1-You have created a whole world around your musical project, how the aesthetism and the imagery of Simplyd4rk was born?
SIMPLYD4RK has been a solo project from 2005 to summer 2008. It has been then a progressive evolution. 2 years has been needed to find the structure of my musical identity and make the first sketch of my graphic universe. And since 2007, everything is evolving day by day. My world, UNDEAD ROCKSTRIAL, is a living concept evolving and growing up at the same time that his creator. It's a world made by what I've been influenced for so many years : the japanese culture, cyberpunk (tetsuo is one of my fav movies as much for the visual as the music composed by Chu Ishikawa), vampirism, dark culture, but urban things too, being a fan of street typography and an addict to crunk sounds. I think this few inspirative factors are visible in the graphic universe where SIMPLYD4RK takes place.. However it's a fact that there's a lot of things to see again..

2-Your binomial with Scread Seventh seems to work out very well, have you ever thought about playing with live members?
That's a good question. The fact being that our line-up is a kind of UFO, between the one of a hip hop and rock band. Neither bass, nor guitar, but a singer/screamer and his zombie drummer. We thought about taking some other live members, but actually it's not necessary. There's a lot of energy in our gigs and that's our goal : giving as much or more than a five members band. We do this for each one of our concerts. This line-up is singular, that's the way we like ! But I'm not close-minded and maybe there will be more members later.. but not yet !


3- It's been a somptuous period for a few months now, going on tour with Lycosia and Systr, shooting your video clip, recording of a new album, you never have a break, what are your occupations out of Simplyd4rk?
It's true. It was a really good year. Touring with guys like Lycosia (that I listened to when I was still at school), my friends from Systr, Closer, Lyre, Post Offense, Atomsk, and Punish Yourself, I think we're lucky guys ! SIMPLYD4RK is a great part of my life, between composing, graphic creation and a lot of other things I have to do for it. However, I'm graphic designer and illustrator too, in freelance. Just check my porfolio out ! www.simplyd4rk.com/graphicdesign


4- Can you tell us a bit more about the new album?
From the Grave will be the end of SIMPLYD4RK as an exclusive solo project and the beginning of the team work with Scread Seventh, my drummer. The Grave is this dark, dusty, and stony fantas

y place, only illuminated by the light of computer screens where my visual and musical universe takes shape. A sanctuary where ghosts of the past are screaming together their story, joined by the sing of dysfunctional machines making some frightening noises. From the Grave will be un der the sign of this strange place, an album full of various emotions and of this fighting rage which leads me for so many years. It's obvious, there will be vampiric thoughts and undead too (in a metaphoric way... or not) !


5-What are your main passions where you get your inspiration from?
There's not an inspirative source more important than another. Everything can inspire me and make me write & compose. However, everything can't make a song. My own life, my personnal beliefs, they're the main things which inspire me, and I use them in a explicit way or under the veil of a story.


6- Are there some things that people ignore about Simplyd4rk, a musical project, a secret anecdote?
There's a lot of things that people ignore about Simplyd4rk.

7- You are also in charge of the band's design and the blogs where you are in direct contact with your fans, is it important for you to have your public's opinion and critics about what you do?
What's important to my eyes is to keep in touch with people who are supporting us. The creation itself is and must stay a selfish action. The one who creates to make something seductive for targetted people didn't understand anything. I find this human contact really insteresting. It's really something joyful to share with our fans and work hand into hand with them about the promotion. We sometimes organise events to meet them and it's always something cool. With the most respectful and motivated of them, there is a link which has been created. A fan can become a buddy, that's what I think, and then it happened to put fans on the guestlist because they didn't have enough money for the show we played intheir city.

8- You often speak about vampires in your songs, where does this passion for this myth come from?
I'm a vampire fan since I was 8. Contrary to people could think, it's not the romantic vision of Anne Rice about vampires which inspirated me first. There's an aura in vampirism that I like a lot, and I'm myself a kind of modern vampire : I feed myself with what I do, what I learn, my past experiences, my failures and victories, the emotions I drain everywhere, and by the way, blood has a poetic meaning to my eyes. This passion developped in me a taste for the culture arounding this theme, through poetry, cinem

a, and litterature..

9- Although you look so young you've been managing Simplyd4rk in such a professional way that your band has gotten an international renowned pretty quickly. You appear in Rock magazines oftenly, your video is seen around 10 000 times per week, press and labels are getting more and more interessed in you. What have been your carrer path to succeed in pushing your band so far in such a short period of time?
I'm personnaly convinced that if you don't overrate or underestimate what you're doing, if you just do things without thinking about things possible or not in the future, well, if you're just following your way without taking care of haters, you can just improve. Simplyd4rk wasn't dedicated to become what it became. It was only a myspace where I uploaded few attempts to show what I could do as a singer. I was looking for a band. With time, I ended by composing everything myself and doing what I've ever look for : giving a shape and a sound to my personnal world. Now, we're targetting to become pro with Scread, that's implicating to play everywhere in France and in other countries, and getting a professionnal structure to support us. It's the logical way. And if tomorrow everything ends, I won't have any regret cuz it would have been an awesome experience.

10- Any words for those who criticize you?
Criticism is always a good thing to take if it's well down. So I'm open to it. Concerning to haters, I ignore them. It's fun to see how much their courage find its limits to their computer screen. However, I invite them to face me and tell me eyes into eyes what they want to tell about what we're doing. It could be funny.

11- What does represent for you the spirit of metal?
There's a creative rage in metal that I like. Listen to 'endzeit' by Heaven Shall Burn or the extra-famous 'destroy everything' by Hatebreed and this feeling takes its whole meaning. Metal is more than music I think, it's a wild energy which gets the heart and mind, gives us the will to express and act. That's what I like in.

12- Thank you for answering my questions, any last words?
A big thank to you for this interview, to Fatbros Productions for their work on the whole album + clip, to Harrag our manager, to our fans, to Ced and Sushie from Banane Metalik, to Closer, Lyre, to Martin from SYSTR, to Lycosia, Atomsk and to Blackrain who are supporting us in this adventure. I will finish on a special thought for my family, Lady U, Rage, Noemy et K. This years has been full of events and emotions for several reasons, and they all played a role in.