Le's Knit

French art-rock unit Etron Fou Leloublan – roughly translated, "Mad Sh*t, the White Wolf" – was formed in 1974 by vocalist Eulalie Ruynat, bassist/vocalist Ferdinand Richard, saxophonist Chris Chanet, and drummer Guigou Chenevier. A product of the Rock in Opposition coalition – a loose collective of British and Western European artists, spearheaded by Henry Cow, that openly challenged the commercial, creative, and sociopolitical aims of mass-market popular music – Etron Fou Leloublan boasted a frenzied, densely rhythmic approach ably captured by their 1976 debut LP, Batelages…

Mentored by Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau between 1917 to 1923, the celebrated French compositional group known as Les Six comprised Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Taillefaire. The artful relationship between Les Six and their mentors formed an important cornerstone of the inter-war avant garde.

The full title of Étron Fou Leloublan's second album is Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au Pays Des…), which could translate to "The Three Fools Lose'n'win (In the Land Of…)" - granted, it doesn't make more sense in English than in French. On this opus from 1978, Francis Grand picks up the saxophone where Chris Chanet (aka Eulalie Ruynat) had left it. Despite his inventive growls and screams, he simply cannot tame the devastating rhythm section (and madcap creativity) of Ferdinand Richard and Guigou Chenevier. This album is a studio construction, filled with overdubs and intro/outro collages. The group has gained better knowledge of the possibilities offered by a recording studio, but still operates on a shoestring budget…

Noise / math rock / avant-prog / experimental and bona fide freaks of French underground, ni (emphatically NOT capitalized) can add one more tag to their already eclectic musical palette on their first full-length release debut LE INSURGÉS DE ROMILLY ( The Iinsurgents of Romilly) and that is the tag of avant-garde metal as this quartet of ear abusing misfits ramp up the heaviness after two brief EPs (both eponymously titled have ya) that already utilized an extreme blender style of all kinds of head spinning musical mischief…

In "Rue Escalei", Laura Nicolae paints a vivid picture of her native Romania during the communist era and reveals the resilience of close-knit communities where generosity manages to survive, like flowers that bloom in the cracks of broken concrete.
Prix Robert-Cliche 2024. …