Interview with PORN’s Philippe Deschemin
Philippe Deschemin, aka Mr. Strangler, Vocals, drums programming, and synth of PORN generously indulged my curiosity about the band’s recently completed trilogy. I’m honored that such great news was shared with us here at Rock Lines Magazine (make sure and read through to the end for that).
Also, if you’ve been following along, and I hope you are, you’ll have already read the interview about “No Monsters in God’s Eyes – Act III” review. If not, make sure to follow the link at the end of the interview so you can catch up.
The Interview:
ME: I recently had the privilege of reviewing the third album in the Mr. Strangler trilogy, “No Monsters in God’s Eyes – Act III”, it is exquisitely done. Thank you and Congratulations for that! What are your feelings about completing the trilogy?
Philippe: Thank you very much! We are very proud of this trilogy. It took almost 4 years. 3 albums, 32 songs, 12 music videos plus the remixes… It was a great adventure. We learn a lot during the process. We had the chance to work with very talented people. But we still have a lot to do…
Me: You had a vision for the story of Mr. Strangler. Did you also have a vision of how the records would sound and did that vision include all three albums before going into the studio?
Philippe: I had an idea about how I wanted the trilogy to sound, but, there is always a gap between expectations and reality. I am quite happy with the result. I was more concerned about the moods between the 3 parts, because I wanted the sound of each part to suit the story, to serve the feelings of Mr. Strangler. I was talking lately with Chris Vrenna (former NIN and Marilyn Manson), he was working on a remix for us. We were talking about concept album. He was involved in great concept albums (Downward Spiral, the Antichrist superstar…). I told him that, to me, it’s pretty easy to work 3 albums concept because that gives more space to put on the story, creates different moods… A single album, it’s short….
Me: Through the process of creating the trilogy, did your darker proclivities find a sense of satisfaction? Or, was Mr. Strangler’s life, and reflection on his impending death, a fuel to further fire your passions?
Philippe: I think there is a lot of Mr. Strangler in me, and in each of us. He is just free to do what he wants to do. In a way, he is like Alex in Clockwork Orange, Burguess’s novel. Burguess chose his name because it means «without law». Lex = Law, A= Without . A-LEX.
It’s also a weakness to not be able to restrain compulsions… Compromise is one of the foundations of civilization, life in common. That’s why we created arts, to live things through arts. To live what’s forbidden, or inappropriate in a fantasmatic/artistic process, not in the real life.
Mr. Strangler is a killer, he lives with death. And as he said in the «here for love »: «we all die, even me». He was aware of his death, since his first kill.
Life is a slaughterhouse, you are going to meet your death. Inevitably. But people act like they are immortal… If they truly realized that are like cattle, going to be slaughtered, they will escape, runaway and choose another life to meet freedom.
Me: Will Mr. Strangler become resurrected in future projects, or do you, and your bandmates find yourselves curious to begin an entirely different project?
Philippe: Mr. Strangler is dead. But, sometimes dead people are more «alive» dead than during their lifetime. They are more influential when they pass away… Just after he died, Mr. Strangler became a kind of messiah for an enigmatic community: The Strangelings, led by The Guide. Growing and growing, this community travels from town to town, joined by people fleeing the modern world for a new life. For freedom, they flee the slaughterhouse.
So in a way, Mr. Strangler is more alive than ever…
Me: Please tell me about your creative process with this trilogy. Did it differ from other projects? If so, in which ways?
Philippe: Not that much , its the same , just longer!
Me: It took several years to create and publish all three albums in this trilogy, How did this time together change how you approached the recording process for each album?
Philippe: We were focused on the entire trilogy since the beginning. We used the same recording process to keep a global sound identity. We worked with Tom Baker for the Act II and Brian Lucey for the Act III. Both are great producers and worked with the biggest American bands on the planet! We did the mastering of these albums with them, we learn a lot.
There is a lot of imperfection on these 3 albums, and we learn from that. So, we are going to improve ourselves for the new trilogy to come!
Me: Thank you again for taking time to answer my questions. I’ll look forward to following along as the trilogy gains notoriety and will also look forward to what comes next for Porn!
Philippe: Thank you so much !
We are releasing remixes of the act III this spring, by Combichrist, Stabbing Westward, Orgy, Chris Vrenna, Jimmy Urine from Mindless Self Indulgence, The Anix, Ash Code, Lluther, Aura Shred, An erotic end of times….
We are so proud to have these talented bands working on PORN‘s songs! We can’t wait to reveal their work…
Thank you so much for the interest. We are PORN, you are PORN!
Follow PORN:
- PORN on spotify : https://tinyurl.com/yam9tsfu
- PORN on apple music :https://tinyurl.com/rvyts7r
- PORN on deezer : https://tinyurl.com/ya78s98y
- PORN on insta : https://tinyurl.com/ybxtchpt
- Get your t-shirts and CDs : https://tinyurl.com/y9akbm8v
- Subscribe on youtube : https://tinyurl.com/y7mjdbcr
PORN Live band:
- Philippe Deschemin aka Mr Strangler : Vocals
- Erwan Frugier aka The One : Guitar
- Stephane Rimasauskas aka Zinzin Stiopa : Guitar
- Hervé Guillemard Aka The priest : Bass
- Lucas Delobelle : Drums
Oh, and as promised Here is the review for “No Monsters in God’s Eyes”.