Here’s what I’ve found in my junkmail… Call me a spammer, but I can’t resist sharing with you this message from one of the best Indie French Label : Fargo Records.
Summer is almost there… blah blah… To get our new 8 tracks sampler, just click here and fill in the ‘fargo‘ password and your e-mail address, you’ll received an e-mail with a link to download it - even if the mail is in French, you won’t be lost !
Find below the tracks listing :
1. Alela Diane : The Rifle ( from The Pirate’s Gospel)
2. Alela Diane : Pink Roses (unreleased yet) !
3. Dawn landes : Kids In A Play (from Fireproof)
4. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter : The Air Is Thin ( from Like, love, Lust & the Open Halls Of the Soul)
5. Chris Garneau : Relief (from Music For Tourists)
6. Chris Garneau : Saturday - (unreleased yet) ! 7. Laetitia Sheriff : Hulabaloo My T.V. Ratings - (To be released on Games Over - May 27th) !
8. Clare & The Reasons : Pluto - (To be released on The Movie - August 26th) !
Even if some are already favorites (Alela Diane, Dawn Landes, Jesse Sykes, Chris Garneau), those unreleased should teased your curiosity. Enjoy !
sb_url_to_rate = 'http://youcrazydreamers.com/2008/05/13/fargo-records-free-digital-sampler/';
sb_rated_title = 'Fargo Records free digital sampler';
sb_when_to_load = 'immediate';
try { sb_rated_creation = new Date(Date.parse('Tue, 13 May 2008 02:21:30 -0700')); } catch (e) {};
sb_categories = "French,Indie,News";
After couple dates in Germany this last February, Tomas Thunberg a.k.a Old Lost John is currently in UK for few gigs… Check his website to listen to his recent live performance and be sure to check his british schedule.
Geordie, there’s also a special show for you, right around your corner : hope you’ll find time to join !
This is the schedule:
May 10 2008 8:00P - Cavendish Arms (Stockwell) London, United Kingdom
May 11 2008 6:00P - Come Down and Meet the Folks (The Apple Tree) London, United Kingdom
May 14 2008 8:30P - The Bee’s Mouth Brighton, United Kingdom
May 15 2008 8:00 - The Rooms St Leonards-on-Sea, United Kingdom
May 16 2008 8:00P - The Smugglers Hastings, United Kingdom
Let’s pursue our little tour on the French music scene. More and more artists are leaving the French language adopting English in their songwriting process and I can’t blame it - what’s about a french version of this blog ? For Renaud Brustlein also known as H-Burns, the language matter doesn’t even arise… As soon as you’ll hear the first notes of his second album - How strange it is to be anything at All - you can’t almost imagine dealing with a French artist ; sure if accent can betray, his musical roots are far to be drawn from our national landscape.
H-Burns cited L. Cohen, Dylan, Smog, Oldham, Van Zandt amongst his influences and I guess none of them could deny a part of paternity in this folk album. H-Burns first full length, ‘Songs from the Elecric Sky’, was a pure - and beautiful - acoustic album. The brand new songs collection received the participation of Syd Matters and Thousand & Bramier. And for sure, this friendship gave to our Ardéchois folk singer a new dimension. A new dimension or a larger horizon with the addition of various instruments - such as banjo, mandoline and a musical saw and some superb arrangements… A larger horizon but without loosing this single point of view which allured me on his debut album ! And as usual, when all the songs deserve to be listened, here’s the opening track :
This is going to be a really personal post as I want to share with you part of my culture. Well for sure, speaking about music reveals something always personal, but this time, i’m going to speak about my roots !
Even if I’m living in the Pyrenees for couple years now, my heart-town is a small old harbor on the west coast of France called ‘Le Croisic‘ in French, ‘Little Cross’ in English and ‘Ar Groazig’ in Breton.
Brittany is my roots and historically a Celtic country with its own language : le ‘Breton’, and its own “Gwenn ha Du” Flag.
On my Father’s family side many were fishermen. Shanties, sing-along and other drinking songs are always my favorites - sounds a bit weird to shout them out in the middle of my current mountains… I’ve maried my wife - 10 years ago - under the sound of a single biniaoù - a kind of bag-pipe - playing ‘Amazing Grace‘, and we both opened the dancing time on ‘The Fairytale of New York‘ from the Pogues !
So I would like to introduce you to a part of this rich musical heritage : Gwerz ! With Kan ha Diskan (call and response singing), gwerz is the most common typical Breton vocal music. As many of ancient languages, Breton survives ages with oral tradition, story-tellers and singers. A Gwerz is a kind of lament where lyrics prevails. Most of the time, it describes tragic events.
For introducing this really specific singing, Denez Prigent is undoubtly the best and by far the most accessible singer. Denez is one of the leader of the new brittany songwriter generation mixing modern music with traditional instruments - uilleann pipes, bag-pipes - and singing - ‘gwerz’ and ‘kan ha diskan’ Breton styles. With five albums already released, his reputation exceeds our regional borders. Denez recorded couple duets with Lisa Gerrard, one was choosen by Ridley Scott for the movie ‘Black Hawk Down’. Even if this song is under the scope of the RIAA, I couldn’t resist to post it - may the record company understands my sharing point of view! Gortoz Az Ran (I’m Waiting) is also available on Denez’s Irvi album.
The other song i’ve selected is ‘Copsa Mica’ which is one of the most shivering live song i’ve ever heard. It’s a “gwerz” about the most polluted city in Europe : Copşa Mică in Romania. The original version has been recorded with Romanian singers Ludmila Dinova, Ivelina Baltcheva and Elena Bozova, and is available on the ‘Me’ Zalc’h Ennon Ur Fulenn Aour‘ full length.
Thanks to my friend Brigitte, native from another celtic country - Eire, who translated the Breton lyrics into English via a French version. Even, if it’s not an easy song - due to the use of Breton language, please be sure to listen it till the end and feel its entire power delivered with his unique voice and bag-pipes !
“The substance known as camphor has historically been used in religious ceremonies, as a moth repellent, as an ingredient in fireworks, for the embalming of the dead, and for medicinal purposes such as the alleviation of heart symptoms and fatigue. The music of Camphor has many of the same powers …”
Those are the words introducing the biography of Camphor on his website : an invitation to join this promising mixture.
I’ve contacted Mr Max Avery Lichtenstein about Camphor teased by “Confidences Shattered“, a catchy waltz abounding with numerous variations… that makes you feel like a half-drunken butterfly ! Max kindly gave me the opportunity to listen to the complete album. While listening to the opening song Daybreak, I had to double-check the name of the band, I was doubting the genesis of the track. The double take made me alert, I was then ready to play the complete 13 pieces collection, ears wide open.
Without a doubt, the album title helped me to draw this comparison. As I was listening, I was taken back to the days of sitting in front of my old toybox: Pink Floyd (Deconstructed), Talk-Talk / Mark Hollis (Daybreak), Peter Gabriel for the elders ; Elbow (The Sweetest Tooth), Calexico (Castaway) and Arcarde Fire (Immolation). Many of the ‘Drawn to Dust‘ tracks refer from a distant background to one of these great bands. In my point of view, the science of orchestration is the common denominator between them all.
If Max Avery Lichtenstein has already proved his producer talent (Mercury Rev , Timesbold, Whip among many others), his capacity of composing great tunes (Tarnation song was just an appetizer !!!); with his new Camphor project, he has reached a new dimension. Few album achieved such a symbiosis, it’s a perfect chef d’oeuvre : its structure could be easily compared to any classical masterpiece. Removing a track from its context gives life to another song living in its own entity. A real amazing talent!
It reminds me of Mark Hollis saying back in 1998 : “…don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.” For Drawn to Dust, this saying is not only concerning each note, but also each instrument on each track, and maybe each words - as Max is a bit less prolix with regard to lyrics - : ‘pickaxe syntax chipping at the sweetest tooth‘ ?
Usually I would be writing a review while playing the album : “yes, I love this song, this one doesn’t match my mood, but that’s ok as the following one is so great…you know what i mean? ” Dealing with Drawn to dust I had to stop the music as it was totally captivating! I bet the following ‘Confidences Shattered‘ will have the same effect on you as it hypnotized me! In a different genre, Max’s path is similar to Daniel Lanois but both reached the top of what music is able to produce : when a talented producer, sound-engineer decide to cross the border… a gem will be born !
Only couple days left for the album to be released, April the 1st… so in the meantime, let’s play the traditional answers/questions with Max.
YCD : Hi Max, how’s it going? Max Avery Lichtenstein : Fairly well… fairly well indeed.
YCD : Could you please tell us more about Camphor ? Max Avery Lichtenstein : Camphor is a project that’s been simmering quietly since the turn of the century… I’ve always tried to make a little time in between film scoring projects and record production projects (both very collaborative kinds of work) to allow myself a bit of purely self-directed expression, but it’s tricky to get a lot done in those infrequent windows. So after I completed work on a film called The King in 2005, I decided it was a good time to devote a bigger share of my attention to songwriting, and the album “Drawn to Dust” is the result. The nice thing is that many of the artists I worked with over the years as a producer were happy to contribute their talents to the Camphor record, so in the end it was still very much a collaborative project as well.
YCD : and what’s about the ‘wabi sabi’ - the idea that greatness exists in the inconspicuous details of the world, and that heart-tugging beauty can be found in the imperfect and the broken - concept of this first full length - Is it another way to define limits in your songwriting such as the one you’re facing in film music ? Max Avery Lichtenstein : That’s certainly an interesting way to think about it. I guess I like working with themes… they allow you to approach a single idea from different perspectives. You put the idea in a different light each time you address it, and then you can watch both the idea and your own relationship to it evolve as the exploration continues.
YCD : Camphor, first ep ‘Silver Gold’ has been released about 3 years ago… time to mature the concept or just a matter of time ? Max Avery Lichtenstein : Oh, that 7″ is even older… I think it was released in 2000. It’s a bit of an oddity, actually… Camphor began as a sort of ‘invisible’ band that I would assemble to produce music for movies. I was working with my friend Jason Russo (from a great band called Hopewell) on some 70s-flavored instrumental rock music for the film Jesus’ Son, and while in the studio we decided to try our hand at building a song with vocals in a similar retro style, just for fun. Jason had this orphaned song “Silver Gold” that seemed to fit the bill, and so we started playing around with it. The resulting 7″ featured that song (sung by Jason) and two of the instrumental pieces from the film. It’s a nice little remnant of that particular film project… but probably not a good representation of the current state or sound of Camphor…
YCD : Is there a song you wish you had written ? Max Avery Lichtenstein : Ah, that would be a dangerous wish… I think the truly great songs could only have been created by the unique person who wrote it. I’d just be happy to write a great song of my own… YCD : Yes, I can witness it and the list is getting long !!! If you could share a stage with any band or artist who would you choose and why? Max Avery Lichtenstein : Oh, there are lots… anybody doing something unique and honest is all right by me. But if I could really get a genie to grant my 3 wishes, I’d love to share a stage with Björk (’cause she is always aiming to do something new), Sigur Rós (’cause of the intense atmosphere they create) and Tom Waits (’cause he’s, well, Tom Waits).
YCD : What are your projects for the coming months : new soundtrack, producing, authoring ? Max Avery Lichtenstein : I’ve just finished making a video for my song “Castaway” that I’m really pleased with, and I’m looking forward to doing another one soon. Recording-wise, I’ve started writing and tracking for the next Camphor release, and I’m nearly nearly finished producing a very creative debut album by a band called Mook, which is lead by the actor Paul Dano, whom I met while scoring The King. And for the whole month of May I will be on tour in Europe with my other band Timesbold. ‘Tis a busy year, so far… so good. Cheers!
YCD : Thank you so much, hope to catch you somewhere in Europe !
Guest_2370 : just stumbled across your site today. good stuff. i think you might really like the new e.p. by Tall Tales, entitled Earthling.
Guest_1410 : ok...i looved this movie too..but whats that song thats playing when they are gardening with Joses dad? its just instrumental and some ai ai ais or something..its so beautiful..i want to know what it is.
Olivier : Oups sorry All... i've deleted couple valid comments while removing a list of 500 spams !
Sam : Kevin Pawlak thought I should email you about a new EP my band is putting out. He reviewed it favorably recently. Wanted to send you the information.
All audio posted on this site is meant for sampling purposes only. If you really like what you hear, show it and support the artist - buy an album, buy some merch, got to a show. If you represent or own any media on this site and woulk like something taken down please email us, and we will take the necessary action of removing the file(s).
Here’s what I’ve found in my junkmail… Call me a spammer, but I can’t resist sharing with you this message from one of the best Indie French Label : Fargo Records.
H-Burns cited L. Cohen, Dylan, Smog, Oldham, Van Zandt amongst his influences and I guess none of them could deny a part of paternity in this folk album. H-Burns first full length, ‘Songs from the Elecric Sky’, was a pure - and beautiful - acoustic album. The brand new songs collection received the participation of 
So I would like to introduce you to a part of this rich musical heritage : Gwerz ! With Kan ha Diskan (call and response singing), gwerz is the most common typical Breton vocal music. As many of ancient languages, Breton survives ages with oral tradition, story-tellers and singers. A Gwerz is a kind of lament where lyrics prevails. Most of the time, it describes tragic events.
YCD : and what’s about the ‘wabi sabi’ - the idea that greatness exists in the inconspicuous details of the world, and that heart-tugging beauty can be found in the imperfect and the broken - concept of this first full length - Is it another way to define limits in your songwriting such as the one you’re facing in film music ?
Latest Comments
RSS