HARTLIGHT: “Alchemy is a central part of my life”

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Hartlight is a fantastic band that started out as a project, with a first album inspired by the Japanese manga Bersek. We had a really nice chat with Noémie Marie, the band’s leader and lead singer. We talked about alchemy, women in the metal scene and how important music is in life.

I know that is a very cliche question, but our readers (probably) do not know the bands, so can you talk about HARTLIGHT and, even so, your musical background?

Noémie Marie (lyrics, vocals): Hartlight is a vision of Adrien D. and me. Together we wanted to create a metal project that embodied the dark and luminous energy of human beings. We released two songs in which we were trying to find our sound, then an EP based on the manga Berserk in a power metal style.

After that, we moved to France and our dream of getting a full band together to play came true. We changed the way we created. I’ve always written the lyrics but now Adrien D. does the composition. It gave the band a new impetus because we inspire each other. In January 2024, a feeling of suspended time enveloped our flat and we gave birth to our first album, “As Above, So Below”.

The lyrics are now personal, mystical and mysterious. Adrien Guingal joined the band along the way and wrote his solos, and our hooded man Pierre d’Astora, who had left to practice alchemy in the French countryside, was replaced by Guillaume Remih on drums. As for me, I’ve always sung and I learned my technique from Adrien D. when I met him. He then introduced me to metal through the voices of Bruce Dickinson, Eric Adams and Dio, and I loved this very expressive style of music.

Why did you decide to be a musician? I think it is not easy to be a musician in a world where music is less about art and more about performance.

It’s in this area that I feel I have something to achieve for myself. Learning music is much more than knowing how to read a score, it’s a difficult mental training with a specific state of mind to achieve what you want. I need and love to express myself through my voice, it’s powerful and it’s a way of interacting with people’s hearts.

HARTLIGHT is a different side from your other band, KNIGHT OF HELIOPOLIS, that I interviewed a few months ago. How do you explain the differences between these two acts?

Hartlight is about alchemy, magic and esoterism. Adrien writes the music based on my lyrics. He is free to create a unique sound by choosing from each style of metal the power that will convey the right emotion for the song. We also use symphonic orchestration because it’s beautiful, but we add heavy, gothic, prog and a few djent riffs to shape the Hartlight sound.

On the other hand, Knights of Heliopolis is based on a specific story melting fantasy and History and the music obeys more to the power and symphonic metal codes.

A theme as alchemy is not so common for heavy metal bands (particularly I’ve seen it more in black and death metal recordings). Could you tell us about your interest in it and how it influenced your music?

Alchemy is a way of looking at nature. We believe that when humans transform matter, they transform themselves to be more in tune with who they really are. This type of work can eventually lead to the philosopher’s stone, a material that can, during the process and afterwards, bring more wisdom to the alchemist’s path. Alchemy is a central part of my life because it helps me to be happier and better. I wanted to pass on to myself and others some of the wisdom, power and beauty that can be found on this quest. As I said earlier, Adrien D., through his music, follows and sublimates this magical journey.

I’ve read in an interview about your suspicious on promoters (and I want to say you’re right, I have a lot of friends that were tricked into some awkward situations because some bad guys gave them less than combined). In Switzerland, is it a big problem? I think it because here in Brazil some guys and venues aren’t committed with deals and some demand a minimum ticked selling if you want to play on their pubs.

Metal music is shunned by many people who are supposed to support living art. So bands and venues have to find their own arrangements, and often, as you say, even in Switzerland. When it comes to promoters, every band has to be careful, ask others about the possible scams they come across and get stronger against the ones who take advantage of other people’s dreams and ignorance.

About metal music industry, we have today a lot of good bands emerging from the underground and most of them are not signed because labels don’t put money on them. What do you think about it?

The business model for beginning music bands is ‘pay to play’. But it’s even harder to get these contracts if you don’t work with a label or promoters. But the aim of a label is to make money. Musical content on the Internet is a red ocean, and labels will only invest if you are already interesting with an established community and a reputation. That’s the reality, and you must accept it or give up playing the game.

Continuing about industry, today the metal scene is a bit more open to women than ten years ago, with good bands like Sylvaine, Suldusk, Nervosa and Crypta reaching more and more people around the world. How do you see it?

I don’t know if metal is more open to women than it used to be, but I really like the feminine energy in metal, it’s powerful, deep and inspiring.

What are your favorite books? What kind of reading caught your eye?

I like books that can teach me something about alchemy, psychology or philosophy. I read Nietszche’s ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’, which is a fresh source of inspiration and a way of thinking that goes, for me, with alchemy.

We are a Brazilian music blog and, for sure, this question is unavoidable: do you know and like any Brazilian band? And in the same way, what bands from your country do you recommend to us?

I know Crypta and Nervosa and these women are killers ! Angra is also, of course, a great reference! In France, I can recommend Etwas and Oïkoumen, and in Switzerland, Walrus, three great bands and hard workers!

It was a great pleasure to interview you. It is your space where you can leave a message for our readers. Let’s go.

Thank you for the interview, thank you readers for your time and see you in autumn 2024 for a new song!

https://www.facebook.com/hartlightband/