French dark wave band Deleyaman have perfected their sound on their new album Sentinel, mixing their own poetry with the words from established writers, and recording them with quiet intensity. They have always been adamant to provide the listener with a rich palette of sounds and moods. Singing in French sits comfortably with Beatrice Valantin, the bands's singer and multi-instrumentalist Aret Madilian is fluent in English and Armenian, his native tongue. Gerard Madilian plays the duduk, a traditional woodwind instrument that could be mistaken for and English horn by uninitiated. Bass player Guillaume Leprevost always picks his notes carefully and also acts as the band's second guitar player.
With birds whistling softly as the intro for the first tracks Exil the album unfolds slowly, like a chrysalis in slow motion. The orchestrated psych pop in Keep the Light and the pastoral Electric Sky lead to the two reinventions of a smattering of their favourite poets: De Roses Vermeilles by Gérard de Nerval and The Valley in an inventive coupling of poems by Winifred M. Lets and Arthur Gorges, an intriguing maze without a road map. Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance) lends a band on the latter track, playing cimbalom, bouzouki and drums.
Melancholy prevails throughout the album, so it is fitting that they walk slowly through the fields and find the lake where "everything has been said. Of ancient myths to darkest hours" in Deer on the Run, before signing off with the realisation that true freedom does not really exist. We are all born Slaves. Deleyaman take it slow, with hushed warnings that may be to high-brow for the average music fan, but will be noted by anyone who loves literature and poetry. Adventurous folk music that transcends the concept of borders or genres.
Deleyaman:
Aret Madilian: vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussions, drums
Beatrice Valantin: vocals
Guillaume Leprevost: bass, guitar
Gerard Madilian: duduk
Guest musicians:
Jules Maxwell: piano
Madalina Drouvin Obreja: violin
Brendan Perry: cimbalom, bouzouki & drums on The Valley
Sentinel is released via TTO Records / Sonic Rendezvous. Release date: January 17.
Tracks:- Exil
- Become
- Keep the Light
- Electric Sky
- De Roses Vermeilles
- The Valley
- Still Waters
- 1973
- Deer on the Run
- Slaves
- 01/17 De Piek - Vlissingen, Netherlands
- 01/18 Art Base - Brussels, Belgium
- 03/01 Theatre du Temps - Paris, France
- 03/02 Theatre du Temps - Paris, France
- 03/27 Trianon Transatlantique - Rouen, France
(with special guest and setlist)
HCTF review of The lover, The stars & The citadel.
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