Raoul Vignal - A naked world

Hey, Raoul, thanks for your time and for your great debut album. It doesn't happen to me that often that a record goes so deep. It was a real revelation for me. Among other things, while I was listening to “The Silver Veil” for the first few times, I was reading this novel about a man who tries to kill himself, but then, having failed, finds himself in a deserted world, and the music somehow resonated with that story (“Dissipatio HQ” by Guido Morselli, who actually did kill himself after writing that book). What is the setting of “The Silver Veil” in your mind?

First of all, thank you for those words, and also for the literary recommendation! The setting of the record isn't as tragic as that of the novel you mentioned, but the idea of a deserted world does sound familiar. The songs on “The Silver Veil” are a collection of fragments of my world and my life, at the time I wrote them (2014-2015). I just chose not to mention anything directly in the lyrics. That's how they take on meaning for me, and I hope they do for others too. I think it's fair to say it's music for solitary moments. That was always my state of mind while writing these songs.

I started playing guitar at 14, and I got hooked pretty quickly. Over the years, the more music I listened to, the more bands, genres and styles I discovered, the deeper I fell into it. From my teenage years to now, I've played in all kinds of projects, across the most different musical genres. After years of electric guitar, I took folk lessons. I discovered fingerpicking at 20, and that's where the idea of having a solo project came from. At first I was writing blues-inspired songs, playing under a pseudonym that I later dropped a few years on, when my music started drifting toward a more folk and intimate territory.

During my years in Berlin, I met Martin J. Fiedler, of Klangbild Studios, who convinced me to put out a record. He was so enthusiastic about the songs he'd heard live that he invited me into his studio, which is over by Ostkreuz. I left Berlin in early 2016 with this record in hand, and went back to France to promote "The Silver Veil". It took a year of work for it to reach the ears of people who showed interest in releasing the album and working with me. There was never one particular event that pushed me to change direction in making music. It all happened very naturally.

I moved to Berlin in 2013 because I felt the need to reinvent myself. Going somewhere new felt like exactly the right thing to do. Once I got there, I kept doing what I'd always done: making music. I played quite a few shows there, and I ran into the difficulties of playing very quiet, delicate music for an audience whose attention would quickly drift from the stage to the bar. It's all fine though, it toughened me up and eased my anxiety. I collaborated a lot with other musicians, busked in front of bars, all things that mattered a lot for my personal development. In the end, "The Silver Veil" isn't an album about Berlin, but about what I lived through there, who I met, what happened...

I still miss the city a lot today, but leaving was the best thing to do. Berlin is a tough city for emerging artists. If you can't keep your motivation up, there, you won't make it. I have a love-hate relationship with Berlin.

I'm not sure I can give you names in this case, as to which writer might have influenced me. I love reading, I can only say that reading makes me want to write, just as listening to music makes me want to compose. Right now, I'm going through a phase of reading medieval-set novels, such a fascinating period of history!

It doesn't surprise me, the Anglo-Saxon references are more obvious. I listen to traditional European music fairly often, but not only that. Its influence on my music is entirely unconscious, though.

Before signing the deal, I only knew the two artists you mentioned. I'm not a heavy listener of contemporary music (not by choice, it just happens to be that way). I'm discovering their catalogue, little by little. I feel very happy about the situation, I didn't expect to release my debut on a label of such standing and quality. Everything that's happening thanks to their work makes me feel very positive about my project, which is a new thing for me.

Recording the arrangements was very much a last-minute thing. Most of the vocal and guitar tracks had already been laid down by the time I started working on the arrangements, together with my friend Pierre-Hugues Hadacek (the drummer). There was still a day booked in the studio, so we decided to focus on the arrangements (drum parts, a bit of piano here and there, percussion, flute...). I invited my father to come to Berlin so he could play transverse flute on my record. I grew up listening to him play. Having him play on some of the songs was my way of thanking him for his support and involvement over the years. I'm very proud that my best friend and my dad both joined me on the album. I have fond memories of the studio sessions with them. I remember the last thing we did was record the drums for the title track, which is instrumental. I asked Pierre-Hugues to improvise.

We don't often get to interview young French artists, so I wanted to ask you how things are going, more generally, for a young musician in France right now...

The quickest answer might be: complicated. In any country, being a musician and trying to make a living from music is certainly not the best career choice. But when you're driven by passion, you soon forget about rationality. Getting past the doubts is the hardest part. In the end, it all depends on who you ask. As for me, I'm feeling good, right now. It hasn't always been that way.

It seems your album has attracted quite a bit of attention in Italy, so is there any chance of seeing you play live over here in the near future? Thanks again for your time.

We'll start working on it soon. I'm really happy with the feedback I'm getting from magazines, blogs and listeners in Italy. I've received some really positive messages from people asking if I'll be coming to their country in the future. We'll definitely come, and I can't wait! Thank you.

Ride the wave of great music

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