L’ÉPÉE + SOFT WALLS – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 08.12.19
Tonight, those that were in the know were present and those that were not……were not present! It’s as simple as that! When a new ‘supergroup’ choose the Concorde 2 on Brighton seafront as only one of two UK gigs (with the other being in the capital) for their ‘Diabolique’ tour, then clearly something rather special is going down.
L’Épée means ‘The Sword’ in their French mother tongue and is a meeting of superior minds that came about when the Planets of the Solar System became all aligned for the first time in a million years! Oh OK, I admit it, I made that last bit up, but boy it certainly feels like it! Especially on account of my actions at 10am on Friday 6th September 2019. On the dot, I entered Pebble Records at 14 Gildredge Road, Eastbourne and snapped up their only copy of the brand new ruby red vinyl debut ‘Diabolique’ album by L’Épée, which came with a free CD of the same album inside! Thus an album for the home and an album for the car! Happy Days!
But what had led me to that specific purchase decision? Well, on 6th May 2018 I was fortunate to catch a band called The Limiñanas live at the Hope & Ruin in Brighton – read our report HERE. You see, The Limiñanas are the married couple of Lionel and Marie Limiñana, who are half of the individuals that make up L’Épée. Their ‘Diabolique’ album (and earlier ‘Dreams’ EP) were originally intended to be the solo releases of French actress (and wife of Polish film director Roman Polanski) Emmanuelle Seigner, and were composed by The Limiñanas and produced in Berlin by the American musician artist Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Instead a vision called L’Epée was born.
It all begins during the ‘Gossip Girl’ series, when Emmanuelle hears a song which moves her. It is signed by The Limiñanas. She then looks through albums by the group, and falls in love. The actress, flush from two solo albums, ‘Dingue’ (2010) and ‘Distant Lover’ (2014) and an Ultra Orange collaboration ‘Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle’ (2007), is in further need of music. An ‘Inrocks’ reporter puts her in touch with The Limiñanas.
Surprised at the prospect of this possible collaboration, the actress, in full filming of a series in Lyon, enjoys her only free Saturday to jump on a plane at dawn in the direction of Cabestany, a village near Perpignan which serves as a base for The Limiñanas. Emmanuelle is treated to a guided tour of this place where music reigns without divide. Studio, guitars, bouzoukis, ukuleles, Moroccan basses, effects pedals, strange keyboards, oriental instruments and sonic gadgets occupy garage and ground floor. “We went out to eat pasta and take a walk on the beach,” recalls the singer. “We agreed on everything. I loved these people without the slightest doubt. It changed my Parisianism so much! “
The Limiñanas are by now finishing their truly excellent 2018 album ‘Shadow People’. Emmanuel is immediately enlisted on the microphone for the title track that gives its name to the album. Soon, this duo in Perpignan begins the composition of the model for what would then be a new solo album by Emmanuelle Seigner. The Parisienne returned twice to Cabestany to record texts written by Bertrand Belin or Lionel Limiñana himself, and finally the album seems ready then, but their spirit still feels it is missing their third hand.
Delighted by the recent collaboration with Anton Newcombe on the album ‘Shadow People’, The Limiñanas contacted him in Berlin where he’d installed his Cobra studio. Now nothing is going as planned. The American, best known for the psychedelic rock of his band The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the movie ‘Dig!’ which is dedicated to him, falls in love with the songs that Lionel sends him.
Immediately, Emmanuelle, Marie and Lionel fly to Berlin to meet him. By the time they arrive, he has already added guitars, mellotron, solos and his witchcraft titles. In Berlin Anton has rebuilt his legendary wall of sound, a mixture of which he owns from copyrights of acoustics to the Byrds and frenzied electricity, diverted from psychedelia. Then everyone goes back to their work, touring or filming, until Emmanuelle receives a letter from Newcombe: “I had a vision, we made a group of four and we called it L’Epée”. The Parisienne is delighted: “I like the Warrior sound of the name. I prefer this a hundred times, rather under a group name than mine! This is only logical after the involvement of everyone. The Group spirit of a team always attracted me, I like the idea of sharing. I was not happy with my solo albums, I’m excited about the upcoming tour.”
Immediately, the French are seduced by this name, its visual and evocative power, which the American chose in their language. L’Epée, it serves to ennoble as to cut the heads: this ambiguity delights them. “We still do not know why he chose this name,” laughs Limiñanas again. When asked to explain his dream, Anton Newcombe gets away with a spin of which he has the secret: “I saw a double-edged sword, if I may say, on the one hand, it can free you. On the other, she cuts you in pieces … I’m not very fond of the text explanations, but I probably thought about my song Silent Stream, “The truth will set you free / In pieces you shall be” will liberate you. It is therefore the Sword that will free you!”
Will ‘The Sword’ free us tonight at the Concorde 2 during their 78 minute L’Épée set, which commenced at 9pm?
As a live unit they double in size with no less than eight people on stage, some of which I recognise as being from The Limiñanas live ensemble that performed at the Hope & Ruin last year. Once you have counted all of the people on stage, you then notice Marie’s striking red hair and her stripped back drumset, which she plays with metronomic precision. You also note that she has no need for cymbals to hide behind. Her husband’s distinctive ZZ Top beard is a striking feature that can’t be ignored in a Demis Roussos sort of way. Then one tries to figure out how many guitars they have on the go at one time; answer at least four. Then when you scour the rear of the stage, you note that one of the guys is actually playing his unusual keyboard upside down. He alternates between this and a guitar. Then you notice the impressive lighting with the aid of several possibly Moroccan (or at least North African or Arabic) lanterns, along with white beams of light from the rear of the stage and ceiling.
It’s not long before Anton Newcombe makes himself known by ‘sitting out’ part of one of the compositions and then on another one rubs his guitar up against the Excalibur style sword positioned centre front of the stage.
Virtually all of the vocal duty falls to cat-suited Emmanuelle, who delivers them mainly in French and are frequently delivered in a spoken style. She certainly is more than content to let the music do all of the talking and does not engage with the crowd. The compositions are mainly lifted from the debut album with only album track 8 ‘Springfield 61’ apparently being omitted from the set. Although my brain reckons that they might of played it! Although this could be a case of having heard it just prior to the gig? The songs were performed in a different order to the album and were interspersed with a couple of track from The Limiñanas catalogue.
The compositions came and went and everyone applauded. The sound was as usual crisp clear and even made their Velvet Underground style dirge be heard with clarity. The atmosphere was one of total absorption, where the audience stood in awe. This was not the time for a mosh to start, it wasn’t that type of gig, it was one of atmospheric enjoyment. In fact, I was away with the fairies during quite a portion of the performance, especially during the choice track of the night ‘Ghost Rider’. Although my colleague preferred the following track ‘Lou’, which he said was outstanding!
We had fourteen songs with three of them quite possibly unreleased and no encore. At 10:18pm they were done. No idle banter, no personnel introductions, just great music! A truly memorable night.
L’Épée setlist reads:
‘La Brigade Des Maléfices’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Une Lune Étrange’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Last Picture Show’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Dreams’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Beginning Of Sorrows’ (unreleased?)
‘On Dansait Avec Elle’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Grande’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Shadow People’ (found on 2017 The Limiñanas ‘Shadow People’ album)
‘Ghost Rider’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Lou’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
‘Jacob Wilkins’ (unreleased?)
‘Shinny’ (unreleased?)
‘Istanbul Is Sleepy’ (found on 2017 The Limiñanas ‘Shadow People’ album)
‘Un Rituel Inhabituel’ (found on 2019 ‘Diabolique’ album)
Further information can be found on their official website – www.lepeemusic.com and order your copy of ‘Diabolique’ HERE and the ‘Dreams’ EP HERE.
Support this evening came from a solo set from Dan Reeves of Brighton based outfit Soft Walls, who delivered his multi-layers of sounds via his guitar and keys. It was quite charming when he informed us that one minute he is playing in his bedroom and the next he is here performing in front of us. His continuous set ran for just short of half an hour and was akin to a one-man Stereolab meets L’Épée.
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