Une Vraie Gothique interview: ‘The Goth scene is about celebrating life, with one foot in another world’
Une Vraie Gothique
Une Vraie Gothique – literally translated as A True Goth – is a French duo that came into existence in Paris in 2023, founded by Ulrika and Ferdinand Legendre. This year, Manic Depression Records released their debut album, “R.D.V. Au Cimetière”, an eclectic take on dark Electronic music where EBM, Dark-Wave and Techno collide. Their identity is every bit as important as their music: corpse paint, dark humor, French and German lyrics, and a generous wink towards the codes and clichés of Goth culture all come together to create a universe that is at once serious, absurd and irresistibly danceable.
The album’s nine tracks take the listener on a journey into a world where darkness and absurdity go hand in hand. A defining element of the record is the interplay between the two voices: Ulrika sings in German, while Ferdinand delivers his vocals in French, making many of the tracks feel like a dark and intriguing dialogue. For me personally, this debut is an absolute revelation. A band whose name may initially sound like the ultimate Goth cliché – although I see it much more as a hilarious reference to the scene that clearly inspires them – manages to turn those very clichés on their head. The real strength and originality of Une Vraie Gothique lie in their compositions.
They crack open the codes of different genres and reshape them into something distinctly their own, creating what feels much more like an ode to underground Electronic music than a parody of it. “R.D.V. Au Cimetière” is one of those albums I was instantly sold on. So, it is high time to get to know Ulrika and Ferdinand from Une Vraie Gothique a little better and discover what exactly lies behind the corpse paint, the French and German incantations, and that irresistible urge to meet somewhere in the cemetery… (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Une Vraie Gothique interview
Q: Could you tell us how you first met and how that eventually led to the creation of Une Vraie Gothique? Were there any particular artists or albums that served as important points of reference in shaping your sound?
Ferdinand: We met at a mutual friend’s house, and Ulrika had asked me to help her compose an Electro-Disco track on the theme of the tiger for a performance she was doing at a Parisian cabinet of curiosities. Our conversations about music led us to realize our shared love of Goth music. So we decided to launch this project, starting with the title track, “Une Vraie Gothique.”
We don’t really have any major points of reference, but I’d say we’re influenced by a huge number of different projects. For my part, Suicide Commando and Hocico immediately come to mind, for example.
Ulrika: When that tiger project was finished, we had a sleepover where we were supposed to start working on a Euro-Dance track (one of our guilty pleasures). But instead, we watched “Hellraiser”, sampled ‘Demons to Some, Angels to Others’, (which you can hear at the beginning of our track “Une Vraie Gothique” ) and the process of becoming a true Goth was set in motion! I wish I could tell you another story and say that we probably connected in immaterial realms long before we met four years ago, but that’s still a topic under investigation.
Q: I imagine the band’s name is meant to be taken with a touch of humor, but I’m still curious about the story behind it. Why did you choose Une Vraie Gothique, and if it does refer to Gothic culture, what does that scene and its music represent to you personally?
Ulrika: We get asked a lot about this. Do I relate to the Goth scene and culture? Definitely. Come on, I was reading all classical Goth books, from Ann Radcliffe to Baudelaire, watching my classmates out of the corner of my eye in high school, while taking refuge in the school cloister to take black-and-white photos in long dresses. Do I see myself as a ‘genuine gothic’? Of course no. No one could… let’s then joke about it? In fact, I don’t think seriousness and humor are incompatible, except in Kundera’s “The Joke”, which deals with a totalitarian system.
For me, the Goth scene is that undeniable feeling of being at home. I go down into a basement, drawn by the light and the sounds, by the promise of an intensity that’s both painful and joyful. Bodies dancing, minor scales. It’s already a contradiction in itself! The Goth scene is about celebrating life, with one foot in another world (the world of the dead, the world of shadows?). There’s a kind of haunting ritual, wrapped in a contemporary aesthetic. I wanna be a part of it, as a priestess.
Ferdinand: Goth music represents my musical ‘family’. I discovered it through a sampler from Elegy magazine around 2003, and even though I developed my musical taste by listening to a wide variety of genres, it was Goth music that most gave me that sense of ‘belonging’ to a musical family. It was also at these parties that I danced the most and watched others dance. Among Goths, as in any social group, there are certain attitudes and recurring elements that you can have fun with while still respecting them.
My friends and I have always had a great sense of self-deprecating humor, and we loved to laugh at ourselves. At first, we couldn’t quite come to terms with the fact that we were goths, even though we were clearly identified as such by everyone outside the movement who interacted with us. I think “Une Vraie Gothique” tells this story—the playful questioning of a genre’s identity that sometimes tells its followers, ‘If you want to be different, be like us’.
In this project, we’re trying to strike the right balance: the band is perfectly accessible at face value (especially because of Ulrika’s character, who talks almost exclusively about personal things), but you can also have fun reading between the lines to uncover humorous elements.
Q: Strictly speaking, your music doesn’t sound traditionally Gothic. Instead, it blends elements of EBM, Electro-Wave and even Techno, while it’s mainly the atmosphere and the song titles that evoke a Gothic aesthetic. How would you describe your musical identity, and how do you see the relationship between your Electronic sound and the themes explored in your lyrics?
Ferdinand: Ulrika and I both listen to a huge variety of very different music. I’ve listened to a lot of Techno, actually, and quite a bit of Rap, which comes through in some of the tracks and in the way I use my voice at times. I think you’re right: the music itself isn’t necessarily ‘Goth’ in the traditional sense. It’s more of a reflection of a movement that has evolved and influenced many different musical styles. I feel like we’re living in an amazing era for music.
Things are much less compartmentalized than before. There are Pop bands with a Goth aesthetic; Techno has become much darker; and many people in Hip-Hop don’t hesitate to rock leather and latex looks. We use elements that come from all over the place and that serve the purpose of the tracks: metal clangs, animal sounds, and a variety of synths and VSTs.
We want our tracks to be hard-hitting and dark; we compose from the heart, and we’re our own biggest fans. Even if we wanted to make an entire album consisting solely of dark Electro tracks, I’m not sure we could pull it off. We’re diverse by nature.
Ulrika: I like the opportunity to create my own music and follow my own, personal and unique vision. As I said in the previous question, I am definitely truly and completely related to the Goth/dark/alternative scene. BUT I want to be true to myself also, and I have to recognize different parts I am made of. To me, our musical identity is soft & sexy. The scent of Père Lachaise Cemetery on a windy day. Why? We often have a sultry bass line and pleasant, mellow mid-range frequencies.
And I use my voice in a percussive, unsettling, incantatory way (the graves), whilst also allowing myself to incorporate more lyrical and mystical elements (the great wind). My influences are related to Germany: Deine Lakaien, Welle:Erdball, Helium Vola, Sopor Aeternus, Lacrimas Profundere, Agonoize, Feindflug, Nina Hagen, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore… as far as possible, I preferred to listen to German lyrics and, as I was in Metz in my childhood (East of France), it made more sense to look across the border.
As for the Electronic aspect, I just want to say that I love powerful basslines and energetic kicks, paired with melodies you can really let loose to. In our lyrics, we’re always talking about connection and energy. ‘Electronics’ comes from ‘electron’. It’s what carries electricity. I feel like I’m right at the heart of my material theme!
Q: How did the two of you collaborate on “R.D.V. Au Cimetière”? What roles does each of you take on within the creative process, and what were the biggest challenges you encountered during the writing, recording and production of the album?
Ulrika: Thanks for this question. It’s great to talk about the creative process! For me, the biggest challenge is finding our signature style, our identity, our voice. We’re walking a tightrope between our influences and our own inner worlds. I’ve made huge progress writing this album by allowing myself to simplify and pare down musical phrases to give them more impact.
I’d like to do that even more. We also try to focus on using variations rather than introducing new elements when we want the song to evolve. One of our favorite questions now is, ‘What if we did a bass variation?’. Right after ‘What filter should we put on the keyboard?’
Ferdinand: We’re both involved in every stage of the songwriting process. We both write and compose equally. Sometimes one of us needs to spend a few hours working on the song alone, and then we come back to it together, but overall we work as a team. Usually, I start by suggesting a rhythm and bassline, and Ulrika adds variations to it, then fairly quickly brings in vocal elements and a narrative direction. Sometimes we work together, and sometimes we take turns, but we always end up with a song to which we’ve both contributed equally.
The biggest challenge was undoubtedly not going off in all directions. There were times when we took the humor too far, for example, and the song became way too parodic, so we had to completely backtrack. As mentioned earlier, our main challenge is finding the right balance between paying homage to that scene and allowing for different levels of interpretation.
Q: You are based in Paris, which seems to have become an increasingly vibrant hub for both the Electronic and Gothic underground scenes. What is it like to be part of that environment? Does a city like Paris influence artists in a way comparable to cities such as Berlin, or does it have its own unique creative identity?
Ferdinand: Paris is lucky to have so many ‘underground’ venues and an endless cultural heritage. The walls have a history, and there are so many people that you always end up meeting others who are interested in what you’re offering and who understand your vision. We also have a vibrant cultural scene in the suburbs—I’m thinking of cities like Montreuil, for example, which have always been very open to alternative ideas. I don’t know if our city influences us the way Berlin might, but it certainly offers us plenty of opportunities to connect with others.
Ulrika : I find inspiration in old places. I love cemeteries, and coming across churches, works of art, and objects from the 12th century is definitely a source of enchantment. I studied at the school of the Louvre, which had a profound impact on me. That’s why I chose to live in Paris.
Besides, it’s the only city I know where I can go to a medieval music concert of Hildegard von Bingen or Perrotin on Monday, a Black-Metal show on Tuesday, a math lecture on Wednesday, an Electro-Goth show on Thursday, and a batcave show on Friday. We’re incredibly lucky to be surrounded by this beautiful heritage, and I want to honor and share it. I feel enriched by this multicultural history of dark music from today and yesterday, sometimes looking back several centuries !
Q: Have you already started working on new Une Vraie Gothique material or other projects? Looking back at “R.D.V. Au Cimetière”, how critical are you of the album today? Are there aspects you’re particularly proud of, and are there things you would approach differently next time?
Ulrika: We are currently working on a documentary that we filmed in February 2026 in California at the Mars College Festival. We had the immense pleasure of being invited by Vanessa Rosa and Gene Kogan to the desert to collaborate with the artists/developers and create a song about Euler’s Basel formula, in which we seek to convey the emotional impact of a theoretical argument. That’s my ultimate quest! We’re finishing up the composition of the song and wrapping up the editing! Is math Gothic? It’s full of formulas, after all.
As for the album, this is my first release with this kind of project. There are inevitably things we’d like to take further, but I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done, and I enjoy listening to the tracks without feeling like they’re mine. That’s a good sign!
Moving forward, I’d like to simplify things even more, making them even more effective and precise. Asking myself, ‘What can we take away?’ rather than ‘What can we add?’ ‘Less is more’ (Mies van der Rohe) is a powerfull statement.
Ferdinand: I’m very proud of this debut album; it really captures our work and the first narrative arc of Une Vraie Gothique. That said, I can’t wait to release new material, and we’re already working on the next album. In fact, we’re playing several songs live that aren’t on “R.D.V. Au Cimetière” but will be on the next one, such as “France Gothique” or the more recent “Anathème.”
I think we’ve both grown in many ways; I don’t think there’s any aspect we’ll need to approach fundamentally differently next time. We’re going to keep putting out great songs and try to get our music out there at festivals and abroad. We’re also very happy with our first music video, “Nuée Ardente,” directed by Anaïs Novembre, which brings a welcome new visual dimension to the project.
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