Walled-in Failure

Raté is a Bordeaux-based project that creates searing, at times subtle, unsettling wall noise. It’s been active since November 2024, releasing around thirty releases to date, so a fairly prolific wall venture. I’ve reviewed a few of Raté’s releases now, finding it (largely) a consistent wall noise project, and a worthy addition to the French wall noise scene, which over the years has birthed some great acts such as Vomir, Chier, and all the projects connected to Julien Skrobek. So, I tracked down the mind behind the ‘walls’, Gabriel Berteaud, for an email interview.

M[m]: When did you first hear wall noise, and what were your initial thoughts?

Gabriel It was probably around 2006-2007. I remember a tape from écoute la merde which was labelled as « static harsh noise » and I found it fun. For me, it was a surge of energy, in the continuity of dynamic harsh noise, which was in its self was a continuity on from industrial & punk. Later, I found other noise walls, more minimalist and, somehow, quieter, which made me wonder what I was listening to, but it was more a matter of taste and personal sensitivity.

M[m]: Are there any walled-noise tracks or albums which made an impact on you to create your own work?

Gabriel Yes and no. As a teenager, I used to make noise & experimental recordings in my bedroom with synths, microphones & various objects before I knew it was something like a music genre. I think many noise makers started like this. It seems natural and intuitive to me. But of course, others influence me, a dialectic is established between oneself and others. It’s difficult to name precise releases since there are so many. I think I'm more influenced by the DIY and experimental scenes as a collective thing, as an overall aesthetic, rather than by this or that artist, even if I have my preferences, which can change over time.

 

M[m]: Please talk a little bit about how & when the Raté project came about? And is this your first project?

Gabriel It’s not my first project. I’ve been making experimental music in the wide sense, approximately since 2005 (I was 17), in various bands and solo. For a long time, my only solo project has been Mig Inc, which I considered as an alias rather than a « project ». From 2007, I made all kinds of noise, industrial & electronic experiments with this name, including some attempts at HNW. Looking back to then, it was more like « HNW influenced experimental electronic ». Then, 2 or 3 years ago, I started to make my HNW recordings more intensely, which at first, I intended to release under Mig Inc. But I soon found myself with many recordings, so much that it would have been strange to release all this material under my usual name. All the rest of my work would have been diluted in the walls and vice versa. I needed a new alias, dedicated to HNW, and nothing but HNW.

If you are curious, my current projects are : Mig Inc (industrial / noise), Saishō 最小 (minimal ambient / retrowave), Ｔ０Ｐ_ＢＵＤＧ€Ｔ™ (post-vaporwave), and Raté. I’m also playing in bands like Botanique le système (electronic jam), La chaise verte (modular noise) and Dormir dans la chambre froide ? (free noise). All of this can be found on bandcamp.

M[m]: How did you select the project's name, and what does it mean to you?

Gabriel It means a lot to me. In French, raté means « missed » or « failed », but also « loser » when applied to a person. If I refer to the commonly accepted signs of success, I am a complete loser, and that suits me just fine. No stable job, no stable couple, no money, no power, no success. I despise the normative bourgeoisie, and I intend to betray everything it expects from me. When I look at the world, I see that it is set to fire and blood by complete winners: Musk & other billionaires, Trump, Netanyahou, Putin, Macron and all the powerful people from bosses to heads of states are models of success. I'd rather die than go their way.

A slogan of French anarcho-syndicalism at the beginning of the 20th century was « refuser de parvenir » which is translated as « refuse to climb the social ladder ». That sums it all up nicely, and that's why it’s the title of one of my albums.

M[m]: Please talk a little bit about your present set-up, how has this altered since you started, and is there a piece of kit you are still using from when started?

Gabriel I’ll maybe disappoint some listeners, and that’s fine : my main tool is my laptop. I mostly use virtual synths + virtual FX rack, sometimes with a tiny knobs midi-controler. Sometimes I also use field recordings or radio parasites as a sound source, but it still goes through my computer. I'm quite perplexed by the analog fetishism that we find sometimes, including in the noise scene.

 

M[m]: What are some of the field recording elements you’ve used to create ‘walls’?

Gabriel I often make field recordings that I use in various projects, mainly raté and Saisho. I like to record sounds from where I am and since I live in the suburbs of Bordeaux, the sounds around me are rather urban. The best ones to make noise out of are wind and traffic. The traffic has to be dense or far away. If a scooter comes out of nowhere and makes a big decibel peak, I cut it or don't use the recording. I generally add a synth, then all this goes through the distortion rack. To be honest, I don't remember very well on which walls I used field recordings so far. Harsh Noise Wall & Athanasie, probably. 

 

M[m]: What do you see as the focus and themes behind your work?

Gabriel My previous answers partially respond to it, but I can expand. HNW is quite a meditative experience, and by the way, listening to it is a performance as much as making it. It blurs the line between the listener and the music listened to. We observe the sound as well as ourselves listening to it. Everything goes in this movement of consciousness and focus. The themes I approach come from the things that I observe passing through me when I record a track or when I listen back to it. You often find in my themes the rejection of authority and all forms of domination. I also like when my brain creates words that don't exist and don't mean anything, like Faxème, Miùn or Sehno. Sometimes I feel in a vacuum; it’s often a pleasant sensation. In this case, the title I give to my track/album is a random sequence of letters and numbers; I prefer that to having many untitled tracks. All I’ve said is my thoughts on my music, but it’s not my music. My work is, above all, a sensory experience that I propose to the listeners, and this experience belongs to them. Give my tracks the titles and the themes that suit you the best, my intentions are not instructions.

 

M[m]: To date, you’ve released nearly thirty releases- please select five of your favourites, and discuss the reason for the decision?

Gabriel For me, all my tracks are equal. I spend a little more time on some than others to reach something I like before I start recording. Then, listening back to my recordings, if I don’t like one of them, I delete it or use it as a sound source for a new wall. But let’s try to play the game by highlighting some releases :

- Joie : the title means Joy. This theme is too often neglected in experimental music. This is not just wishful thinking or an incantatory title, I mean, listening to hnw can also be a moment of joy, this is what I felt when recording this 77 minutes unchanging track, and this is what I want to share. It has been released on CD by Italian label Concrete Parasite (huge thanks to Gianpaolo) - https://www.discogs.com/release/33480941-rat%C3%A9-joie

https://raterate.bandcamp.com/album/joie

- العنوان باللغة العربية لإزعاج العنصريين - the title means « Arabic title to annoy racists ». I like its power and conciseness. The two tracks total 8 minutes, it didn't need to be longer. Track two was previously released in a benefit compilation for the victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

https://raterate.bandcamp.com/album/--2

I think I'll stop here, otherwise this part of the interview would become terribly long and boring, don't you think? I advise people to go to my Bandcamp page and choose what to listen to based on which cover or title attracts them the most.

 

M[m]: Unlike a lot of wall acts, your cover artwork is fairly varied, with some being quite colourful- please talk a little bit about this?

Gabriel Glad you noticed :)

Unless a few exceptions, the cover pictures are photos taken by me, often a little edited. I take close-up pictures of textures or surfaces I find interesting. They are pretty varied because I’m not a visual artist, so I try something, then something else, etc. I'm looking for something without knowing what it is. Also, I’m not interested in reproducing the cliché of any music genre. Since we’re talking about HNW, I’m not into serial murder or snuff fetishism, for example. Some artists can make something interesting out of it, but most don't, and in any case, it's not my thing. I think we lack colours in experimental music. I love dark stuff, but we should always look beyond what’s commonly made.

 

M[m]: still on the subject covers- could you tell us what is pictured on the cover for 765cJ?, as it oddly troubled me.

Gabriel Hehe, I’m pretty satisfied with this one because it also troubled me. This is a close-up of a small plastic dinosaur in an aquarium. It looks eerily real because moss has grown on it, I think that's the disturbing detail.

 

M[m]: There’s mention of a listening party on your Bandcamp site- are you playing live?. And if not any plans to play in the near future?

Gabriel I’m doing more and more listening parties & virtual live events with all my projects and my netlabel (l’Abeille Cool). To date, I never made ‘real life’ live events as Raté, and there are several reasons for this. The first one is that these last times I don’t make so much live performances with any of my projects or bands. Just a few times a year. In the specific case of Raté, the thing is once I’ve launched my wall, I just let it go without touching anything. I don’t want to make yet another imitation of Vomir – I like a lot his walls btw. I would consider playing live when I’ll have ideas for a specific scenography. Maybe collabs with visual artists, a video projection, or something like that. It wouldn't have to be anything complicated, just something that makes me think "ok, I want to try this". I might come up with some ideas, but I'm not actively researching them right now, I'm focused on other things.

 

M[m]: Over the years, quite a few wall noise acts have come from France. Why do you think this is?

Gabriel The right answer is I don’t know but I can share my thoughts about it. I don’t think there’s anything specific to the French culture that leads us to make more HNW than people in other countries. For most of people here as elsewhere, it is some kind of sound monstruosity or artistic aberration. Regarding the worldwide scene there are so few of us that it could be a simple coincidence. Vomir played an important role in the 00s and 10s, influencing noise makers all over the world, but maybe even more in France.

 

M[m]: What in the pipeline next for  Raté ?

Gabriel I will be focused on other artistic projects in the next months, mostly writings. I will go on releasing recordings, making Listening Parties on bandcamp, participating to compilations & splits.

In November, I’ll play at the NO FAF Noisevember, a virtual festival (with pre-recorded sets) I’m curating with my label :

https://labeillecool.bandcamp.com/album/no-faf-noisevember-infos-submissions

Thanks to Gabriel for his time and effort with the interview. The project’s Bandcamp is just here.