M1-49 Etron Fou Leloublan

M1-49 Hep!

I first encountered (not “met” or “saw” or “heard” – far too tame words to use with THIS crackling, sizzling band) Etron Fou Leloublan at the same new music Festival where I first met Miniatures artiste Maggie Nicols. We hit (now that’s a better word) it off straight away, and it was a no-brainer (perfect word) to invite them to join this project. Their witty, anarchic music (anti-Magma, contra-pomposity) – example: “The disastrous journey of the pitiful python” – grabbed my musical funny bone from the first note – they were an ideal band for Miniatures!

Based in Grenoble, this avant-garde power trio had just (or were just about to) release their third album, entitled “En Public Aux États-Unis D’Amérique” – evidently a live album recorded in the USA and described by one listener thus:
“One of the most baroque bands of the French underground, bringing together free jazz (ahhh, what a misused label), disoriented prog rock and popular French chanson – a salutary blend of sub-music and second-degree poetry! Albert Ayler meets Soft Machine / Gong meets Boby Lapointe and perhaps Colette Magny…?” (to which I would add two further influences, Beefheart and a Gallic punk rock attitude, resulting in their inclusion in Chris Cutler’s groundbreaking yet unifying Rock in Opposition). Someone also wrote that they were a “viable, musical alternative to both French rock’n’roll and French free jazz”, which apparently had been stagnating at the time.

The band was founded in 1973 by actor/singer/saxophonist Chris Chanet – who played on and co-wrote their first album Batelages – but quit in 1976 just before it was released. Over the thirteen years of their existence (1973-86), the trio were sometimes a quartet, with founder members Ferdinand Richard (bs) and Guigou Chenevier (dr) always present, two other sax players replacing Chanet, keyboardist/singer Jo Thirion joining in 1980, and Miniatures artiste Fred Frith (gtr) guesting and later producing.

They released eight albums in all, plus in 1991, a 43-song 3-CD compilation, wittily titled “43 Songs.” Their final and most successful studio album “Face Aux Elements Dechaines” was produced by the mighty Frith – and then they broke up. Ha!

They played over 500 concerts in 17 countries and went down a storm every time. OK, that last comment was a guess, based on their brilliant performance that wowed me at Rheims. There are precious few live videos to be found, malheureusement. But thankfully, there is the live album.

A career high point was reported to be their electrifying performance in Zurich at the 1982 M.A.K. Festival (Musik ausser Kontrolle = Music out of Control).

All was not lost after they split, because Ferdinand (a really delightful, articulate man, with whom I communicated a lot when organising their Mins track) moved on to numerous other lively creative projects including…

👌 DROPERA – a “twisted rock opera” with Frith (they called themselves Fred & Ferd)
👌 An urban musical concept with Czech violinist Iva Bittová and Czech drummer Pavel Fajt.
👌 ARMINIUS, a concept album and performance with Japanese violinist Takumi Fukushima and others.
👌 E-POP by Ferdinand et les Diplomates, with drummer Gilles Campaux and hip-hop turn-tablist DJ Rebel – Richard’s last recording (released 2007).
Even while he was still with Etron Fou, Ferdinand released two solo albums including En Avant, scored for two bass guitars and a cello (played by Tom Cora), with eight songs, each sung in a different language. Since basically quitting music, Ferdinand has spent his time in many significant capacities organising musical and cultural events and programs covering many genres. There must be a multitude of amateurs, artists and bands who are grateful for this profilic gentilhomme’s generous efforts. Meanwhile, Guigou continues to play in many different bands – he’s still the unstoppable Mad-Shit-White-Wolfman.
To know more (a lot more), THIS LONG INTERVIEW with Etron Fou Leloublan members in 2014 will plunge you deep into their amazing story.
Alors – Long Live the Wolf!!!

UPDATE 2022/5/4: GREAT NEWS FROM BLOG READER KAI WEBER: Just a few weeks ago, Guigou Chenevier published his memoir of the Etron Fou Leloublan years in a bilingual, French/English edition! Order it here (shipping very reasonable – for me, only 3 Euros to Japan!): 
http://www.lenkalente.com/product/une-histoire-d-etron-fou-leloublan-de-guigou-chenevier)

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