Interview with Esthesis

Béla Alabástrom

Could you tell us a little about the history of the band?

Aurélien Goude: Esthesis was born in 2019 with our first EP, Raising Hands, which is now sold out everywhere. I already listened to a lot of music when I was younger, but around 2012, I started wanting to write music myself. I was a bit tired of listening to music without making any. I felt that I had things to offer and bring out. So I composed a lot, first on my own, then with the band, and in 2019 we released our first EP, followed by two albums in 2020 and 2022, which were quite successful. Today, our third album, Out of Step, is being released, and we're really proud of it. We had several line-up changes, but now Esthesis is stabilised with the current formation: Arnaud, Marc, Rémi, Mathilde and I.

Out of Step is your third album. How does it differ from your previous albums?

Marc Anguill: The Awakening sounded a bit more old school in terms of songwriting and production, Watching Worlds Collide brought in more of a jazz/groove touch, and Out of Step leans a bit more towards electro and industrial sounds.

Aurélien Goude: Esthesis is like a kind of "laboratory". The idea will always be to offer albums that are part of a whole, with the same ambition in mind: to offer a journey where people can explore different facets of the same universe. Each album is like a planet within that same universe. Even if the Awakening era seems stylistically over, in reality it is part of Esthesis' history and, above all, I find that we have actually returned to certain aspects of it. We have never been so close to a track like The Awakening, for example, which remains my favourite track from that debut album and which ultimately offered something quite ambient. I would add that I am still very proud of Watching Worlds Collide, which was a kind of film noir, very jazzy. But yes, the idea with Out of Step was to dirty up the sound, to offer harder, sharper tracks, but at the same time with very hypnotic aspects that we really challenged ourselves with, both in harder and very ambient atmospheres.

Album cover for Out of Step, photo by Aurélien Goude

Could you tell us about the creative process behind Out of Step? What inspired you in terms of the themes?

Aurélien Goude: As usual, I compose a demo for all the instruments and write the lyrics, and the musicians in the band rearrange it afterwards. They all did a fantastic job with the arrangements, and the bonus track Abyss was even composed by four of them, based on a drum pattern by Arnaud.

The lyrics of Out of Step talk about the feeling of being out of step with today's world, which is quite a topical theme, because who doesn't feel at least a little 'out of sync' with the flow of information that can overwhelm and overwhelm us on a daily basis? We are bombarded with negative information, we follow it from afar without being able to do anything about it, so the only thing that can help us get through it is to sometimes retreat into our own bubble. Personally, that's what I do. I never watch television. I keep up to date only by reading what I want to read and cross-referencing the information I see.

I also prefer to compose or listen to music and spend time with my loved ones rather than watch the TV news and get depressed... It's a fairly introspective album that provides answers to this feeling of disconnection and describes that feeling, offering a few remedies to 'reconnect' with yourself. The tracks City Lights, The Storm and The Frame offer some clues in this regard.

Mathilde Collet: When Aurélien writes a song, he has a general feeling about what he wants to express in it, which he keeps a bit to himself until he's written a few lines. Sometimes at that point, he talks to me about it, and we discuss the concept of the song together, or debate how certain ideas could best be conveyed through the lyrics. Sometimes his ideas resonate with me on a personal level, and I find it interesting to explore those feelings within the song, so it happens that some of my ideas end up seeping into the lyrics.

For this latest album, the song The Storm was inspired by an experience I had when I was younger, living in Japan. I was going through a difficult time, and one night I went out into a storm (I think it was a typhoon approaching), and walked straight to the sea, through the rain and the wind. I guess I needed some kind of catharsis! When I told Aurélien this story a few years ago, it really stuck with him, and it became the starting point for the theme of The Storm.

How would you describe Out of Step musically?

Aurélien Goude: With Out of Step, the idea was to create an extremely immersive and contrasting album. It is the most cinematic and ambient album we have ever released, but also Esthesis' most powerful. This album has some post-rock, industrial and trip hop sounds and features some very big crescendos, which we particularly appreciate in Esthesis! Mathilde's vocals are also a little more prominent than on the previous album. We like to alternate our two voices since Watching Worlds Collide.

Esthesis: Aurélien Goude, Mathilde Collet, Rémi Geyer, Arnaud Nicolau, Marc Anguill (promo photo by Gé Miguel)

Who are your biggest influences as a band?

Aurélien Goude: We all have our own influences, but I would say that metal and classic rock are still the most prominent. For me, however, my main influences on this album are coldwave, industrial and trip hop, ambient and post-rock or post-metal.

Marc Anguill: That's very hard to say, as our influences are so diverse. There isn't one band that we're all unanimously fans of. That diversity is actually Esthesis' strength — it gives us a sound that's truly our own.

How would you describe the current state of the prog scene in France?

Marc Anguill: It's pretty catastrophic compared to countries like Germany, the Netherlands, England, or Poland. There are only a handful of bands in France playing this kind of music. Fortunately, the audience is loyal — they travel to see us and support us financially by buying our albums. But sadly, we don't really see a new generation coming up.

Aurélien Goude: Yes, we are doing everything we can to try and boost all this!

You recently posted about how most of the pre-orders for the album came from fans outside of France. What does that mean for the future of French prog? Are you optimistic about it, given that one of the main festivals, Prog en Beauce, is no more?

Aurélien Goude: We have a lot of sales in France, but they are mainly progressive music fans. Unfortunately, people in France hardly listen to rock music anymore. Metal still has a bit of a chance, but I don't know for how long. That's why we prefer to focus on developing our music abroad. These are the countries that support us the most. We hope to see new prog music festivals emerge in France in the coming years. I know there are plans, but the financial aspect is a major obstacle to this kind of initiative because audiences hardly go to concerts anymore. Or they prefer to buy tickets for £150 to see bigger artists.

Marc Anguill: We're rather pessimistic, but the good thing about Esthesis is that our music blends many different styles. That allows us to play at festivals with varied line-ups. Maybe this new album will bring us listeners who are into post-rock, industrial or electronic music, in addition to our regular prog audience.

Where is your fan base concentrated?

Mathilde Collet: We have a lot of fans in the UK, in Germany, in the Netherlands and in Poland, and some loyal fans in the United States as well. Of course we have quite a lot of fans in France. In October, we hosted a Bandcamp listening party to celebrate the album's release and let people hear it before it officially came out. In the chat, there were people from all around the world, and it was a magical moment. Knowing that everyone was listening at the same time, being able to interact with them, and seeing them share their feelings about the music was incredibly rewarding.

Esthesis (promo photo by Gé Miguel)

What are the main challenges your face as artists?

Mathilde Collet: I'd say the main challenge right now is finding a balance between everything that comes with Esthesis' music and our relationship as a couple (Aurélien and I). In addition to the music, we run the independent label Misty Tones, and we both also have full-time jobs. I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day!

Marc Anguill: Keeping the joy of playing music alive. These days, between creating content for social media, managing communication, finding and reaching out to festivals, organising tours, and so on, the musical part tends to get lost. On top of that, streaming doesn't pay enough, and with the rise of artificial intelligence, the future looks pretty uncertain. Personally, I'm comforted by the fact that my job as an architect allows me to make a living — so I can keep the best part of being an artist: playing the music I love, without compromise.

Aurélien Goude: I agree with Mathilde and Marc. I would add that one of the major challenges today is that music needs to be visible everywhere, in addition to the financial aspect, because making music and promoting it is very expensive. Creating a label is not always a smooth ride, but I have no regrets so far. Finally, it's difficult to promote our music because, unfortunately, many people aren't curious and refuse to discover new artists. The market is also saturated; there's too much music today, that's a fact. But I think we're still very lucky to have so many people listening to us and buying our albums.

How can we as fans best support you as artists?

Marc Anguill: By coming to our shows, buying our CDs, vinyls, t-shirts, and giving a thumbs-up when you see our posts on socials — that helps the algorithms show our music to new people.

Would you be interested in performing in the UK?

Marc Anguill: It would be a dream come true! To play in the country that invented rock music would be a kind of crowning achievement.

Aurélien Goude: Same here. it's definitely in our plans for this tour. Who knows!

Could you tell us about your memories of playing at Loreley?

Aurélien Goude: It was quite a stressful concert, with a lot at stake, but it was truly superb. The setting was magnificent, the audience was very receptive to our music, and we gained many fans that day.

Marc Anguill: It was absolutely fabulous. First of all, beyond the music, there's also the human experience: travelling around Germany together, visiting Frankfurt and the Loreley site, sharing good times. Then, as musicians, being able to rub shoulders with artists I admire, such as the members of Leprous and Soen, is great. Finally, the best for last: playing such a big stage, with a lovely sound and a warm audience... it was crazy.

Could you tell us a little about your future plans?

Aurélien Goude: We're going to tour as much as possible with this album from 2026 and 2027 onwards. We also have a live in studio project coming up in January for YouTube. It's going to be a really powerful moment for the album's promotion. And another surprise, a very original one, which will be coming in February. I can't say any more about it!

Imagine there is a reader who is not familiar with your music. Is there one track that you would recommend to them as a starting point?

Aurélien Goude: That's a very difficult question. I've thought about it a lot, but I would say The Frame, because that song has all the elements that make it sound like Esthesis. A mysterious intro, very prominent keyboard layers, a polished rhythm section, soft and sharp guitars, and a vocal duet between Mathilde and me, with a catchy chorus. It's the track that could be the right starting point for anyone discovering us.

Marc Anguill: I would say No Soul to Sell, from the debut album, since that's the one the audience requests most often at our live shows.

Mathilde Collet: Perhaps The Storm, because the track incorporates the different atmospheres that were sought after and worked on for the latest album. I think it captures perfectly the identity of Esthesis.

Esthesis (promo photo by Gé Miguel)

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