Dav Dralleon

12/9/2017 – Recently, we had a stellar discussion with Parisian musician Jack Maniak. Once again, we visit the world of French electronic music.  Dav Dralleon is gaining a following online with his signature mixture of dark synth, or what he dubs, ‘cyberpunk’.  There is no reticence about the growing fanbase for synthwave.  The 2017 Marvel summer blockbuster, Thor: Ragnarok proved that synthwave is becoming more mainstream, utilizing a 80’s synth-eque OST drenched in more sawtooth sounds than you can swing a hammer at. Mjölnir to be exact.

Slickster Magazine: Dav, we’ve scoured the web and can’t find much about you.  Who exactly is Dav Dralleon?

Dav Dralleon: I’m Dav Dralleon, I’m 33 years old and I live in France. I’ve composed music for about ten years. I had a metalcore band before “PANGORA” that split and then I became interested in electro, epic and synthwave music for video games and movies. Afterwards, I made some chiptune / hardcore 8 bit and then I composed my last EP “DEPTHS” which is more in the darksynth / darkwave / synthwave style.

SM: You describe you music as ‘cyberpunk‘.  What, in your opinion, does that term refer too?  How do you define it?

Dav: In my opinion, Cyberpunk is a futuristic term that refers to a time when everything will be cybernetic. Where computers, robots and artificial intelligence will be an integral part of our humanity.

I imagine gigantic megacities as far as the eye can see with its inhabitants slaves of their least desire and technology. Gangs of hackers that could be described as “Cyberpunk” surviving in a toxic desert of waste, consequence of human ignorance.

It is this very dark future that I wanted to represent in my EP “D E P T H S”.

SM: In the liner notes for the new album, D E P T H S, one of the descriptions you wrote was ,“Dav Dralleon is summoning the enigmatic Vulkan Witch” .  Who or what is VULKAN WITCH?

Dav: In the world of my EP “D E P T H S”, anarchy and chaos have always reigned. Following the cyborg sacrifices that took place through occult rituals, a mad scientist, expert in robotics and esotericism, created the “V U L K A N W I T C H” to clean up and repress any robotic, cyborg or human opponent against the existing tyrannical domination.

They are true witches with devastating powers, but unlike human witches, they can not be burned, this is why I call them  “V U L K A N W I T C H”.

SM: Who did the artwork for your new album?

Dav: He is a friend, a member of my former band, Romain Carret, also known as Romain Asenion, graphic artist and musician in “ASENION” deathcore prog band.

SM: One main 1980’s icons you reference in your work is Mr. John Carpenter.  Specifically, you have Escape from New York on your page.  You may not know this, but Snake Plissken is actually on the staff at Slickster Magazine.  After escaping both from New York and L.A. he relocated to San Diego and began working nights around the office as a security guard.  What is it about Mr. Carpenter’s work that continues to develop and thrive nearly 30 years after it’s release?   Why does each generation discover it and embrace it?

Dav: Oh yeah, say hello to Snake Plissken from me!

John Carpenter is a genius. I love his job… I’m a big fan! Each generation adopts him because he really has very original ideas, which stand out and I think it will continue this way for a long time!

SM: Will you be performing any live concerts in support of your album ‘Depths’?

Dav: No live concerts for now. I prefer working on my compositions.

SM: Who would you like to thank for help along the way in your career?

Dav: Yes, I thank my family, my wife, my friends, and Josh Hoft who taught me a lot. I also thank Romain Carret for the artwork of this EP.

SM: What advice would you like to share with young electronic musical artists to help them get on their feet?

Dav: I would advise them to work tirelessly, never dashing things off and always look for the details. Although sometimes things might seem difficult, we must remember that everything is always possible. The most important is to go all the way until you are really satisfied with your work.

SM: Thanks for talking with Slickster Magazine and best of luck on your career.  Any thing else you’d like to say?

Dav: Thanks to you too! I thank all my followers for their support.

SM: Bonus round:  Name your fav hottest 80’s swimsuit model.

Dav: I would say Cindy Crawford.