most creative during that time of day. I do not feel well when there is an abundance of light. Most of my recordings have taken place during the evening or night.

By the time I started work on Un Automne En Solitude, I was working a full-time overnight job. I would come home at seven ante meridiem and try to record the songs while battling fatigue and the brightness of the rising spring-summer sun (Mortified Studio’s windows faced east). I could not wait to finish the recording sessions each day just so that I could get to bed. It was a miserable period. Perhaps that is why it always felt a little forced or rushed. But the fact is that it was far from rushed. I recall doing many, many takes of the same songs before being satisfied with the material.

But the music itself is also some of my favorite Vision Eternel material. Three songs from that release have been given new arrangements and were re-recorded. “Season In Neglection” was re-recorded as “Sometimes In Reminiscent Neglection” (for The Last Great Torch Song), “Season In Desperation” was re-recorded by my atmospheric black metal band Vision Lunar under the simplified title “Desperation” (for Luna Subortus), and “Season In Absence” was re-recorded as “Moments Of Absence” (for For Farewell Of Nostalgia).

Un Automne En Solitude was also the last Vision Eternel release in which I kept complete control and handled every aspect myself. Following that extended play (and excluding the Japanese compilation An Anthology Of Past Misfortunes), I began working with other creative artists to pull the releases together (mastering engineers, artwork designers, and occasional guests on recordings). Although I did originally seek out an illustrator to design the artwork for Un Automne En Solitude. In October 2007, I reached out to a German girl named Daniela Dahlems (who sometimes credited herself as Levia Draconia), who was a fan of the band. She created an artwork with fireflies glowing, but the result was too fantastic, not in a surrealist sense but more fairy tale-looking. She was very angry when I told her that I could not use the artwork, but she later did some beautiful nature videos using Vision Eternel songs, with visuals of raindrops falling on flowers and such. I wish that those videos were still on YouTube.

I finished recording Un Automne En Solitude in July 2007, but deliberately held it back from release until 2008, because I did not want Vision Eternel to be one of those bands that saturates its discography with dozens of pointless releases every year (I believe in quality over quantity). The extended play was planned for release on February 14, 2008, but at that time, I still did not have any artwork, nor could I find a camera to borrow. That pushed back the release to March 14, 2008. It also wound up being the final release on Mortification Records, as I had by that time already formed Abridged Pause Recordings. That is one of the reasons why Un Automne En Solitude was not promoted.

Another release that I love is For Farewell Of Nostalgia. That is my second favorite release. I spent a long time working on that extended play, three years and eight months. So I have very few regrets about that one. I only wish that I could have secured a record deal to release it on vinyl!

-What is your typical creative process when composing music for Vision Eternel? How do you approach the conceptualization of an EP? One striking aspect of your music is the seamless flow from track to track, creating a sense of audible storytelling within each release – each track stands on its own, yet there’s a remarkable cohesiveness when experienced as a whole. Can you delve into your approach to crafting this balance between individual track completeness and the overall narrative cohesion within each release?

One thing that I decided long ago, I believe as early as during the making of Un Automne En Solitude in 2007, is that Vision Eternel will always and solely release extended plays. There have been compilation albums and boxed sets (which group multiple extended plays), but a standard, long-playing album is out of the question. That is not a format that would work well for Vision Eternel, and it would clash with some of the concepts that I have implemented over the years.

However, I treat these extended plays as standard releases, in the same manner as other bands construct full-length albums. Extended plays are not granted enough merit by the music industry, and I believe that is because so many bands have used the format as a filler between albums, often allocating b-sides and left-over tracks to those releases. But that is not the case with Vision Eternel. Extended plays are my format of choice and great care is taken to construct them just like a full-length album.

The format was first utilized because Seul Dans L’obsession was to have six songs; each release is dedicated to a former girlfriend, and the song titles spell out her name. The second, third, and fourth extended plays each have five songs, while Echoes From Forgotten Hearts has seven, and For Farewell Of Nostalgia has four. The length of these releases varies from eleven to thirty-two minutes. Even if Vision Eternel was to construct a ten-song, fifty-minute release, it would still be, conceptually, an extended play.

The flow of the release as a whole is most important to me. Songs are usually composed and given working titles because their sequencing in the extended play will be determined by that flow. For example, when I was composing and recording Un Automne En Solitude, the songs were assigned the temporary titles “Season Part I,” “Season Part II,” and so on. Once all songs are recorded, I determine their sequence by how well they played in a given order. After that is set, they are assigned the titles of the pre-determined track listing.

Vision Eternel’s releases’ track listings are usually pre-determined. I know how many songs the release will include (based on the girl’s first name) and what will be the first letter of each song title. While I compose, arrange, record, and mix the material, I take notes of words and titles that I feel represent both the emotions of the music and the phases that are depicted in the story-line (from meeting the girl to losing her). This also has to fit within the greater story-line, as Vision Eternel releases are all connected within an overarching concept and narrative.

Not only are Vision Eternel’s releases connected by the story-line in the song and extended play titles, but I also try to incorporate visual and sonic bridges. Seul Dans L’obsession, Un Automne En Solitude, Abondance De Périls, The Last Great Torch Song, and For Farewell Of Nostalgia are direct sequels that follow that greater story-line narrative. Echoes From Forgotten Hearts was somewhat of a detour, a fork in the greater story-line which may or may not be explored in the future. Echoes From Forgotten Hearts and For Farewell Of Nostalgia both branched off from The Last Great Torch Song, and I tried to represent this sonically by including a small reprise at the start of each of those two releases. The bass guitar parts at the very end of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts‘ first song, “Pièce No. Un,” are a reprise of The Last Great Torch Song‘s “Sometimes In Absolute Togetherness,” while the opening notes of For Farewell Of Nostalgia‘s first song, “Moments Of Rain,” are a reprise of The Last Great Torch Song‘s “Sometimes In Anticipating Moments.”

The cover artworks are also symbolic bridges. Seul Dans L’obsession and Un Automne En Solitude have similar visual elements, while Abondance De Périls and The Last Great Torch Song utilize the same original picture. For Farewell Of Nostalgia‘s artwork was a departure, but I integrated the Montreal Harbor Bridge in the background, which had been prominently featured in a promotional video titled An Introduction To The Last Great Torch Song, filmed to promote The Last Great Torch Song in 2012. Accordingly, Vision Eternel has multiple-layered concepts that are pieced together like a puzzle. And once (or if ever) completed, that greater story-line picture should give a better understanding of the many heartbreaks in my life.

-How would you describe the evolution of the project since you started? Have there been specific external factors that have shaped the sound along the way, perhaps in surprising ways? 

I think that Vision Eternel has a distinct sound and style, which echoes from the first release to the most recent. However, I have eased up on my limitations and rules over the years, which allowed Vision Eternel to mature and sound fuller.

When I was recording Seul Dans L’obsession, because it was a conceptual release, I made it a point to use the same guitar, same tuning, same audio effects, and same mix across all songs. That was very important to me in achieving that unity as a concept extended play. Although the release was made up of individual tracks, I was more concerned with the full concept, and of people hearing the release as a whole.

The individual songs were also very short and to the point. That was an aspect of the music that I kept as a strict rule for many years. The songs that I composed during the first ten years of Vision Eternel were always one to two minutes in length, except for the final song on each extended play, which had a longer running time due to the extended portion.

When I recorded the band’s second extended play, Un Automne En Solitude, a few months later while still in Edison (it was deliberately released a year later in 2008), I again used the same guitar, tuning, effects, and mix, because I not only wanted unity within that release but also for the band’s global sound. There was a bridge between the two releases (a continuation of the story-line) and I wanted it to be obvious. Those first two releases have a very black metal-type of production, a little bright and focused on the treble.

Some of the songs that I composed and made demo recordings of for Abondance De Périls, which started taking shape in October 2007, were done with that same setup because I wanted to prolong that familiar sound. However, by the time I began recording the final versions of those songs in May 2009, I opted to tune my guitar lower, aiming for a warmer sound. I also sent the extended play for mastering to ex-Vision Eternel band-mate Adam Kennedy. He further improved the warmth and unity of the release, which was a big change in the band’s sound.

Kennedy also suggested that something be added to “Thoughts As Affection” because it sounded a little too similar to earlier songs from Un Automne En Solitude. I had purchased an eBow four months prior but had yet to find a way to use it on recorded material. His advice gave me the idea of using my eBow to add another layer to “Thoughts As Affection”. That was the first Vision Eternel song to use the eBow and I have since made it a point to use it on nearly all songs. It has become part of the band’s signature sound.

The material that makes up The Last Great Torch Song was recorded during various sessions over the years, and so I used different guitars and bass guitars for the first time (in various tunings), the eBow on all but one song, and some guests providing keyboard, guitar, and spoken word vocals. That was another leap for Vision Eternel, not only having other performers share my music but also having vocals. Although those collaborations were meaningful, because they were with dear friends, I do not think that I would go that route again. Vision Eternel should remain instrumental. I wanted The Last Great Torch Song to be mastered by Kennedy again, but he was unavailable, so I approached Garry Brents to do the job. In hindsight, I think that was a mistake. Brents is a good and prolific musician and producer, but his studio (at least at the time) was not set up for mastering, it was set up as a recording and mixing studio. As such, The Last Great Torch Song sounds a little thin, especially compared to Abondance De Périls, and both of those extended plays were intended to be a pair. I would have been happier if The Last Great Torch Song had a warmer and more unified sound.

The Last Great Torch Song further broke down my strict rules of how Vision Eternel songs should sound. An example of this is “Sometimes In Absolute Togetherness,” which was the first Vision Eternel song to employ the long, repetitive, almost hypnotic, coda and segue (which I further developed and utilized on For Farewell Of Nostalgia). “Sometimes In Absolute Togetherness” had originally been composed and recorded for my black ambient band, Soufferance, in January 2011, but it had a very melodic and beautiful element, so it never quite felt at home with Soufferance. At the same time, it was a little too dark and lengthy to be a Vision Eternel song; it was stuck in the middle of the two bands. There was an earlier Soufferance song from July 2007 that had a similar dilemma, “A Memory Of Past Emotions,” which could easily have been released on Un Automne En Solitude, but that one remained a Soufferance song.

While working on Echoes From Forgotten Hearts, elements from Soufferance further seeped in, such as with “Pièce No. Un” and “Pièce No. Sept”. By the time I was working on material for For Farewell Of Nostalgia in 2017, I had put Soufferance to rest, so all of the best songwriting elements from that band were carried over to Vision Eternel. I no longer felt restricted to keep Vision Eternel songs short and Soufferance songs long. I also began using the repetitive, almost hypnotic, segues and codas on all Vision Eternel songs. That, in turn, brought a darker element to Vision Eternel.

I had also ended my electronic ambient band Citadel Swamp, quit the dark ambient band Éphémère, and put my atmospheric/cosmic black metal band Vision Lunar on hold. In those bands, I used a great deal of textural lead guitar. Since I was now free to use all of my playing styles in a single band (as opposed to trying to keep each band sounding different), those textural guitar leads were incorporated into songs like “Moments Of Rain,” “Moments Of Absence,” “Moments Of Intimacy,” and “Moments Of Nostalgia.” This added a whole new level of emotions, sentiments, beauty, and presence to Vision Eternel songs. I feel that the songs that appear on For Farewell Of Nostalgia are the best that I have ever composed, and I plan to continue in that direction for Vision Eternel’s seventh concept extended play.

-Vision Eternel features a beautiful sonic tapestry – it feels both very vast, yet remains warm all at once. Can you tell us about the instrumentation and production techniques you use? Are there specific instruments or gear that play a crucial role in shaping the project’s signature sound?

This is a difficult question for me to answer because I am rather secretive about the exact gear and instruments that I use for Vision Eternel. I have worked hard to develop and keep Vision Eternel’s signature sound (though it originally happened by accident). Over time, however, as Alfred Hitchcock noted, self-plagiarism becomes a style.

One thing that I do like pointing out, however, is that all of Vision Eternel’s music is created by using only guitars and bass guitars. There are no digital instruments in my music (with the notable exception of a single song, “Sometimes In Longing Narcosis”, which features a guest appearance by Garry Brents performing keyboards). I come from a rock and metal background and have never played a digital or electronic instrument (like a keyboard, synthesizer, sampler, sequencer, and so on). That is a world foreign to me. Everything one hears on Vision Eternel recordings was performed live on guitar or bass guitar, without any looping.

My two favorite bands are Faith No More and The Smashing Pumpkins, and both have used keyboards and electronics extensively. I think that that is why Vision Eternel’s music sounds different from other guitar-based ambient music because my influences are different. I do not listen to ambient or electronic music. As such, my instruments, effects, and studio gear are probably very different from what one might expect. Most bands that identify as post-rock utilize a great deal of effect pedals and synthesizers to achieve their sound, but my setup is quite minimal. A lot of that distinct sound is achieved by layering multiple tracks of guitar, rather than saturating it with effects.

I do not know if I have a specific production technique. I do not consider myself a producer. A lot of it was picked up on my own because I had to be self-sufficient at Mortified Studio in early 2007. At that time, I was listening almost exclusively to black metal, a genre known to have a deliberate low-fidelity production. So my ears were developed to perceive and accept lower-quality recordings. I was used to that sound; it sounded normal to me. I think that part of Vision Eternel’s sound has to do with that; it will never have a major label-style polished production.

In the summer of 2007, I applied for admission into Recording Arts Canada, a sound engineering college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As part of my application, I was required to send samples of my recorded work, so I submitted Vision Eternel’s first two extended plays (Seul Dans L’obsession and Un Automne En Solitude), the latter of which had just been completed (or was almost finished). The engineer who reviewed my application and eventually accepted my enrollment (I wish that I still knew his name), called me on the telephone to tell me how impressed he was with those recordings. He said that it reminded him of Brian Eno’s work, whose music I had never heard at that point. I was only vaguely familiar with Eno’s name because he had produced Toto’s Dune soundtrack, of which I was an avid fan. This teacher suggested that I listen to Eno’s The Shutov Assembly. I did and thought that it was an interesting album, but it never made it on a regular play-list. I checked out other highly rated Eno works as well but found them boring.

What I am trying to say is that sometimes sounds are reached from unexpected origins. For me, Vision Eternel’s production and sound come down to subconscious influences, like Faith No More, The Smashing Pumpkins, black metal, emo, and post-hardcore. But this is something on which I will elaborate further in answer to your next question…

-When it comes to your musical journey, are there particular artists, genres, or non-musical elements that influence or inspire your work, or have played a pivotal role in shaping your artistic identity and influencing the sound of Vision Eternel? Could you elaborate on specific elements or aspects from these influences that you find particularly inspiring or that have left a lasting mark on your creative approach? Are there specific influences or sources of inspiration that guide your work? 

Vision Eternel’s influences come from three directions, and I will elaborate on each. Musical influences are definitely from my subconscious, film influences are much more conscious, and personal emotions have the greatest immediate effect. I listen to a lot of music and watch many films, but I think that sadness is my biggest influence. And sometimes that sadness can be brought on by certain music or movies.

I am a very nostalgic person. I am also very sensitive. The pain and sadness of events can stay with me for a long time. I have many regrets, many sad memories, many times when I have been hurt. And I spend a great deal of my time contemplating these memories. I am nearly always depressed. I think (and would hope) that this unhappiness seeps into Vision Eternel’s music. I do not want to make happy or uplifting music.

Vision Eternel’s musical influences are more subconscious than deliberate because I do not listen to music with a similar sound. I do not want to give the impression that I invented anything new, but I cannot think of another band that sounds similar to Vision Eternel. I am sure that some exist, but I have yet to hear one. Nor do I listen to ambient, shoegaze, dream pop, new age, dark wave, drone, space rock, ethereal, dark ambient, or minimal, and those are just a few of the many genres that have been affixed to Vision Eternel over the years.

Direct musical influences have been hard to pin-point and justify because at times it may not be a band’s global sound that influences me, but instead just a single melody from a song that I heard on the radio as a child, and which impressed me and got locked in the back of my mind.

On the other hand, there are bands that I listen to a great deal, and although they may sound stylistically different from Vision Eternel, they have nevertheless influenced aspects of my music. For example, it would be absurd for me to claim that Vision Eternel sounds anything like Faith No More, but chances are that that is what I was listening to right before recording a Vision Eternel song. Faith No More is my favorite band and has been for over twenty years. I know that I am highly influenced by Billy Gould’s bass-playing style, though I sound and play nothing like him.

Limp Bizkit is also among my top three favorite bands, and naming it may appear facetious, because, again, that music is quite different from Vision Eternel’s, but it has been influential. Take for example Wes Borland’s guitar works, which are often layered with reverb, echo, and delay. I am nowhere near as apt a musician as Borland, but his sound and style have saturated my subconscious and somehow come out when I compose music.

Another instance is that most Limp Bizkit albums start with an intro and end with an outro. By comparison, Faith No More always made it a point to start its albums with a very strong, driving song, and end them with a melodic epic. I implemented both of those elements in Vision Eternel’s extended plays; each opens with a short intro and ends with a very melodic song followed by an outro (which I refer to as the extended portion of the last song). The only exception to this is Un Automne En Solitude which lacks an intro (and therefore starts like a Faith No More album.) I cannot recall how these ideas came to me, but I know that they were not deliberate. I never thought “Limp Bizkit is doing this so I want to as well.” Certainly, with my early bands, it was a deliberate influence. But by the time I was starting Vision Eternel, it just seemed like a natural way to start and end a release, based on the albums that I was used to hearing. It was only in hindsight, after other interviewers and fans inquired about my influences, that I began looking for similarities. It was all very subconscious.

Out of my three favorite bands, I suppose that The Smashing Pumpkins is the one most easily comparable to Vision Eternel. Billy Corgan and James Iha’s music is very melodic, emotional, and romantic. The Smashing Pumpkins was also a band that I listened to constantly during my relationships with the two girls about whom Seul Dans L’obsession and Un Automne En Solitude are based. It evokes memories of those events and my teenage years.

Deadsy is another important influence. Again, this is a band that sounds vastly different from Vision Eternel, but I have often found comfort in the road it paved. Deadsy developed a sound of its own, not following trends, but rather making music that the members wanted and felt natural to them. There was no existing scene or fan-base for this music, it was “between genres, so a new genre was coined: undercore. There is a detriment to being between genres and having your own style, and that is that record labels do not know how to market your music and many are afraid to take a chance. And Deadsy is a perfect example of this because their debut album, which was recorded in 1996, was only released in 2002 after numerous record labels refused to put it out. That perseverance was important to me as Vision Eternel faced similar situations with record companies. And Deadsy was influential in Vision Eternel’s coining of its genre, melogaze, because my music has also been labeled as “between genres.” Of note, Faith No More was often described by journalists as sounding “between genres.”

Harmonium, Pink Floyd, and Fantômas are three bands that I can think back on as influential concerning Vision Eternel’s concept extended plays. I was familiar with their concept albums from many years before, especially Harmonium’s, as my father was a fan and I heard those albums growing up. Pink Floyd’s concept albums were personal discoveries that I made on my own as a teenager, while Fantômas was brought to my attention by my friend Thomas Nunziata (who had introduced me to Faith No More). But all of this was stored in my memory bank. I did not seek those albums as ideas on how to create a concept extended play. My thought process was more that this is just how one puts together a conceptual release; it was instinctive at that point.

The final influential component for Vision Eternel is movies. I am an avid film buff and typically watch two to four films every day. My favorite director is Alfred Hitchcock and he has been highly influential in various aspects of the band, notably with Vertigo, which is my favorite movie. I also adore the works of Douglas Sirk, Billy Wilder, John Frankenheimer, Orson Welles, F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Jean-Pierre Melville, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jacques Deray, Henri Verneuil, Alan J. Pakula, Woody Allen, and Cameron Crowe.

Viewing pictures is for me a form of escapism, as I do not analyze films for their technical aspects; I let the movie tell its story. I become very sentimental after watching certain films, returning from a wonderful place, and having been completely disconnected from my surroundings. I often watch films, then immediately begin composing or recording music to capture my emotions. So the mood, tone, and atmosphere of Vision Eternel’s recordings are often based on the way that I felt after watching various movies. So you see, by comparison to musical influences, film influences are conscious, deliberate, and immediate.

-Congratulations on the upcoming release of the Deluxe Edition of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts! Can you share more about the decision to create a Deluxe Edition? The novella sounds very intriguing!

Although Geertruida’s release of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts is technically a Deluxe Edition, and packaged in an impressive boxed set, it is also the first time that this material is released properly. It is very important for me that people understand that because it is not a simple re-issue of old stuff. Great care was given to the presentation of this material. These songs were composed and recorded in 2014 but were never given a publicized release until now. The release was canceled by several record companies along the way, which led to its ten-year delay.

When this music was developed in the summer of 2014, it was to be the soundtrack to a short film that an acquaintance named Bradley James Palko (who previously operated Dedicated Records) wanted to make. But that was canceled. I did not want my music left unreleased, so I brought the material back into the studio to partly re-record it, track a couple of new songs (and drop a pair that no longer fit), and fully re-mix everything to turn it into a concept extended play titled Echoes From Forgotten Hearts.

The extended play was picked up by Broken Limbs Recordings, which offered to release it on compact cassette, but that was canceled. On February 14, 2015, I released Echoes From Forgotten Hearts quietly via my record label, Abridged Pause Recordings. But it was a digital release, restricted to Bandcamp only, and I chose deliberately not to promote it because my goal was to secure a record deal for a physical edition.

The release was then picked up by Abandonment, which offered to release it on compact cassette, but that was canceled. Following that, Community Tree Music came along and told me that filmmakers were interested in using my music for their soundtracks, but that never materialized. A month later, Feather Witch (which has since been renamed Fiadh Productions) signed Vision Eternel and offered to release Echoes From Forgotten Hearts on compact cassette, but that was canceled. By then it was late December 2015, and I opted to shift my efforts to other projects.

In early 2017, Vision Eternel’s entire back catalog was added to major streaming platforms as part of the band’s tenth-anniversary celebration. However, I again held back on promoting these digital (re-)issues because I wanted it to be supported by the tenth anniversary boxed set, An Anthology Of Past Misfortunes. The boxed set (which includes a very limited compact disc-recordable pressing of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts) was originally scheduled for release on February 14, 2017, but it had numerous mishaps at the pressing and printing plants. Because of those errors, the number of copies was reduced drastically, and it was only released a year and two months later, on April 14, 2018, by which time the tenth anniversary was long over and the boxed set had little impact.

Following this, I spent more than three years working on For Farewell Of Nostalgia. Once that was out, Somewherecold Records offered to release Echoes From Forgotten Hearts on a double-compact disc, but that was canceled. The first disc was to use the Extended Play Version, while the second was for the Soundtrack Version (which had never been released); that was the start of the release’s expansion, on its way to becoming a deluxe edition. I began thinking about ways to present the release differently than it had in 2014/2015. Simultaneously with Somewherecold Records’ offer, was one from Geertruida to release the compact cassette edition, but that was put on hold while I struggled to secure a compact disc edition.

Next came Frozen Light, which offered to release it on compact disc, but that was canceled. Following that came an offer from Beverina Productions and Casus Belli Musica (which worked in co-operation) to release a deluxe edition compact disc packaged in a digibook with a fifty-two-page booklet (more on this later). That was the juncture at which the release was no longer going to be a re-packaging of 2015’s Echoes From Forgotten Hearts but instead be treated as an entirely new release. The track listing was revised and expanded, the songs were re-mastered by Carl Saff, and new artwork was commissioned to Michael Koelsch and Rain Frances. Although Somewherecold Records’ version was to be promoted as a Deluxe Edition, it was Beverina Productions and Casus Belli Musica’s version that pushed it several steps further, into boxed set territory. Unfortunately, that one, too, was canceled.

After that came Mahorka with another compact disc offer, but that was canceled. Then a second offer came from Frozen Light to pick up the digibook deluxe edition on compact disc, but again it was canceled. At that point, Geertruida’s compact cassette edition was also canceled. As you can imagine, I felt hopeless. Explaining all of this was not nearly as exhausting as going through it, believe me! I have not been very lucky. I cried a lot over this project.

About half a year later, I revisited the release with Geertruida and we agreed that far too much work had been put into this project for it not to be released. We pulled our resources and worked very hard to get the release out digitally and in a boxed double compact cassette edition. The physical edition comes with a numbered postcard, stickers, a download code, and an eighty-page novella.

The novella originated from the fifty-two-page booklet in Beverina Productions and Casus Belli Musica’s digibook version. I needed enough content to fill those fifty-two pages, so I consulted my band journals and studio logs and began writing the history of this release. It recounts, in great detail, how the songs were composed, when they were recorded, the development of the short film and soundtrack, the numerous record deals that came and went, the making of a music video for “Pièce No. Trois,” the various artworks and layouts that were designed, the promotional photo shoots that were set up, the mastering stages (two engineers worked on the material), and the development of this deluxe edition.

Once the format was changed from a digibook to a separate booklet to fit inside the compact cassette box, I was able to expand this story further into eighty pages, and I also added around seventy images from the band archives, most of which had never been seen. The booklet is designed beautifully and artistically, more like a magazine or art book than a novel.

It has been a long journey bringing Echoes From Forgotten Hearts to the public. Although I have many regrets that those earlier editions did not come to life, this deluxe boxed set edition by Geertruida encompasses everything that I have worked to accomplish over the past decade. The packaging is quite impressive and I know that every Vision Eternel fan will enjoy the novella.

-What’s next for Vision Eternel? Are there upcoming projects or new directions you’re excited to explore?

I have put in so much effort towards getting the deluxe edition of Echoes From Forgotten Hearts out that it has prevented me from composing new music. I could not focus my mind and emotions long enough to be creative. Now that Echoes From Forgotten Hearts is out there and people can enjoy it, I am free and eager to start working on new music.

The work on Vision Eternel’s seventh concept extended play technically started in late 2019, immediately after the recording of For Farewell Of Nostalgia. I began recording rough demos of song ideas at that time but deliberately did not pursue them further because I wanted to remain emotionally connected to For Farewell Of Nostalgia. It can be hard to promote a release if work is already under way on another. And as such, I plan to dedicate the next few months to promoting Echoes From Forgotten Hearts. I have so much information to share about that release and hope that it receives decent coverage. A friend also suggested that I produce a music video for “Pièce No. Sept,” so I am looking into that.

Several demos and ideas have been recorded since 2019, but I am unsure how much material is there. I plan to go through this material soon and hope to start recording that seventh extended play later this year. I may also work on an acoustic release, something with which Vision Eternel has been experimenting since 2007 when the band had multiple guitarists.

I may also be producing a re-mix album of Vision Eternel songs. By that, I do not mean that Vision Eternel would be re-mixing other artists’ songs, but rather that this album would be made up of other artists’ re-mixes of Vision Eternel songs. I am undecided about this idea because I have a strict view of what Vision Eternel should sound like; I am very protective of this band. But as an artist, I would also want to give freedom to those re-mixing Vision Eternel songs and allow them to bring a sound of their own.

The idea of doing a re-mix album started last summer, a few months after I heard a re-mix of “Season In Absence” produced by Birdz. He described it as a trap hip-hop type of re-mix and beat, which initially threw me off and made me skeptical. The last thing that I envisioned and wanted was Vision Eternel’s music being used for hip-hop. But I was wrong. After hearing Birdz’s re-mix, I was very impressed. It is a great song and I listen to it often. He has since been working on a couple more re-mixes of Vision Eternel songs. I also reached out to a few friends to see if others would be interested in doing re-mixes. Adam Kennedy is already working on one. If it turns out that enough people are on board, it might turn into something.

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