A Kiss in the Dreamhouse: Goth/Industrial/EBM: Interview with Madame B

MADAME B

AKITD: How did Madame B emerge as a musical project in 2006?

MB: I always wanted to do music but never did it because of a lack of confidence and experience, but I always wrote a lot, poems and thoughts in French, then in English (I lived in london for 3 years). I don't know what happened in my head but one day I decided that I needed to do something with all this writing and just started to do music at home with nothing, really, it was strange noises and sounds that I was recording at home and slowly I started to get instruments and do more music. From that day on I couldn't stop, as if I was trying to catch up on all the lost time.

AKITD: It is impossible to miss the pleasure you take in language and wordplay, both in your lyrics and in the titles of albums like "Noisi(h)er Silence" and "Insid(h)er", where you employ typographical puns to make words overflow and exceed their usual meanings. How would you describe your writing process, and who are some of the writers who inspire you the most?

MB: I love many writers but when I write it is really spontaneous--I don't think, I just scratch the paper with what's in my mind straight away.

AKITD: How important is instinct for you when it comes to creating art(musical or otherwise)?

MB: Again, I do things with no thinking beforehand, it's instinctive, spontaneous, some call it improvisation, I can't explain that, I just do things cause they probably just need to come out.

AKITD: What was behind your decision to limit yourself to just one instrument (a synthesizer) for Topsy Turvy World, your other solo project?

MB: Well I never had much musical equipment, only a few things, most of the time broken and cheap so I guess it was an additional restriction, trying to do something with even less stuff, like a little challenge. I think that the urgency of the creation is not afraid of constraints, rather it is nourished and multiplied by it.

AKITD: While recognizably "dark", your music defies easy categorization by the usual forms of genre. What musical acts do you consider as influences on--and inspirations for--your restless, passionate style of music?

MB: I'm not a big fan of definitions and genres...I'm bad when I'm trying to define or explain what I do. Usually I like something when it touches me, simple as that.

AKITD: The flipside to your two solo projects are the numerous collaborations you've done with other musicians. How do these collaborations tend to come about, and what are the pros and cons of doing them in comparison with your solo work?

MB: Most of the collaborations come from virtual and musical meetings. I'm always open to collaborations as long as the people and their music touch me. I don't like people telling me what to do, hopefully they don't, so it's good, simple and usually quick collaborations, that's why I have so many. I like sharing my passion with different people from around the world, it's exciting.

AKITD: You seem to have a great relationship with Zorch Factory Records. How did you initially become involved with the label?

MB: Manu Zorch contacted me years ago to tell me he liked my music. At this time I wasn't doing albums, just songs that I was posting on Myspace. I had a lot of songs so I decided to do demos/albums and Manu kindly put some of my albums on his label. We also did an album together with hs band Camp Z. I like this label and what Manu is doing with it, I'm glad to be a part of it.

AKITD: Your most recent album is Psalm 37:29. Can you talk a little bit about the use of Biblical imagery and themes on this album?

MB: I grew up in a very strict and religious family, praying and reading the Bible everyday, it was my life. When I was 17 I left home and I didn't want to hear about it anymore. I just closed the door and never looked back. But it's coming back to me and I'm thinking about spirituality and faith but in a different way I guess. I'm asking myself questions, wondering what's going on in this world, this sky, this mind...

AKITD: For someone who is just discovering your music from one of the many compilations your songs have appeared on, which album of yours would you recommend they start with, and why?

MB: I would simply say: start with the first album cause it's the beginning! But it's not always easy to listen to, so maybe just try with Noisi(h)er Silence which is the third or fourth.

AKITD: What do you have planned for the upcoming year?

MB: More music, videos and paintings... I want to dig more.