January 2009
Bang the gong, ring the bell: my new record Years Are Made Of Seconds® is available at last !
This The Keys’ 6th self-produced album, released on the 15th of December 2008.
I will celebrate this release with a big North America Tour this summer, accompanied by my talented friend Charlotte Cornfield for a « Catch The Greyhound Bus » again in Montreal !
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For the first time affording myself the services of a “real” studio and a “real” mastering engineer, I blowed the dust off my old saxophone and gathered friends and family around me to record this album. It was recorded between spring and fall 2008, with additional recording sessions in places such as a tiny bedroom in Toulouse, a crowded attic in a Normandy house and a cosy living room in the Southern France countryside.
It’s definitely a family album, with contributions from my father on the accordion, and my mother and father-in-law leading their local church choir. Great help from my good friend and talented Canadian singer/songwriter Charlotte Cornfield on the drums and her brother Joseph on the bass made for a fantastic and solid rhythm section.
I tried once again not to focus on any kind of musical genre and just aimed to create songs that sounded right and lyrics that made sense.The warmth provided by being around friends and family members was contrasted with a definite sense of emergency when writing and recording, pressed by everyone’s schedules. It felt like I had to fit years into seconds. These songs are the result of these gatherings, efforts and attempts to create good music and propose some storytelling with energy in one hand, poetry in the other hand. I hope you’ll enjoy these stories and sounds.
You can order it directly to me, or through Paypal, or get the digital version on Itunes Store. 20 minutes of music, folk / pop / rock / punk you name it for only 10 $ or £ or € plus shipping ! There are full-colour pressed cds and a nice full-colour cellophaned ecopak on recycled paper with a sticker.
It got great reviews, check it out !
Comfort Comes (Us)
“a raw, bizarre and charming album that throws a child-like abandon in the face of overproduced contemporary music”
Wireless Bollinger (Aus)
“this album is its own schizophrenic beast, from acoustic punk power chords to acid jazz horns !”
Oxyfication (Us)
“unique, fearless vocals…The experience is suprisingly satisfying !”
Fazer (Can)
“an endearing voice and a driving passion. Often somber, occasionaly eclectic, a unique set of music !”
Longueur d’Ondes (Fr)
“un parfait album pour attendre le printemps !”
Pop News (Fr)
“ce sympathique album confirme tout le bien que l’on pensait déjà de The Keys”
A Découvrir Absolument (Fr)
“3153600 bonnes raisons d’écouter The Keys cette année”
Twice Fanzine (Fr)
“une bombe folk usant des plus belles harmonies vocales !“
Toxic Pete (Uk)
“fascinating…as brutally honest as it gets…an inspirational album, love it !“
God Is In The Tv (Uk)
“a formidable musical talent conjuring up an extremely accomplished album. It is an absolutely essential listen…”
4 / 5 stars
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Mon nouvel et sixième album Years Are Made Of Seconds®, fièrement autoproduit, est enfin disponible pour le plaisir de vos oreilles. Il est composé de 9 chansons enregistrées majoritairement en studio entre le printemps 2008 et l’automne 2009, et regorge de collaborations fructueuses avec amis et famille.
Vous aurez le plaisir d’y retrouver quelques joviaux membres de la chorale classique amateure de ma mère Marie-Hélène, mon père Yves à l’accordéon, mes amis canadiens Charlotte Cornfield derrière la batterie et son frère Joseph à la basse, le merveilleux multi-instrumentiste belge Fabrice Bihain, et l’exquis Renaud Delebassee au piano, vieux compagnon musical…
J’y joue du saxophone et me tiens responsable de la musique, des textes, des chants et guitares. L’album a été pressé en usine (non gravé) pour la première fois et est disponible sous la forme d’un digipak cellophané avec de belles photos en couleur.
Le projet The Keys est toujours aussi actif ! Je me prépare pour une grande tournée nord-américaine de près de 30 concerts en partie avec ma chère amie et talentueuse Charlotte Cornfield.
Certains ont trouvé ça pas mal apparemment : cf. chroniques ci-dessus.