Interview with Hugo Lefebvre from Anthropia

Rock music is revolution. As a storytelling device, rock music continually re-invents itself finding ways to express rebellion, pure emotion, and the eternal struggle of the artist against entropy. Hugo Lefebvre, the French multi-instrumentalist behind the heavy metal rock concept known as Anthropia, has an instinctual understanding of this struggle. He defines his concept as human disorder, and on his latest album The Ereyn Chronicles Part One; The Journey Begins, Hugo blends a number of musical styles, from symphonic boogie to prog rock and raw metal to heighten the listener's awareness of his personal chaos theory.

"I hope people know I'm doing more than just playing music I like" Hugo told me in our phone conversation last week. "In my composing, I want to reflect the many elements of the story I'm telling. Mood, environment and character reactions are not linear, so a number of styles are employed to enhance those elements."

Hugo's approach to composing is a result of his twelve years studying classical guitar at Antibes, a world renowned French music institute. It's somewhat ironic that a man who works from the idea of human disorder composes and plays with amazing precision.

"Precision is very much a part of me" Hugo said. "Everything I do is with precision. Before becoming a professional musician, my course of study was math and engineering. Even though I see man as chaotic and his relationship to the world dissonant, there is order in math and science. I apply that to everything in my life. Of course, my musical training also taught me great discipline for which I am thankful. It is difficult to find such discipline in other people anymore."

The Ereyn Chronicles is based on a fantasy novel by author Quentin Borderie, who has inspired a diverse range of musicians from Symphony X to singer-songwriter Aimee Mann. The Ereyn Chronicles is set in an alternative universe inhabited by nymphs, witches, and other creatures.

"It's funny" Hugo says, "but I really don't like fantasy as a rule. Quentin is a good friend, and listening to his interpretations of the characters in his various readings of the book really helped me get into the story. Quentin is a good actor, made me believe in this mythical world of his, and I found myself compelled to compose by hearing his descriptions of settings and the way he read the characters' dialogue. I don't know that the album would have been made if I tried to compose just from my own reading of Quentin's book. Quentin made me see the whole thing, so it’s much to his credit this album was made."

Article Author: Larry Sakin

Larry Sakin is a former music executive and non-profit medical organization administrator. He advocates for literacy issues and provides advocacy training for grassroots and non-profit groups around the country.

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