Inteview with Alex
found in | Type | Author | Year |
Diskmagazine interviews | Miracle 911 - Alex - Blue Nun - ... | t10/93 added 12/97 |
INTERVIEW WITH ALEX OF SILENTS by META/BASS META / Hi Alexandre! Please before beginning this interview, introduce yourself; age, function... ALEX / Well, Ok... who am I ?! Alex, just Alex. French guy of 18 years old, as you should know it I am the cooker of my group, it means I stay all day long in the kitchen preparing pizzas, drinks and hamburgers for the coder, graphician, swapper and musician (they eat a lot), when it remains a couple of minutes I use them to draw, so I can say I am also graphician (a bit!). After this, there's no much more to add... Oh! Yes, I also make the best fried potatoes around ! META / We know you have joined Silents, before you were in Alcatraz, right? So why have you left? ALEX / Right, I joined Silents, I explained the reasons a couple of times, just know there wasn't any contempt after Alcatraz organizers, I wanted to work free hands with Nam (coder who previously was in WilloW and left too). Rave gave us the possibility to refound Silents France (HOF remaint alone at this time!). So Xann (ex-Willow) joined, I did too. Another reason was I felt a bit alone in France during Alcatraz time. META / What are your next projects? ALEX / I don't know yet how they'll come to be released. META / We can see you make some really nice gfx on computer, but in your real life, drawing is a passion? ALEX / A passion is stealthy, something which doesn't last. Graphism is more than a passion, I'll always like to draw in any form. (I hope I'll be able to) Something I really appreciate are drawing books with rough drawings from artists, to analyse the way they bend the pencil to give a fast trace giving the essential for a picture. I mean, I am more interested by the making of a picture than the picture itself. Drawing on paper is another of my activities. META / How do you start a draw, have you any tips ? ALEX / Most of the pictures released in Museum were previously drawn on paper (roughly !) then as every graphician I met... (I wasn't too surprised to learn they did it this way too!) I draw the main lines of the picture on Dpaint. Then I spend a day to find the right tape (among a drawer full of craps: Front 242, Shamen, Akira soundtrack...) put the earphones on my head, push the volume on the highest position. I am ready to go. Play. It is funny how loud and heavy music avoids you to see time passing! So I don't really know how long I stay on a picture, I don't even know how many times the music replays ! First thing to do after the main lines is the palette, but colors change during the time the picture is made. On the picture, I color by parts, one touch here, "here, it's too boring, let's do here, ..." and so on. The progression is made by random over the picture, so it looks like a puzzle! Well, I don't have real tips to give since I am not too interested in technic analysis, one could be like this: just have fun in what you do and you'll get the best from you ! META / Please give us your opinion about the others graphists you respect on amiga. ALEX / I really respect Hof, for the person and for his art, he is according to me the cleanest graphician among all and has a perfect technic, I wouldn't be able to judge one pixel of a picture he did. His pictures are colorful and he succeeds in mixing very nice colors. I have none other word than perfect. META / Who is the one who has most influenced you? ALEX / No graphician on the Amiga scene has really influenced me since I didn't try to analyse technics from others (which should be the best thing to do, but I didn't - too lazy) So I just made my hand the way I liked. Today I give more attention on others' technics. But... I think I was more influenced by graphicians on paper like Moebius, Loisel, french drawers and Simon Bisley, US drawer for the way he uses colors, also in paint I made my hand on waterpaint as Loisel does, computer is not able to give the water effect, a shame! There's one guy who gave me the interest of Dpaint technics, and I thank him, Titan of Anarchy. META / Do you make a project on paper before drawing on amiga? ALEX / For all pictures, no, but for a good part of them. Some used models from Bisley, Moebius... (Even more, lately, as I was learning some new things -light, maps...) but you're right, Museum pictures were mostly made on paper before, it is not a developped project, just fast lines with black and white light effects. I like to see them being on computer, lines take shapes, and colors become brighter. META / Enough questions about Alex the Graphist, please tell us some words about Alex the guy. (hobbyz, girlfriend...) ALEX / My hobbies are mainly focused around picture universe: Computer, Movies, drawing, graphic novels (big comic books), reading, computer graphics (the word refers to computer generated animations as we see some in the Imagina show, every february, not to Dpaint pictures, he!) By the Way, I was quite happy to see on the huge screen at THE PARTY II the video of Imagina 1992 ! I have no attached girlfriend at the moment, computer takes too much time, hey! But who knows... META / Wich music are you listening to? ALEX / Mostly movie sound tracks for real music, like 1492's one (the film), Back to the Future, Dune !, Empire of the Sun, Nikita. And among those groups: Erasure, Supertramp, Prince, Front 242, but also Vangelis, Shamen, and... Kyd/Balle's Concert. In fact real music doesn't mean important thing to me, since I don't spend my time listening to new albums, and buying some. I just have an old Aiwa walkman and it's enough to escape when I want to draw on computer. I am more impressed by computer musics and I almost collect them. META / What do you think about the new style of music Audiomonster introduced on amiga, for you what are the best musicians on Amiga. ALEX / Funny the way, you're introducing this question. In a judgment court, they would say: you bring the answer you want to my mouth! I'm fond of Audiomonster's art, that's true, he brought another atmosphere to AMIGA music, something which makes them sound more real, he remains today (I think) the only composer to use so much Protracker effects. Florence is one of the modules I am use to listening nowadays as I did the first time I got it. The second music in the SOS demo from melon is a piece of art too. Best Musicians on Amiga, according to me, are the one we just talked about, and... LizardKing for the most heartreaching melodies I heard till now on Amiga, HeatBeat, same reason, Jester, for the unique way of composing he has and his quality in melodies, samples, rythms, Monty and Zorglub, for their funny chips and for impressive long musics they make, Mad Freak for the second tune in 3D Demo I, Brainbug, 4Mat... META / What do you think about the scene at the moment, and especially the about french scene. ALEX / As I heard someone saying it at "The Party II", (I don't remember who!) The French scene would have an even better moral if the "Minitel" didn't exist. (who doesn't know the 'RTEL effect'?). That's the latin mind to be this way critical, and guys in northern Europe seem to spend more of their time on computer (coding, for instance) than complaining about problems of others and making troubles as we see French guys doing so. META / Who are your best friends or contacts in the scene ? ALEX / They know who they are and they don't really need me to name them but I can say Titan/Anarchy is a very good friend of mine, as Jester is, Nam, most of the guys in TSB team, Bross, Freddox, Fletch, Monty and Zorglub two delirious guys in Analog, and for sure, You, Meta! META / But do you think there can be a real friendship with guys you know just by letters and not directly ? ALEX / Some friendship can grow through mailing, but I'm sure meetings make friendship be stronger, I personnaly have fine contacts with guys I never saw. But if I see closer, I kept more lasting contacts when I met once or twice this contact. META / Like you are a graphist and a swapper, for you what are the qualities you need, for being good in these 2 functions ? ALEX / I wouldn't say I am a swapper, I don't send letters to get back the hot news of the month I just like to keep contacts with friends, and to answer to your question, I don't know if being in both of these functions needs special skills, maybe some training for graphism, maybe some hability to write for swapping but we both know how swappers are and how they come quickly to easy '8 words' letters ! META / Your amiga's activities let you enough time to have sum fun with your friends on yar week-ends or on the saturday's nights ? ALEX / I am around 24 hours a day on Computer, so make your count! (just kiddin', hey! Only 23 h!) META / How do you find your money to send your letters ? ALEX / I am a very rich man (with a cigare in my mouth corner), my petroleum company brings me more than satisfactory benefites each month and I can buy what I want, even 300000 stamps,... If I want to ! META / So after having well-answered at all these questions, you've got a gift, here is an empty place, where you can put what do ya want (he he!) ALEX / Yeah ? Really? So this place is for me, ... hum, what can I add? Usual hellos to Big friends: JESTER, MONTY and ZORGLUB, all TSB team (BROSS, FREDDOX...), PIB/SYNTEX, TMB DesignS, TITAN and SKYNET in ANARCHY, RHAH, MOBY, ELMER, ANTONY in DREAMDEALERS. HOF, XANN, all HMD team, REFLEX, SWORD... and to WALT and Audiomonster/Pasteque Design, MOBY, and to all fine readers of ETERNAL. META / Thanx you Alexandre to have answered at all these questions continue doing graphics and staying so cool. ALEX / Thanx to you too, Meta.