Denuit - The Voice of Shadows

The darkwave duo from Montpellier has carved out a prominent place in the new European goth scene, thanks in particular to the single “I’m Bleeding” and their second album “Inferno”. We had an exclusive chat with Ivi Topp and Lis Araignée about their music and their relationship with a genre that, after the glorious season of the 80s, keeps branching out into new directions. And we also found out that a new album is on the way...

How did your artistic project start, and why did you choose the gothic genre in particular?

Lis: It all started on a cold October night. When a spider and a bat began dancing together. We didn't choose the goth aesthetic, we simply saw the beauty in darkness.

Ivi: Danny Elfman's style has always resonated in my heart ever since I watched the Batman animated series as a kid. It made me fall in love with gothic and Art Deco forever!

Dark and gothic music was hugely popular in the 80s: who are your favorite artists from the golden age of darkwave?

Lis: Siouxsie And The Banshees forever.

Ivi: Depeche Mode.

Do you think gothic and darkwave are still appreciated by young people today? What makes this cultural dimension still relevant today, in your view?

Lis: I think so! There are little bats out there who love goth. The world is suffering, and so are the new generations, because of our mistakes. They identify with dark music because it reflects their own individual crisis.

Ivi: Absolutely! I think there are certain things that can elevate today's culture: speaking openly about pain and the rawest emotions we experience. Maybe that could cut through all the plastic, artificial music out there. Plus, the theatrical dimension is bigger than real life, and that's appealing in a world where even my neighbor's cat has an Instagram profile.

In recent years the French gothic scene has grown richer with many notable names, like Soror Dolorosa, Minuit Machine, Je T'Aime, Saigon Blue Rain... How do you relate to them?

Lis: We're on the same label as Je t'aime, Manic Depression Records. We like their music. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Minuit Machine, but I've never had the chance to meet them. We got to know Soror Dolorosa and we'll be playing the same event in Montpellier next October: they're great. You should check out Venin Carmin, Yuden, Unspkble and Gerard Jugno 106: they're friends of ours, they make dark music and they're doing great!

Ivi: As for the more electronic side of gothic, there are a few friends and sources of inspiration I'd like to mention: Sierra, Mila Dietrich, La croix et la banière, Kompromat!

Your concerts play a very important role, and on stage you show a lot of energy. How do you organize your live performances? Will you be playing any shows in Italy?

Lis: Yes, playing live is very important to us, it's a way to convey and share strong emotions. I handle the bookings with the help of our manager Thomas Hardy. We haven't played in Italy yet, but we'd really love to.

Ivi: We always keep the stage in our heart and spirit. After every show, we're reminded of the reason why we do what we do. We spend a lot of time preparing our live shows. We try out different setlists to find an order that can really tell a story. A beginning, a development and an ending, just like in a good film. Before putting together a new show, we usually prepare with our sound engineer, Nicolas Cesare, and our lighting technician, Pierre, we all share the same apartment. We'd love to play in Italy... I speak a bit of Italian, it would be a pleasure to meet you.

Lis, your voice is undoubtedly a distinctive trait of your music. Which artists have inspired you the most?

Lis: Thank you. I listen to a lot of dark synth music. I'm a huge fan of Sierra. The strange thing is that I'm mainly inspired by instrumental music! There are basically no vocals in the dark synth genre. My two favorite singers are Julia Lanoë (Rebeka Warrior) and Siouxsie Sioux.

In the common imagination, dark and gothic are often associated with a stereotype - how do you avoid that risk?

Lis: I embrace my witchy nature and perform strange rituals naked in the woods. Just kidding! Sometimes some promoters are scared off by our look, and that hurts us. But we won't change who we are. We'll simply give our music another name. When we want to play at a venue that doesn't welcome dark music, we call it electro-pop instead.

Ivi: It's a shame that dark music is so often seen in a misleading way. We're not trying to break stereotypes, we simply make the music we love. And since Lis and I come from two very different musical backgrounds, I think blending them always leads to results different from where we started.

Are you planning to release a new album after "Inferno"? And will there be changes in your style?

Lis: Yes! Our new album "Ritual" comes out on October 20th. There will be many changes, our style has evolved. It will be a mix of synthwave, dark synth and pop.

Ivi: I'd like to add that our heart belongs to the gothic, but our music evolves and reflects the experiences of our lives. We don't want to limit ourselves to one particular style or genre - if a genre feels right at the moment and gives us the chance to tell the story and the emotions we're feeling, we follow it. "Ritual", our fourth album, is my favorite project among everything we've made. I'm very attached to this work: my father passed away this year, and the album is dedicated to him. We poured all our love into making "Ritual". We took a lot of risks - some will love it, others will hate it, but I love it to death and I hope you will too. And thank you for your questions!

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