Doomed Confessionary: Bruno Karnel
Bruno Karnel is a prog/post-rock solo artist from Meaux, France.
His latest studio album »Hic sunt dracones« was released on November 3rd, 2023 via Bitume Prods.
Between post-rock (»Kusi Kuyllur«), heavy prog (»Tromsø«, »Musique obsidienne«) and lunar folk (»Négatif des vagues«), the 11 tracks on »Hic sunt dracones«, sung in French or English, also explore many musical territories.
Can you say a few words about your project?
I’m a solo artist, but this new album »Hic sunt dracones« sounds a bit like a band album, because there are a lot of guests: Pavel Ljubičić on drums, Julien Waghon on bass guitar, Ricardo Da Silva (from In Your I) and Matthieu Gajewski (ex-Master Crow) on guitars, Paulina Faustova on cello, Alessio Medeot on piano and organ… As for me, besides singing, I played a lot of different acoustic and electric guitars, as well as keyboards and acoustic instruments, like Peruvian charango, Turkish saz, Ukrainian domra… Some of the musicians never met, because everybody lives in different countries, but we were careful in the studio to make it sound like a real band playing together.
What was the biggest challenge for you this year?
Well, it was to finish the album! It was so complicated with all these different agendas. We also had some technical issues, which delayed the process. For one moment I almost thought the album would never see the light of day. But we held on, and here it is!
What can you be most proud of this year?
Obviously, I am very proud of the album. But I am also proud that all those talented musicians agreed to take part of the project, it means a lot. They were all very enthousiastic about the music, and everybody worked hard to make the best record possible.
What was your biggest regret?
Looking back, I think I should have tried harder to put on a tour, in order to promote my previous album “Las Ilusiones”. The songs on this one are very cool to play live, but it was so complicated then to plan live shows : we just got out of the pandemic, everybody was busy and tired… I just gave up. Now I regret it a bit, because the album didn’t have a proper promotion. But that’s life.
What was the best concert/tour this year and why?
Unfortunately, I don’t have much time these days to go out and see live acts, even if I love that. I’m always writing, rehearsing and recording (which is cool, obviously). But I recently saw the Dakh Daughters (from Ukraine) and they were just amazing… These women can do anything at an impressive level, they are multi instrumentalists, they sing so well, they dance, they play rock, folk, rap, they growl… Just stunning. And their atmosphere can be so dark and violent, sometimes it’s almost metal… without the heavy guitars!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I would say Tábor, from Czech Republic. I can’t stop listening to their latest album »Údolí hvězd«, distributed by a great Czech label called Day After Records. The music is kind of a doomy drone neo-folk, with some medieval and post-rock influences. Guitarist David Vála also plays in punk/thrash and black metal acts, he’s a master of the tone. You should have a listen!
In a very different genre, I would also like to evoke Waterbased, from Slovakia, whose »Silent Regions« is a masterpiece in my opinion. Not metal at all, but very dark and disturbing.
Where can we see you live next year (concerts/tours)?
I’m trying to put together a band for a little tour next year, but nothing is certain for the moment. Fingers crossed!
What are your plans for the next year? What do you personally want the most?
I am currently recording my next album »Villa Solitude«, which I hope will be released next year. The drummer is called Basile Combes, and I can tell you he is a killer! He plays with French tech-metal band Imparfait. We already recorded all the bass and drum parts, and some guitars. The music is a lot darker than on »Hic sunt dracones«, with a lot of strange pads, vintage sounds and some unexpected post punk influences. I played some of the bass parts on an old Borisov bass guitar, made in Belarus in the late 70’s/early 80’s, and most of the guitar parts on a vintage Telecaster.
I am also currently finishing an album for a new side-project called Abstrakt Lake, based on field recording, electronic, vintage synths and drum machines. It is totally instrumental, ambient but melodic, and very different from all I have done before. The first single, »The Pond Below«, is just being mastered as we speak. I hope you will like it!
What I want the most? Well, to finish these albums (without issues…), and continue to work on a lot of different projects in the future!
How can people best support your work?
Obviously, buying albums (on Bandcamp, for example) remains the best way to support independent artists. A digipack CD version of »Hic sunt dracones« will be released by my label Bitume on March 15th, 2024: stay tuned!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks to you all! I hope you will be curious about the album, listen to it and like it. My music is not really metal, not really prog nor post rock… but I think you can find a bit of all these influences amongst others in what I propose. And in the next album »Villa Solitude«, there will be some quite dark and doomy passages… I think it should speak to some of you!
Links:
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Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well