FRANCE - DO DEN HAAG CHURCH (2021, Stoned to Death/Super In Fi)

FRANCE - DO DEN HAAG CHURCH (2021/2014, n°150, 12”/digital)

I envy you. I envy you if you have not heard this record yet. Originally recorded live in Den Haag in 2014 and released on cd-r, then it has seen the light of the day and flames of the night on several vinyl reissues. Always gone too soon. And this is one of them. Maybe not the last one. Reason is simple. This recording is simply the cornerstone of european (mid tempo) medieval tribal rock (or kraut rock, if we must).

This recording is by french trio called France. They consist of hurdy gurdy player Yann Gourdon, bass player Jérémie Sauvage (of Standard in Fi records) and drummer Mathieu Tilly. Their music has the same approach as the band Faust showed (or were navigated towards) when playing with Tony Conrad in 1972. The story goes, that when Conrad entered the jam space, he gave Faust one instruction only: “Pick a key, keep the same tempo, make no changes and stick with it for an hour or more.”

Now look at this band, France. They do the same - but for 12 years already. Started in 2005 in city of Valence, not too far from Lyon or french Alps, surrounded by miles of countryside. Perhaps thats one of the reasons their sound is so rural, very unmodern, using some ways that were set in stone by german and british psychedelic rock, but decided to speak with uncommon language (hurdy gurdy), which might not be understood by many, but i grant if you will try to understand, you will soon be addict and slave to its sound.

France is the sound of long forgotten voids from the past.

This edition of Do Den Haag Church is released in edition of 550 as a collaboration of Standard in Fi, Mental Groove and Stoned to Death records.

Visit France: www.lllliillll.fr