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Five minutes with Mondkopf

Despite two albums under his belt, chances are you might not have stumbled across Paul “Mondkopf” Régimbeau before. Paris-based music producer, who cities black metal and post-punk as a key influence to his sound, he churns out the kind of gothic electro that fucks with you in a devastating sonic fashion. He’s touring with Aphex Twin this autumn and his latest album Rising Doom  (which has been out in France since May) is set to hit our shores worldwide on the In Paradisum label this October. You’ll know him soon enough.

I caught up with the producer and chatted to him about his new album and the live show he’s designed to accompany it.

Your music incorporates a lot of classical composition as well as electronic. What’s your background as a musician? 

None! I learned by myself by listening closely to records and reproducing what I was hearing.

Rising Doom is an apt title for your new album, in that there is a sense of abstract fury that swells and builds as the album progresses. I hasten to use the word ‘dark, but it is a sinisterly powerful listening experience. What were the conditions surrounding the recording of the album?

I get what you mean but I think there is still some lighter moments, it’s not all dark. At least that’s how I see it. I recorded the album in my room in Paris in the summer heat. I started listening to Black Sabbath, which lead me to a lot of other metal bands. At the same moment, from the experience of my live shows, I needed to find this energy again in my music, something more like a catharsis, so I started making songs with more energy than before. In a few weeks I had a dozen of songs and I worked on this basis for several months from then, just shaping the sounds, improving details and recording live musicians.

Having lived in Toulouse and now living in Paris,  how much influence does your surroundings have on the music your producing?

I started listening to more techno music because i was going to clubs in Paris, then metal because to me the city has an aggressive feeling to it, so I need to listen to even more aggressive music, it’s my way to adapt and control this… Whereas in Toulouse i was listening to more laid-back music, mostly hip-hop.

You’ve got a new live show that merges your music with a specifically designed light show. Was the process of transferring your music from the studio to live shows a smooth transition? 

When I produce I always have the live show in mind, so it makes things easier. But I still wanted to remix some songs to make them even more powerful for the live show, and now I even prefer some live versions. I really had in mind this idea of making the live to be closely linked to the album, to propose a way to listen to it in new, bigger dimension.

Any plans for UK shows?

I’m doing The Arches in Glasgow september 17th. We are still un the process of chosing the London gig around the time of release of the album.

Like any musician, you’re going to have lots of musical points of references. But if you were to offer one track or one album that defined or inspired your musical direction, which would you choose?

It’s really too difficult a question…  maybe Monoliths & Dimensions from SunnO))) was the first album to make me aware about the sonic potential of the guitar and vocals in metal.

Mondkopf’s Rising Doom is out on In Paradisum on 3rd October 2011. 

You can download free track The Song Of Shadows here.

London Electronic Dance festival promised to be one of the biggest festivals of the summer…and turned out to be one of the soggiest. I covered the Saturday night line up for Data Transmission. Read my review of the event here.

While you’re at it, you could always check out some of my most recent reviews as well.

Having just got back from Berlin (funnily enough their music festival was a washout too – but for different reasons), it appears that Autumn cometh and promises plenty of dark, fuzzy club nights and albums to review – all of which should keep my fingers firmly glued to my keyboard. Get in touch if you want me to cover anything you think might be up my street.

Photograph: Joe  Howlett