2-IRONIE DU SORT
3-LES PINS
4-ORNIÈRES
5-PAS DE MORT
6-FILU ‘E FERRU
7-AMBIANCE ARGILE
8-LA DISTANCE DES NOIX
9-ENNEMI
10-ÉTAT NORMAL
Mélanie Virot
harp, vocal
Maël Salètes
guitare, jeli n’goni, vocal
Léo Dumont
percussions, vocal
Anne Godefert
guitar bass, vocal
Sébastien Guichard
(La Fraise) sound
photos © Bertrand Gaudillère – collectif ITEM
BOOKING • SOYOUZ
Yvan Ducret
yvan@soyouzmusic.com
LA CURIEUSE
LE PÉRISCOPE – LYON (FR)
• NEW ALBUM - AMBIANCE ARGILE > JUNE 7, 2024 • PRODUCTION LA CURIEUSE & LA COMPAGNIE 4000
L’étrangleuse is two girls and two boys who play a form of undefined minimalist rock and four-part free song, amplifying the dialogue between a pedal harp in bird’s-eye maple and a djéli n’goni in goatskin, underpinned by the archaic grooves of a rhythm section adorned with trinkets.
L’étrangleuse’s shelter is a Touareg tent lost in the immensity of the frozen tundra, where the spirits of The Ex and Brigitte Fontaine stir up secret hymns of a new structure for the world, finally governed by poetry.
Elusive and irresistible, the music plunges us into a darkness which owes as much to the twilight of the old world as to the dawn of the wide-open spaces where furious dances of joy are crackling and popping. Squeaking bows and materials stuck between the strings, saturation and percussion of incongruous objects, feverish spinning and psychedelic choruses are the charms of this nuanced trance.
Poems, manifestos, dreams or nightmares, it could ultimately be that the songs only speak of reality. As Philip K. Dick said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away”.
Tirelessly tracking the magic of almost nothing, for 15 years L’étrangeuse has been composing the modal and unconventional soundtrack of a long waking dream, drawing its inspiration from the traditional tunes of a country that does not exist.
Formed by Mélanie Virot, a classical harpist used to taking her imposing instrument far from its usual and unamplified contexts, combining contemporary dance and improvised music, and Maël Salètes, veteran of Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp and long-time accomplice of the Somaliland singer Sahra Halgan, the original duo has released 3 albums and played more than 300 concerts, from tiny European squats, barns and attics, to prestigious stages and festivals such as Les Suds in Arles, No Border, the Peristyle-Opéra Underground festival or the Nuits de Fourvière and the Nuits Sonores.
With a fourth album in June 2024, their first as a quartet, L’Étrangleuse dynamites its original post-rock chamber music with Anne Godefert, bassist and singer from the electronic music scene, and Léo Dumont drummer + objects, who is no stranger to sonic audacity (Chromb , Pixvae, An’ Pagay, Polymorphie…)
On stage, the pieces stretch out, the sound of the group captivates hearts in a contemplative reverie, inexorably leading bodies into a frenetic dance.
Studio session – Les Pins :
PRESS 2024
“Ambiance Argile is surely set to be one of the French albums of the year.” Songlines ****
“Wow. When I heard this I thought, “How has this band not been in my life before.” Amy Lame (BBC 6 Music)
“The production on the whole recording is really lush and juicy. This is my favourite track, Les Pins.” Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music)
“Ambiance Argile feels like the start of a gloriously assured new era for the band.” The Quietus
“A triumphant return for L’Étrangleuse and a new beginning for their music.” Cast The Dice
“Those who know my program know that i like repetitive music, loops, mantras and psyche pop music which is close to trance, obviously I totally enjoyed l’Étrangleuse project” Marion Guilbaud (France Inter)
“What a beautiful album with so much musical colours… A travel within Africaan influences and nutty Pop/New Wave sonorities like Flying Lizards / Lizzy Mercier. I love it.” Laurent Garnier (PBB radio)
“Desorientation guaranteed with this new album. « Le Remède » immediatly sets the tone and we are caught up in this heady “tournerie” punctuated by choirs and chanted texts” Rock & Folk ***
La Cordo – Romans-sur-Isère (26)
w/ Pixvae
Elusive and irresistible, the music plunges us into a darkness which owes as much to the twilight of the old world as to the dawn of the wide-open spaces where furious dances of joy are crackling and popping. Squeaking bows and materials stuck between the strings, saturation and percussion of incongruous objects, feverish spinning and psychedelic choruses are the charms of this nuanced trance.
Poems, manifestos, dreams or nightmares, it could ultimately be that the songs only speak of reality. As Philip K. Dick said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away”.
Mélanie Virot —harp, voice, trombone
Maël Salètes —djéli n’goni, voice, guitar
Anne Godefert —guitarbass, voice
Léo Dumont —drums, voice
Music —Maël Salètes & L’Étrangleuse
Texts —Maël Salètes (except Pas De Mort and Les Pins by Srecko Kosovel)
—
PRESS :
“Ambiance Argile is surely set to be one of the French albums of the year.” Songlines ****
“Wow. When I heard this I thought, “How has this band not been in my life before.” Amy Lame (BBC 6 Music)
“The production on the whole recording is really lush and juicy. This is my favourite track, Les Pins.” Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music)
“This is great – looking forward to the album” James Endeacott (Soho Radio)
“A triumphant return for L’Étrangleuse and a new beginning for their music.” Cast The Dice
“Those who know my program know that i like repetitive music, loops, mantras and psyche pop music which is close to trance, obviously I totally enjoyed l’Étrangleuse project” Marion Guilbaud (France Inter)
“What a beautiful album with so much musical colours… A travel within Africaan influences and nutty Pop/New Wave sonorities like Flying Lizards / Lizzy Mercier. I love it.” Laurent Garnier (PBB radio)
Coproduction : La Curieuse & Compagnie 4000
Enregistré et mixé par Johan Caballé à La Baume-Cornillane, février 2024
Mastering — studio Altho, Lyon, février 2024
Photo de groupe : Bertrand Gaudillère / Collectif ITEM
Photos : L’Étrangleuse
Graphisme : Super Marché noir
Mélanie Virot harp, vocal
Maël Salètes vocal, guitar, jeli n’goni, percussions, textes (except 3 Claude Lévi-Strauss in “Tristes Tropiques”)
Seven years after their first album and three years after “Memories To Come” (produced by John Parish), the duo has conceived a third disc, “Dans Le Lieu Du Non-Où” (“In The Place Of No-Where”), completely sung in French and recorded at home. From dances of enchantment to end-of-the-world ballads, their new repertoire gives pride of place to the rotations of the jeli n’goni (Malian lute), while the harp borrows saturation and breaks from the electric guitar.
1. Coincidences
2. Ville en Flamme
3. Par sa Genèse
4. Charcenne
5. Vertige et Vérité
6. Herbes Folles
7. Bois l’Eau
8. Silence
9. Messine
10. Dans le Lieu du Non-Où
11. L’Arrivée
12. Loisieux
Production la Curieuse
Distribution l’Autre Distribution
Recording & mix La Fraise à La Baume-Cornillane
Mastering Mathieu Monnot
Draw Pauline Souchaud
Artwork Pierre Chanel & Pauline Souchaud
Limited Edition 7″ Vinyl
Face A : Promenade
Face B : Parasol
Promenade :
Production John Parish
Label Les Disques de Plomb
Recorded and mixed by John Paris & Ali Chant
Toy Box Studios in Bristol, 2015
Parasol :
Recorded and mixed by
Fred “Brain” Monestier
La Bobine, Grenoble (FR), 2011
In testing their singular edifice in the crucible of the stage, the duo has forged an expertise whose limits are stretched by this new album ‘Memories To Come’. Advancing along the same tightrope, succeeding, mastering and venturing further. All of which was guided by the ear of the English producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Dominique A, among others).
Mélanie Virot harp, vocal
Maël Saletes guitare, vocal, jeli n’goni
G.W. Sok vocal on « Caged Bird »
John Parish drums, bongos, bass, piano, tambourin, synth on 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
1. Do I
2. The I try
3. Doesn’t Matter
4. Coincidence
5. L’un languit
6. Noise
7. Drifting around
8. Ed
9. Who we are
10. Caged bird
Production la Curieuse
& John Parish
Labels Les Disques de Plomb
Red Wig
Distribution l’Autre Distribution
Recorded by Ali Chant
Mixed by John Parish & Ali Chant
Toy box Studios in Bristol
Mastered by John Parish & Shawn Joseph (Optimum Mastering Bristol)
Mélanie Virot harp, vocal
Maël Saletes guitare, vocal
Aymeric Krol calebasse on 2, 3, 4, 10, 12
G.W. Sok vocal on « Dead bodies under christmas trees » and « Writer’s Blog »
1. (…)
2. All the things
3. Dear
4. Meeting withe the Kankouran
5. Janvier
6. Kasyak Lubvie
7. Television
8. Writer’s blog
9. Dead bodies under christmas trees
10. Corner of the eyes
11. Collision time
12. If I crawl
Production & label Undergrouille, Les Disques de Plomb
Recorded and mixed by Brain
Mastered by Matthieu Monnot
(Eyemat Mastering Studio Lyon)