An Interview with L’0nde N0IRe (Part 2 of 2)

What happens when someone spends three decades immersed in EBM, industrial, synthpop, and dark wave, draws inspiration from Phonk, and ultimately turns AI into a musical tool? With L’0nde NOIRe, the result is far more than just another AI music project. Behind the dark soundscapes lies a sophisticated concept blending philosophy, social criticism, and the question of what actually makes humans human. Read the second part of our interview here. Did you miss the first part? No problem— you can read it here.

Orkus: It’s particularly interesting that complete sentences aren’t necessary. Just the keywords—almost like a mantra—are enough to convey the respective themes. How did you approach writing the lyrics?
L’0nde N0IRe: I wanted all the tracks on “Tech N0ir” to follow the same formula: fragmented, repetitive words, many of them drawn from psychiatric terminology. There were two reasons for this. First, the fragmentation of language was meant to suggest the mental fragmentation and gradual collapse of both our world and ourselves. Second, I didn’t want conventional sentences and narrative texts to disrupt the relentless, dance-oriented techno rhythm. So the words function almost like symptoms, commands, or mantras. You don’t need a complete sentence to understand what they do to you.

O: “Addiction” is also fascinating. Is there a story behind the song?

L’0nde N0IRe: There’s no specific personal story behind “Addiction,” aside from the story of human nature itself. Our addictions, obsessions, complexes, and quirks—even if experts don’t approve of them—are among the things that define us as human beings and set us apart from machines. As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t believe that the greatest danger of our time is that Skynet will suddenly take over the world, as some people fear. The more interesting—and more disturbing—possibility is that humans themselves are increasingly being trained, educated, conditioned, and shaped to behave like soulless machines. To me, that is a far more frightening form of technological dystopia.

O: The slogan “Happy music for sad people” is great! Even though it’s from the album “Music for the Mass” … Would you describe yourself as “sad”?
L’0nde N0IRe: I think anyone who has even the slightest awareness of reality has reasons to be sad. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” as the saying goes. (laughs) But I don’t necessarily see sadness as a bad thing. Sadness can lead to awareness, action, and change. That’s also how I understand existentialism: out of the darkness emerges a humanism—the belief that people can still take action and bring about change.

The idea behind “Music for the Mass” is pretty simple: We’ll get you dancing and maybe even make you “happy,” even though deep down inside, we may all remain unhappy. Electronic music gives even an unhappy person a reason to feel joy, if only temporarily—or at least a way to transform their fears and sadness into something beautiful.

O: You’re from Greece—from Athens, if I’m not mistaken. What’s the dark and alternative music scene like there?
L’0nde N0IRe: I wouldn’t say it’s in particularly good shape, at least as far as the club scene is concerned. In Athens, there are basically two clubs dedicated to the electro/goth scene, one that focuses mainly on techno, a few metal clubs, and two or three other venues that occasionally host alternative nights. The people are there, the bands are there, and the ideas are definitely there, too. But when it comes to actual club culture, not much has really developed. It’s largely the same venues that have always been there, and I suspect they’ll stay that way for quite a while.

O: And how have your home country and the city of Athens influenced you and your music?
L’0nde N0IRe: Well, I’ve lived in this country since I was born, so it has obviously influenced my way of thinking, even if much of it happened subconsciously. I find many aspects of modern-day Greece deeply frustrating—the standard of living, nationalism, racism, political corruption, and so on. As for me, though, we’re definitely better off when it comes to food, beaches, and the weather. (laughs) Inevitably, living in this environment has shaped my view of the world and, consequently, the music I make.

At the same time, I think Greece really is a wonderful place to find inspiration for dark, melancholic music. There’s something almost absurdly fitting about creating darkness under a scorching Mediterranean sun that beats down on you mercilessly—a bit like the sun in Camus’s *The Stranger*.

Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg

Listen to L’0nde N0IRe on our “Black Scene” playlist on Spotify: