Welcome to the first episode of ‘Behind Closed Doors’. Yup, this is a new mini Megaglitch interview series where we get to share some behind-the-scenes stuff, from songwriting, and recording, to tea drinking and mixing tracks, to what’s currently inspiring Megaglitch to write new music.
So a warm welcome, here we are with Fabz who is the one-man circus behind Megaglitch. If you’ve just landed on this mini-interview post and have no idea what’s going on, don’t worry… Neither do we… But you can check out Megaglitch’s bio to learn more.
Megaglitch is currently working on his new album, Dans Le Noir, which is scheduled for release on the 29th of July on Bandcamp. A few weeks after it will become available on all other streaming platforms, all being well.
Anyway, he seems to be having a ton of fun writing and recording new music… Or just making a lot of noise in the VM household… But if it helps with his mental health, I’m all for it.
Anyway, he says that he’s earned a lot from his first experimental LP released back in 2021 titled Endless Echoes…
I can tell you it was endless because that’s all we listened to in the house for weeks on end before it was released in November… We had no choice in the matter but to grit our teeth and listen to those songs over, and over, and over again… He says he’s still learning now and that’s never going to stop.
So as I’m writing this mini-interview post, we both have a nice cup of tea at the ready, I’m Samantha Van Marciano, his other and better half I should add… Let’s crack on with the interview.
SVM: First of all, great to be doing this little Megaglitch interview. I need to ask, what’s with that album title? Why is it called – In the Dark (Dans Le Noir) and why have you written it in French?
Fabz: Yeah, what an intro… Thanks for that.
Anyway, the new album title… it’s a bit of a strange one. It stems from my childhood, growing up in Paris with my father and evil aunty during the early 80s. I wish I could tell you it was a fairytale story of a young fellow like myself making a life in Paris, but it was far from it, as you already know. I was actually five years old so…
Anyway, we lived in a block of flats right at the top. Inside the apartment wasn’t too bad. On the outside, however, it was a complete shit hole.
SVM: Wow… OK, I see why you translated in the dark in French…
Fabz: Yeah, my father being the wonderful man that he was, used to send me down to the first floor in the elevator on my own. Often the lights would flicker on the way down, and sometimes go out completely. As I said, I was five at the time and I can tell you I was scared shitless.
Even now at the grand age of 46, I still have the occasional nightmare of being that small child trapped in a creepy elevator.
So as I said, it’s a bit of a strange title and meaning for me. And at the time, there was this song by Donna Summer called I Feel Love.
SVM: Great track…
Fabz: Yeah, but it scared the crap out of me each time I heard it on the radio. I once heard it in the elevator… Not sure why, but it would literally creep me out. I mean, now I think it’s a beautiful timeless song that was way ahead of its time in the world of Euro Pop. I think that’s what it was, the modular Moog synths were a bit creepy for me.
SVM: Way before its time? What year did that come out then?
Fabz: I think it was 1977, a year after I was born.
So, anyway, when you get to listen to some of the songs on ‘Dans Le Noir‘. You’re going to hear some influence taken from that particular song, including a few 80s movies that were circulating around that time, not to give anything away.
SVM: Yeah, we’ve heard Christine a few times now… Is this the direction the album flows in?
Fabz: No…
SVM: OK, that’s so cool. So no experimental stuff this time around?
Fabz: Errr, not so much because I think I’ve had enough time to decide on the theme of synth-based music that I love to create. It’s somewhere between dreamy and dark elevator shit lol. For example, the tracks Shadow Crawler and The Last Dance are not comparable. One is nostalgic, dreamy, and all the rest of it… The other is dystopian…
SVM: OK, so what’s your setup like for recording new music in 2023?
Fabz: To be really honest, my setup hasn’t really changed much since 2022, as in the gear that I use. That being said, I’ve acquired a few extra pieces of hardware and software instruments, but that’s about it. Although, I do have a permanent setup in my home office now where I can write and record music, which is great.
SVM: What songs are you working on right now?
Fabz: Well, the track listing for my upcoming LP keeps changing and probably will until I finalize everything closer to the time. Currently, I’m working on a couple of tracks called ‘Neon Highway’ and ‘Nanotron’. One is quite energetic, kinda dark but still upbeat. The other is quite dreamy and ambient, so yeah.
SVM: So what is the overall tone set for this record, would you say it’s darker?
Fabz: I mean, with the songs I have completed it’s very much a mixed bag of dark and classic dreamy synthwave stuff. There’s a track called ‘Gozer’s Revenge’ which sounds like something out of the Exorcist movie. I’m not too sure whether to add it to the LP or not at this point, maybe I’ll wait until Halloween.
SVM: When will we be able to hear some full tracks properly? Will there be a pre-order?
Fabz: For sure, I think I’m aiming for a pre-release around the second week of June on Bandcamp, then a full release on the 9th of July. As for all other streaming platforms, maybe around early August. Perhaps the 3rd because that was my nana’s birthday, God rest her soul.
SVM: Asides from the new music, the website is looking great. Good job on that!
FVM: Thanks, yeah I just finished redesigning the site myself, it helps the fact that my skill set is in web development and digital marketing and not actually making music, haha.
SVM: So is there anything else you are working on or planning for Megaltich?
Yes, absolutely. So when the music is launched my focus will be on really promoting the record the best I can.
I have some ideas for the merchandise store. Actually, our 11-year-old son is helping me with that, he’s coming up with some nice suggestions which we’re going to work on together.
At this time, we plan on doing a limited edition cassette and MiniDisc series for ‘Dans Le Noir’ and of course the obligatory t-shirt as well.
SVM: Vinyls?
Fabz: I don’t know. I’m not a huge fan of those things, I know it’s the trend but you know me, I don’t like to follow too many trends. It’s something I’ll think about no doubt. It can be quite costly to produce a run of vinyl too.
SVM: The album cover, I see it’s already on display for everyone to see. Tell us a little bit about it.
Fabz: Yeah, maybe next time…
SVM: Seriously?
Fabz: Yeah, otherwise I’ll have nothing to talk about in future episodes…
SVM: OK well, then that wraps up episode one of #behindcloseddoors with Megaglitch, same time next week?
Fabz: Yes, I can’t wait. We’ll talk about the album cover, the inspiration behind it, and everything.