Narcophony is not done with visiting houses, haunted by the memories of these last thirty years most frantic musicians. After Nurse With Wound, they are getting down to the mind-expanding work of the most phenomenal San Francisco pop combo: The Residents. Armed with a number of musicians balanced around the duet made by Eric Aldéa and Ivan Chiossone, with Christine Ott (collaborations with Radiohead, Yann Tiersen... - Ondes Martenot), François Cuilleron (ex-Bästard- guitars and violin) and Hasmig Fau (cello), Narcophony recycles 13 tracks chosen among the very first works of The Residents (from 1974 to 1985) with the same characteristic unrestrained energy of the avant-garde band. Reached by the playfulness of contemporary Kraftwerk, the band turns on an amazing switch from analogical to acoustic.
Keeping most of the patterns for the timeless Ondes Martenot (father of electronic music), the band takes up the mischievous orchestrations with impulsive strings and other intrusions of rare instruments. A weird masterstroke that intensifies the most resourceful period of The Residents. From "Mystical "Festival of Death" to fleeting adventures of "Vileness Fats", "Narcophony play The Residents" makes a far-reaching diversion. Taking over highly condensed "Commercial Album", (1980), they dissect its pop hits each of them being heightened by an extra minute, and enter the world's saddest songs hall of fame with cult track "Hello Skinny". To revisit American music's history through a series, was one of The Residents ambitious projects, stopped while in progress. Narcophony keeps the magic up with "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams, and makes it slide in an unlikely acrobatic way. Narcophony also made a new version of another abortive plan: fiery "Whatever happened to Vileness Fats", the ardent soundtrack to a feature-length film put on hold, eventually finds, here an unexpected outcome.
As The Residents did before with The Beatles on their first album "meet The Residents" (1974), Narcophony, as a master, plays with raw material and carries on a history full with vivid developments, with the same agitation as their elders from Texas once did. Ivan Chiossone Ivan is in his early thirties and lives in Lyons where he met Eric Aldéa. After years playing music on his own, Narcophony is his first record. He created Membres with flutist Pierre Citron in 2003. Eric Aldéa After having spent the 90's as the leader of Deity Guns from 89 to 93 ("Trans-Lines Appointment" was produced by Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth in 92) and Bästard from 92 to 97 ("Radiant, Discharged, Crossed Off" was produced by Andy Briant from Tortoise in 97), Eric Aldéa now evolves on the border between digital sounds and acoustic instruments. He composes, notably for the choregrapher Abou Lagra and his dance company La Baraka, pieces at the fringes of genres and still incredibly melodic, estblishing links between the epic inspiration of a contemporary symphony and the most abstract electronic textures.
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