Tell us about how it all started and what music means to you.
I guess it all started with a guitar when I was thirteen and forming a thrash metal band with some friends. We were writing our own material and playing locally (Chester). I don’t think I’ve stopped making music since really. To me music is common ground that’s helped me form some of the deepest friendships with people. It’s also helped me through some pretty dark times. I couldn’t imagine a life without it to be honest.
You play a wide variety of genres under your name Ali Renault, Cestrian, and Parasols. We’d love to know more about your journey and how all this came about.
I started the Cestrian project back in 2007 and wanted to create an outlet for my darker & harder style of electro. It didn’t seem right to do both Italo influenced disco music & dark electro under the same name so Cestrian was born out of that connundrum.
Parasols was initially a project with me and my wife, Jorja. The first track, Dark Energy featuring her vocal was released on the Magic Waves label in 2015 and was a one off track but I decided to continue the theme and wrote a load more material in that EBM style for a couple of labels in the following couple of years.
My most recent sessions have been writing an album with Jorja under the name ‘Body Double’ which should hopefully see the light next year at some point.
You’re also a part of AUTOHAUs which is a band. Please tell us more about it.
AUTOHAUs is a project I started being involved with here in Margate when I moved here 4 years ago. The 4 of us come from fairly different musical backgrounds but have a common ground in kosmische, motorik styles and wanted to be mostly improvisational. We rehearsed for a year or so before playing out and we’ve been doing that for a year now with 3 EPs and an album released.
What do you love doing besides music?
Besides music I love raising my kids here by the seaside. I enjoy cooking for my family & friends and collect a fair bit of cat memorabilia from the best charity shops in the universe.
Ali Renault plays at Panorama Bar/Berghain in Berlin on 28th July, 2023