Alone Prod Label – interview with Helene
http://aloneprod.free.fr/
http://www.myspace.com/aloneprod
Nattsol: Introduce yourself, please.
Helene: Who cares?? lol… I’m an old-school dark wave’s fan. And I try to run a French and small label, founded by Jacquy Bitch in 2006, Alone Prod.
Nattsol: How have you become involved into the post-punk music/scene?
Helene: Everything began with David Bowie. I was 16 and I was fascinated by Ziggy and glam rock. One day, I was surprised to hear a strange Ziggy Stardust’s cover made by a strange band named Bauhaus… I fell in love in the second… and step-by-step, I discovered Virgin Prunes and Christian Death. Today, Christian Death, Virgin Prunes and Bauhaus are still my holy Trinity… lol… even If I stay open-minded to discover new stuff every day…
During long years, I was involved in nothing. I just listened to some music that was not yet called gothic music but new wave, Cold Wave and Batcave.. And I met my husband, Brotherhood of Pagans guitarist. Then Jacquy Bitch who’s a part of my family now… In 2006, he asked my husband to play in Jacquy Bitch and he asked me to help him to run the label, too… and here we are.. That’s all folks.
Nattsol: So now tell me, please, about the label’s foundation and its first steps.
Helene: I was not here when Jacquy decided to create Alone Prod. He only needed a structure to produce JB’s stuff. The very last album «Stories from the old years». And he needed an official structure to sell JB’s and Neva’s albums. He called the label Alone Prod just to say «let’s do it alone now…». When I was involved in Alone Prod, we had the idea to work together on OTOP tribute and to reissue Neva. Brotherhood of Pagans was looking for a label at the same time and we said okay. For Castrati, it’s different. They produced the album by themselves and Alone Prod is just here to help for distribution and promotion. Now, our horizon is to produce JB’s next album for 2010.Nattsol: What other musical activity except running the label you’re involved in?
Helene: I love to see musicians playing live … Not only Alone Prod’s bands. I mean. To pay a ticket to see a band playing live is, on my opinion, the most important thing to do to help indie scene and to be involved in, isn’t it??
Nattsol: Have you ever thought about being a musician? What’s your own attitude to it?
Helene: I learnt piano when I was young… But I’m to shy to imagine one second to go on stage. I don’t know how they can do that????!!! lol…
Nattsol: What kind of music Alone Prod is interested in? What are the releases of it except Jacquy’s stuff?
Helene: We are interested in humans first. Alone Prod is a family with wonderful people hanging around. Now, we have Jacquy Bitch, Neva and Brotherhood of Pagans. We are trying to help Castrati. We made the tribute. We won’t do more right now… Instead of paying the studio to produce JB’s new album.
Nattsol: Being involved in this musical activity, what do you get yourself?
Helene: Pleasure…
Nattsol: What can you tell me about the French Batcave/Deathrock scene nowadays?
Helene: Not a lot because I’m not a specialist. I love Castrati, they are just awesome on stage. I love The Cemetery Girlz and I’m very glad for their new album produced by Manic Depression (great label, really). I’m a Violet Stigmata and Deadchovsky’s fan since a long time. They rock. Anyway, I love all the bands on OTOP tribute… They are all talented and generous…
Nattsol: Can you call some stuff, released by other labels you’d be honored to see as Alone Prod stuff?
Helene: Which bands?? In a dream or in real life?? Right now, I will be glad to work with Cinema Strange, Frank The Baptist, Madre del Vizio, Faith and the Muse, Bloody dead and Sexy, Drama of the Sphere, Eat your Make Up, Corpus Delicti (holy Christ), Deadchovsky, Violet Stigmata, Rosa Crux, Norma Loy, Gitane Demone, Nova et Vetera… too much…to be honest. And I won’t forget someone…
Nattsol: Do you have some friends involved in the scene apart from «the family»?
Helene: I have a lot of respect for Manic Depression, an incredible French label, really involved. I love all the Str8line team too (they work with No Tears and De Volanges), Nordwaves who manages Guerre Froide. I do love Nova et Vetera (a French band, really weird and inventive). Worldwide, I have some friendly contacts with Alex Daniele (Ascension Magazine), a wonderful guy too, and Woodraf from bat.pl and DJ Tony X from LA (this guy is rad). But I am about to forget too much people, I don’t like this exercise.
Nattsol: So Alone Prod is going to keep up its «isolated» attitude? Why you don’t want to have a look at «outside» bands in order to make releases?
Helene: If only we have enough money, we will be less isolated. Be sure… It will be a blast. Unfortunately, I need to work to eat, and I don’t have enough time to work more for the label. If I was rich, I would be ready to follow, produce and promote more, and more, and more… There are a lot of incredible bands on earth…
Nattsol: Well, and your final words.
Helene: Thank you for your interest and support… And I want to thank all the people who help and support our family. I want to thank all the bands involved in the tribute too. Because they followed me with generosity and talent… God bless them.
Questions: Pall ‘Nattsol’ Zarutskiy
‘Grave Jibes Fanzine’
