AD: It’s a few months since you toured with Soilwork and One Way Mirror. The audience reaction was very positive. Apart from that, what other benefits did you get from the tour?

MR: Not everyone has the chance to tour with bands like Soilwork and One Way Mirror, and so we were very lucky to get on this tour. The first advantage of touring with bands like this is that we get to see the professional and logistical side of a European tour, and that’s just one part of the pleasure. Secondly, seeing Soilwork and One Way Mirror performing every evening taught us a lot on a technical, musical and visual level. We couldn’t have imagined the physical and moral investment necessary to be totally effective every evening over several weeks. It shifted some preconceived ideas, I can tell you ...

AD: What’s new on the music front?

MR: Musically, we’re in the process of composing some promising outline material for the second album which we’d like to be a bit different from the first. We’re looking for originality and melody while keeping the brutal aspect which you can find in ‘In Media Res’. ‘In Media Res’ was composed between 2005 and 2006, so we want to capitalise on the maturity we’ve gained in the three years since then. Our musical aspirations and expectations are no longer exactly the same, we want to make an album which is more mature and perhaps more carefully constructed than the first one as far as the atmosphere, the modern style and melody are concerned. It’s difficult to be more precise on the subject right now because at the moment we’re at the outline stage and everything still has to be done.

AD: I’ve had the opportunity to see Ananta play live on two occasions. For me, it’s a mixture of styles but I’d say that it’s Modern Metal with a large dose of brutality. For the benefit of those who don’t know your band, how would you define your musical style?

MR: It’s difficult for us to give an exact definition of our musical style. Clearly brutality and modernity are areas that we cultivate, but we equally attach enormous importance to melody and emotion as well as a dark and heavy atmosphere. We also try to be diverse when it comes to our influences which can range from Pink Floyd to Cannibal Corpse to take two extremes, passing through Meshuggah, Hatesphere or Killswitch Engaged in order to ensure that each passage has its own identity while maintaining a consistent lead line.

AD: What’s your formula for attracting audiences and listeners?

MR: We don’t have a formula as such for attracting people. On record, we make every effort to be right in terms of atmospherics and variety of songs so that the listener never gets bored, and each song is different and has its own identity. For our live audiences, we haven’t set anything in stone other than releasing the maximum amount of energy and above all sharing our pleasure with the public of being on stage

AD: Ananta has existed since 2005. Has your state of mind changed since the start?

MR: Fundamentally the state of mind of the group hasn’t changed too much, we’ve always had the same inclinations and the same burning desire to get on stage, compose material and make studio recordings. The things which have changed compared to 2005 are on a technical and logistical level. We haven’t entirely got the same aspirations thanks to the maturity we have acquired on an artistic and technical level of production and composition. From a stage point of view, the tour with Soilwork and One Way Mirror taught us a lot and made us question a few things. The concept of pleasure is very important to us but we’re also looking nowadays to be more professional and polished, we’re always looking to improve in all areas.

AD: I get the impression that you are looking to create a different atmosphere at your live concerts compared to your recorded work. To be more precise, it seems to me after listening to the recorded version a few times, it’s more dark, more industrial, more atmospheric and even more brutal. Your live show is equally heavy but also more rhythmic and encourages greater participation. What do you think about this?

MR: We haven’t specifically sought to create a different atmosphere when we play live. The most we do is to try and rework the recorded songs by modifying certain sections and the length in some cases to make for greater impact in our performance and enable greater audience participation. It’s true that certain tracks sound a bit different live than on the album, but to be honest, most of the time it comes down more to technical issues arising from the sound and acoustics of the concert hall than a deliberate desire on our part. We’re currently looking for an experienced sound engineer who would make the songs sound something like they do on record, because it’s equally important to represent the style we play live as on record.

AD: For me, the track ‘Bitter’ combines your live style with the recorded version thanks to the bone-shaking drumming, guitar work which is reminiscent of machine-gun fire and the industrial air of evil. Is it a declaration of war or of anger?

MR: This song is more synonymous with anger, indeed with disgust. In fact as its name suggests, with the bitterness that we can feel in our everyday lives, and with the things which leave a sour taste in the mouth or a bitter feeling. It’s a violent song but deep down there’s desperation. Occasionally we like to play on contrasts, as on ‘Fragile’ which is one the album’s most violent songs.

AD: The track ‘Ballad of Violence’ is truly a violent ballad, but also epic and powerful. I sense the development of a sinister atmosphere. What’s it about?

MR: This track is special and on its own to some degree on the album both musically and lyrically. It has a heavier atmosphere and goes much deeper emotionally. It’s also more melodic. The lyrics of this song tell a somewhat twisted tale. It’s about a young girl in pre-adolescence who has problems with her incestuous father with whom she lives. One fine morning she is woken up by a strange melody on the alarm clock, a melody which causes her to go mad and thirsting for revenge. This ballad speaks to her and orders her to kill her father to win her dignity back and have the chance of a brighter future. We’re talking about the devastating effect which certain traumas can have on our psychology, schizophrenia, manic depression etc ..

AD: ‘In Media Res’ – if I understand it correctly, it means ‘In the Middle of the Thing’. Is that right? In the middle of what?

MR: That’s what it is. We chose this name for the album because at the time of its construction we had it all to do artistically and musically, and we were still looking for the name of the band. ‘In Media Res’ was suggested at the time but although it didn’t suit us as a band name, we found it was a good name for the album which was in progress. We chose it because at the time we were in the middle of “the thing”, a thing which was new and exciting, the search for a guiding line for a new project. It was taking all our time up and was almost becoming an obsession, we wanted something new and above all an album which people weren’t going to tire of after listening to it a dozen times.

AD: Your musical style reminds me in general of Mnemic. On some tracks, especially ‘Color’, I recognise the riffs of The Haunted and the hardcore structure of Killswitch Engage. Where do your musical and artistic inspirations come from?

MR: Our musical inspirations are very diverse, they can go from trip hop to death passing via thrash. We’re not fixed over ideas about music and are always looking to refine our style, however it’s true that certain influences are more important than others. Meshuggah are one of the biggest influences on the brutal side of things, and we are also fond of progressive groups like Tool on account of their bleak atmosphere. It ‘s true that Killswitch Engage have an influence in the areas of song structure and hooky melodies especially in the vocals.

AD: As far as the members of Ananta are concerned, is it musical harmony or are there creative tensions?

MR: It’s a bit difficult to explain because it’s a bit of both. Where the composition and production are concerned, most of the time we’re in agreement, although from time to time there are differences of opinion. That really comes from a concern for detail, we like to push things to their limit in order to try and find the best way of constructing and serving up a piece. Diversity is more evident in everyone’s musical tastes. In our everyday lives, we all listen to a different range of mixed-up musical styles from each other, which leads to interesting complementarities at the heart of the band.

AD: These days, there are a lot of tremendous bands in France. Do you have any special ties with other musicians from your company? MR: It’s true that today there are a lot of high quality bands in France. I’m thinking in particular of Gojira of course but there are several lesser known bands such as END., Hacride, Klone, Erlen Meyer and loads more who keep the French Metal scene alive. The bands we have the most contact with are END., Erlen Meyer, Eyeless and One Way Mirror with whom we have had friendly ties on different occasions at concert or in musical collaboration. Some members of these bands have featured on the album. Of course there is Guillaume Bideau (Mnemic, One Way Mirror) who sings on the last track of the album « Mental Duality » and did the mastering of the album. He, Olivier (Erlen Meyer) and the guitarist Ole (Eyeless) all played a part on the song ‘Clink and Curl’.

AD: You come from Montpellier – as a city is it cut off from the metal music world, and for that reason is it more difficult to attract new fans?

MR: Montpellier is effectively cut off from the metal music world, but that’s the case for a fair number of towns and cities in southern France where people are more enticed by more festive music even though there is a public out there and there are bands who surely deserve to be more widely known. It’s therefore more difficult to attract new fans in our city although there are some and there is an association in Montpellier fighting to keep Metal alive in our region. It’s evident that the Northern French regions are more open to this style of music, maybe that‘s due to the fact that they’re closer to other towns and cities in Northern Europe where metal music is completely recognised and universally accepted.

AD: What’s planned for Ananta in 2009 ? And what plans do you have for next year?

MR: Our plans for 2009 are quite straightforward. An absolute is that we are looking to tour Europe to continue the promotion of our album ‘In Media Res’ as well as widening our European distribution as since the tour with Soilwork and One Way Mirror we have some fans spread over various parts of Europe. The making of the second album is on the go, and indeed we’ve started with some promising pre-production without knowing exactly how it will finish up. We’re trying to go forward steadily and surely without rushing in order that we don’t botch it. We’re aiming to get it right for the future.

AD: To conclude, would you like to say anything to the Metalheads of Great Britain?

MR: During the tour with Soilwork and One Way Mirror, we spent a fair amount of time in the UK. When we arrived, we were a bit concerned about the public reaction, because we were completely unknown there and we knew that the British public is well informed. But from the first date the air cleared and all the British dates followed on successfully. We would like to give our warmest thanks to the British public for the reception we received and their interest in our music. We have nothing but good memories of the time we spent with you and hope we can come back and tour the UK again as soon as possible.

AD: Thank you for your replies and for the pleasure that your music and performances have brought me. I hope to have the chance to see you live again soon, and wish you every success in the future.

For more on the band check out http://www.myspace.com/anantametal
http://www.ananta-metal.com/

Interviewed by Andrew Doherty

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