Michel Langevin Pt II
In the latest post here at the news section, Hinsides Magazine got the story of how the influential Canadian band Voivod came to be and what made their drummer, aka “Away”, to become interested in visual art. In this second part he reasons further about what spark his creativity…
Classic Voivod design.
Do you have any kind of academic education in how to make art?
-No, not really. When the others in the band dropped out of school, I continued my scientific education for a while before the band took too much time and I began to realize that music could provide an income. Since then, I have tried to keep the creative flame alive as much as I can, but I am largely self-taught when it comes to how to create art.
So how do you keep the creative flame going these days?
-Actually there are no major problems to do so. We are constantly writing new material for Voivod which I am programming the drums to. It's really fun and educative. We have never worked like this before so it will be exciting to rehearse the material later on. Unfortunately I do not have the opportunity to play for real now during the pandemic and I really miss sitting behind my drum kit. We´re hoping to have the new album released sometime next year. The previous album "The Wake" was very well received and the new material continues in the same direction. In addition to this, I have also started to compile some of my art that I will put up online. I do also get inquiries to do commissioned work, so I´m far from being out of work.
The cover of Michels Art book. Spider Press. (2009)
What does your creative process looks like when you work with your visual art?
-When I am not sitting at home, it happens that I take a stroll around the city to study architectural shapes that can inspire new drawings. Now the municipality has started lending out bicycles so I actually took a ride yesterday. It´s a good thing to keep the body going even during lock down.
When I draw, I always start in the middle of the paper. If there is any type of figure I want to make, I always start with the eyes. The process itself works best if I am allowed to work fully intuitively, just like when I play drums. I prefer to vary my way of playing according to what feels good and the same goes for when I create my visual graphics.
Have you exhibited your art?
-Yes, both here in Montréal and in Europe. Once in Milan and once at the Roadburn festival in Tilburg. Now, however, I want to focus on my digital gallery and when the pandemic is over, I´d like to do a touring exhibition. An exhibition ”on the road". That would be fun.
Photo by Wayne William Archibald.
What´s the best and worst parts of being in a creative state of mind and a creative person?
-The clearest advantage I can see is that my creativity has contributed to the band with everything that comes with it. On the downside, there are all the years of struggle to succeed in getting to where we are today. Some periods have been very difficult, and for a while it felt like we were about to fade away, but we have come back and today we are in a good spot. I have friends who´ve had to give up their music career now due to the virus, but we are very fortunate to have a good company and a good resume to lean on to these days.
It seems today as if the eighties were some kind heydays for dystopian tales about a shattered future. A narrative used also by Voivod and in your art. Do you look upon the future in the same way now as then, and if not, what has changed?
-I try to do my best when it comes to how I live my life. I do recycling and all that you can do as an individual. I´d like to see that there is a future for us and our planet and that the next generation of people will take environmental issues more seriously. When I was younger and read about the rapid technological development, it felt like everything went too fast and out of control but today I appreciate the new technology and see the abundance of information like a large open library. I´m still drawn to dystopias but mainly because they´re imaginative and artistically inspiring.
Early example of Michels digital art. Nothingface. (1989)
Science fiction made me realize the importance of a clear visual concept even before I discovered Heavy-Metal actually. The book covers had the same impact as when you saw the cover of an Iron Maiden LP for the first time and knew right away that it was your new favorite band even before you heard the music. I read a lot of sc-fi when I was fairly young. Authors like C. Clark and Philip K.Dick has meant a lot to me and I frequently visited the local library in search of new excessive stories. My mother actually had to write notes to the staff to let them know that my reading habits were approved by my parents, haha. It was actually when being exposed to the story about Lord Dracul, told by Bram Stroker that I came up with the name ”Voivod”, thinking of a supernatural futuristic vampire with inhuman forces.
Excerpt from “Dracula, The Monastic Chronicles and Slavic Folklore” by Bacil F. Kirtley.
So, looking back on all the things you´ve accomplished with your band; What are you most grateful of, and is there anything you wish to have done differently if you were able to make any of those famous time travels?
-Well, actually it´s probably the traveling that I am most grateful to have experienced. Seeing new places and meeting new and old friends is something I enjoy a lot. On the downside, I don´t know? Some talk about the album "Angel Rat" as a big mistake, but it also describes where we were then and it seems as if people are less annoyed about it today so, I say like Lemmy; "I don´t do regrets!”
You´ve just read an excerpt from a longer interview with Michel Langevin that will be featured in its entirely in the next issue of Hinsides Magazine. The last copies of the first issue are still available here