I have never seen anyone come close to the kind of commitment Antoine HLT shows in his music. The French composer/producer has released 3 albums so far, one of them being over an hour and 48 minutes long. This happens to be his latest album- Acrostiche. His other two albums are also close to an hour long each. What we are seeing here is dedication to an album to a level of self-satisfaction. The last artists I saw release an album that is an hour-long marathon were Beyonce and Taylor Swift. If this isn’t an indication of the kind of success that awaits Antoine HLT then I will give you more reason to admire him and his work.
The only theme that follows throughout his music is the techno elements in them. Otherwise, his tracks are a candy shop full of surprises and flavors. Some of it is starry textured, some are more on the mysterious side whereas others just have a tropical-pop touch to them like II regarde le ciel. Either way, Antoine is a magician who has a few tricks up in sleeves. We will be hearing more about the tricks up his sleeves in today’s post.
In Conversation with Antoine HLT
Because the album is so vast, we are curious, what is the writing and creating process for Antoine HLT? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Inspiration remains something quite mysterious and random. I have, from time to time, small fulgurances of texts or melodies, which I hasten to note or record. The starting point is therefore generally always impromptu and spontaneous. Often, it’s a pun, or a polysemy, that creates this flash and makes me think: «This can make a song». But then, you have to get in front of the work table: I have to set aside a time or even a place to take these little pieces and work them, embellish them, assemble them… or drop them.
Every artist has their own journey with their music, can you tell us your musical journey so far, the difference between this album and the rest of your work?
I do not have a «classical» career as a musician. However, I have a taste for creation in my veins. As a child, I spent most of my time making up stories, little magazines, songs… I was not even able to write yet I would ask my father to transcribe for me stories that I invented, and then I would make the drawings! A bunch of tapes were already recorded with my little recorder… I was passionate about it. But it was still a game, in which you shouldn’t interfere unless I asked. My mother suggested that I take piano lessons…and I didn’t want to. Sometimes I regret it, and at the same time, I think it would have held me back. I always had to do what I wanted and understand for myself.
The thought was more that I would become a comic book author, but music eventually took over in my life and in my artistic journey. I released my first self-produced single in 2013, so relatively late. By 24 I had very little theoretical knowledge of music. I learned by doing and I trained a lot, except that I chose my training as and when needed.
Testing, identifying the brakes, and then correcting them: it’s a much more concrete approach for me and that suits me better than just learning the theory and then applying it. And then, of course, I would delegate to professionals anything I could not handle. From album to album, I think I have progressed, and that is what makes my career interesting to follow. Today, I am very proud of this third album, which is in my opinion more coherent musically, and more accomplished in sound.
Your music has so many influences from across the world sonically, can you tell us a bit about the universality of your music?
I don’t like things to be the way you expect them to be! In fact, I’m a big music consumer. I have strange tastes, ranging from completely forgotten kitsch 80’s pop to underground text songs, Irish folk or experimental music. And I always want to discover new things. But sometimes I regret that the genres do not intersect more. For example, I may like a pop song and regret that it does not have a beautiful acoustic instrument solo, or I may like a text song and regret that it does not have a little more «punchy» and less conventional arrangement… So I just try to create what I would like to hear as a consumer, and it’s a bit of a mix of all that comes out in my creations.
Releasing an hour-long album requires commitment and time. How long did it take to finish the album? When did you know that the album was finished?
Yes, the creation of an album is a real long-term work! But it’s a format that I like very much, and that I find very satisfying artistically. Until then, I noticed that each album had required a work cycle of about three years. There is the process of writing the songs, which I have already spoken about, but the most time-consuming parts of the process are arrangements and realization, then mixing. I engage in every step, except in purely technical phases that I do not master. For this album, I also spent much more time on visuals, clips and release strategy.
As for when an album is finished: I listen to the songs many times and on all possible sources (speakers, headphones, car…), then I let it rest and I come back to it with hindsight. I am very meticulous and as long as something bothers me in a piece, even a detail, we come back on it. I sometimes despaired Josse, arranger and mixer on the album, as I would come back to the studio with to-do lists on tracks he thought were over! It’s only when I listen to everything again and when the to-do lists are empty that the album is finished.
What were the musical aspects that kept you coming back for more and inspired you to write again and again?
I always want to be surprised and experience things. For example, Non, non, non is a very 80’s sounding track. One would not expect there to be a flute on it, and as it stands, it could very well have worked without it. Pierre Merciol, the flautist, told me: «I’m not sure that it will be ok». But I said: “Let’s test it and see how it goes.” And in the end, he said, “Well, it sounds good.” I think this is the kind of thing that has been done little. But let’s be clear, I do not pretend to revolutionize music! I’m just cooking my own little meal, and as good as I think I can. I don’t like to “settle for”.
What was the collaboration process on this album like?
I usually contact my arrangers when the lyrics, melodies and structures of my songs are already finished. For this album, it was a little different. Some songs were still made like this, but others were already largely made before I grafted a text, a melody or additional arrangements, like Trouble or Narcisse et moi. I asked my collaborators if they didn’t have things to offer me and I had the pleasure of choosing pieces that I really liked (and that for some I had already spotted !).
We worked remotely with Fred Bianconi. We worked very closely in the intimacy of the studios With Josse Gérard or Antoine Bridet. About Humilité, with Sofiane Soufi, it was a bit of both. We started from the base of a song of his, and then we reworked and enriched the structure to take the song to its final form. For the mastering, I called on Alex Gopher, who worked with the greatest, which gave this «big» sound to the songs. I went to get some collaborations, and others arrived according to chance and meetings. I met Pierre Merciol at a concert and he invited me on his radio show. From there, he told me not to hesitate if I needed a clarinet or flutes for my songs. It didn’t fall on deaf ears.
How has the listener’s reaction been so far? Are there any audience interaction stories that you would like to tell us about?
Overall, the feedback on this album is very positive and I’m happy about this! Offering music at the crossroads of genres, it’s harder to find your “niche”, but when people cling to my music, perceive and like these different aspects of my work, I realize that they cling really strongly. I have wonderful exchanges with the public. One day, a lady came to see me after a concert to tell me that she had just lost a loved one and that my music had done her good, that it had been her sunshine in her day. In those cases, I think I won.
You might want to kick back and relax after the release of your labour of love but do you have any plans for future songs, albums or tours?
It’s true that I often think it’s time to take a little break! But there is always something to do, concert dates to get, videos to shoot… Tout reste à faire, as I say in my song! I have some new songs in the works, but it is too early to know what direction to give them, even if I have some ideas. For the moment, I am focusing on the creation and the organization of my concert on March 29 in Essey-lès-Nancy, which will be the presentation of this album and the celebration of the 10 years of my first single release. It will be above all a symbol and a great party to share with those who follow me.
A look into music by Antoine HLT
The sensibilities that Antoine HLT brings as a songwriter and singer allows him to create a portal with sounds that propel us both back in the past and into the future. He leaves us the Matrix with his music, he allows us to experience every change in a dimension that is far from us. Every single track in Disc 1, Disc 2 and Disc 3 has a world of its own. While there is this much flux in the album, Antoine HLT also brings in a graceful and smooth transition within it. Each disc is a lava lamp of a section, you feel the beats slowly rise and fall like in the lamp. But you also feel the crackle of each note as it hits your earlobe.
Making us know that Antoine means business when it comes to the production front of his creation. An album as iconic as this deserves to be featured in a film/series as iconic as itself. As I mentioned before, Matrix feels like the right film for Antoine’s music but not in its existing form. There has to be a twist to it, like a funky collision of time. Much like MIB- Men In Black. So let the joy of new music fill your ears as you click on the links attached above. Antoine HLT will guide you through a variety of sounds to perk up your senses.