In 2009 I didn’t get a new Vision Éternel EP out, so what I did was push for reissues. First of all the two EPs at the time were combined on An Anthology of Past Misfortunes, and released on CD in Japan. Next for me was to try to get those EPs out on cassette tapes. In May 2009 I came in contact with Winterreich Records, who apparently at the time was really interested in releasing these tapes. We preset a date for July 2009. I contacted Niels Geybels at Depraved Designs to create some artwork for this, as I had worked with him before on the Vision Sufferance “Forthcoming Travels” EP in 2007, the Human Infect band logo in 2008, and he had previously made a fan video for “Season in Absence” in 2008.

Cassette artwork for “Seul dans l’obsession” designed by Niels Geybels at Depraved Design, June 2009.

Cassette artwork for “Un automne en solitude” designed by Niels Geybels at Depraved Design, June 2009.

However at the same time that he was creating these, I also worked myself on my own versions. I ended up turning down DD’s versions because they were too dreamy for the emotions in VE. They were not disturbing enough. At this time I had done every artwork for VE and I decided that this would be no different. But I did get professional photos to start with this time, which were given to me by Jeremy Roux of SoulVisual. He used to take those from his work’s account all the time, so a few more here didn’t hurt none.

My own artwork of “Seul dans l’obsession” tape

My own artwork of “Un automne en solitude” tape

My version of “Un automne en solitude”

Now in June, I also created a flyer to help promote the cassettes that were coming out soon. I was so excited about this! They were set to be printed in 300 copies of each.

Digital flyer advertising the cassette tape reissues

Background used on Myspace during the tape promotion

July came along, and then August, and I still couldn’t get an email back from the label. He was completely ignoring my messages. So thats how I found out he bailed out on me. I was pissed, and I started looking for a new record label to release this. So in August I contacted Singularity Publishing, which had been distributing the VE compilation for a bit now, and had been telling me how much they liked it. They were a tape label to begin with, so I asked him if he was interested in releasing it. He responded promptly with an offer of 50 copies of each tape with full pro pressed artwork. I started getting the stuff ready and emailed him back a week later, to which he now responded with a counter offer. Apparently he had now decided that since the EPs were so short, that the best he could do was to have both EPs on a single tape, single sided, and all artwork on a single side of the paper, and finally that their would only be 30 copies made. I was furious and insulted and told him he could go fuck himself. Here was a typical VE misfortune: a guy comes to me and compliments my work and asks me if there is anything he can do for me. To which I offer him something that he turns down. That sums up the story of VE.

But I was destined to release these. At this same time I had just finished producing the Soufferance album “Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the Mind”, and I had come in touch with Valse Sinistre Productions. He wanted to release the Soufferance album, and said he like VE even more, and that he would possibly be interested in releasing these on tape. My hopes were up again. Time passed, and I had a third VE EP out now (March 2010), and my plans were still to get these reissued, hopefully in a box set together. So I contacted Jeremy again to get a new image to use for the “Abondance de périls” tape.

The image that would have been used for the “Abondance de périls” tape

I contacted Valse Sinistre again about his plans to put this out, and he said that tapes didn’t sell anymore and he would no longer be interested in releasing them. Now I still feel that these should come out, but I haven’t found a label for these, and am unsure if it would be worthy of it.