Angil and the Hiddentracks

A Love Supreme liner notes (by John Coltrane)

2011-03-21T08:33:00.001+01:00

A Love Supreme

I will do all I can to be worthy of Thee O Lord.
It all has to do with it.
Thank you God.
Peace.
There is none other.
God is. It is so beautiful.
Thank you God. God is all.
Help us to resolve our fears and weaknesses.
Thank you God.
In You all things are possible.
We know. God made us so.
Keep your eye on God.
God is. He always was. He always will be.
No matter what…it is God.
He is gracious and merciful.
It is most important that I know Thee.
Words, sounds, speech, men, memory, thoughts,
fears and emotions — time all related…
all made from one…all made in one.
Blessed be His name.
Thought waves — heat waves-all vibrations –
all paths lead to God. Thank you God.
His way…it is so lovely…it is gracious.
It is merciful — thank you God.
One though can produce millions of vibrations
and they all go back to God…everything does.
Thank you God.
Have no fear…believe…thank you God.
The universe has many wonders. God is all.
His way…it is so wonderful.
Thoughts–deeds–vibrations, etc.
They all go back to God and He cleanses all.
He is gracious and merciful…thank you God.
Glory to God…God is so alive.
God is.
God loves.
May I be acceptable in Thy sight.
We are all one in His grace.
The fact that we do exist is acknowledgement
of Thee O Lord.
Thank you God.
God will wash away all our tears…
He always has…
He always will.
Seek Him everyday. In all ways seek God everyday.
Let us sing all songs to God.
To whoma all praise is due…praise God.
No road is an easy one, but they all
go back to God.
With all we share God.
It is all with God.
It is all with Thee.
Obey the Lord.
Blessed is He.
We are from one thing…the will of God…
thank you God.
I have seen Godd–I have seen ungodly–
none can be greater–none can compare to God.
Thank you God.
He will remake us…He always has and He
always will.
It is true–blessed be His name–thank you God.
God breathes through us so completely…
so gently we hardly feel it…yet,
it is our everything.
Thank you God.
ELATION–ELEGANCE–EXALTATION–
All from God.
Thank you God. Amen.

Why Angil and the Hiddentracks are not Sacem-registered

2011-01-19T23:50:00.001+01:00

I chose not to be a registered member of Sacem because I did not have to. Sacem is a private syndicate (with a public service mission, but still); so legally speaking, nothing obliges anyone to be a member. This is far from a well-known fact; many young musicians believe that they must be registered, whereas it is totally OK to release records in France without being a member of Sacem. Anyway, the French law has always been very protective with copyrights (well, the French equivalent, "droits d'auteurs", which actually has a slightly different definition), so if ever my songs were "stolen", I am pretty sure I would be well protected by the law, and would not need any help by Sacem.

Many French musicians and labels also think they have to pay SDRM to release a record (SDRM means "Mechanical reproduction rights"). SDRM was actually created by... Sacem, and once again, it is not illegal to release a record without paying these rights. Which is good news, by the way, as these rights are exorbitant. You're supposed to get your money back after a few months (actually, about 80% of it), but this is still a huge amount of money to pay (depending on the total length of your album). In other words, I can't afford to be a member of Sacem, neither can We are Unique!

Basically, I am not registered because I do not believe in a financial interpretation of "droits d'auteurs". To me, copyrights and money do not have to be related. Sacem was created after an incident at a bar in March 1847 - three famous composers refused to pay for their drinks, because the owner of the bar had musicians play their compositions without giving them any retribution. The three composers won a trial, which led to the creation of the syndicate. What was at stake then is what lies at the core of the Sacem way of seeing things. All members are supposed to agree with the three composers' attitude - you play my stuff, you owe me something.

I don't agree with that. Had I been in the same situation, I would have thanked the owner of the bar for playing my songs, payed for my drinks, and left. To me, the broadcasting of my songs is not an end in itself, it is just a means. Who knows, one of the bar attendees (or, by extention, website visitor, venue spectator, radio listener, whatever) might want to know my music after what they've heard? They might even buy a CD, or a ticket for our next show. Or set up a show themselves. Broadcasting is just a segment within a much more complex set of interactions and causal connectives. It is a branch in a rhizome...

I must admit, though, I have the luxury to make such a statement because I am not trying to earn a living from music. I obviously understand and support my musician friends who are trying hard to do music as a job, so I am not against the existence of Sacem. On the other hand, there are many scandals surrounding it.

Everyone (including Sacem-registered artists) admits that the distribution system is very obscure. Registrations earn Sacem €600 million a year! Yet those who get the most are the best-selling artists... And if you are an independent young artist who has just been aired on a national radio show, you'd better call them and make sure they got your name (although Sacem has 1,400 employees who are supposed to work on this).

Sacem also has control over many so-called independent financial help systems in France (the Fair, Adami, even some festivals). They won't admit it officially, but if you are not Sacem-registered, you're out of the game, or it is much more difficult for you to be supported, at best. I know it, because this is what happened to us in the past, and will surely keep happening.

Finally, Sacem CEO Bernard Miyet has been in the grip of financial scandals. He's been using the Sacem credit card on personal vacation, for example, and the salaries of Sacem executives are outrageously high. The European Union is getting suspicious, I wouldn't be surprised if Sacem was dismantled, or at least reorganized, in the next few years.

MM

RIP

2011-01-16T14:29:00.002+01:00

We Are Unique's Supporting Members recommend ONE 2010 release! (5)

2011-01-06T21:06:00.002+01:00

Jeff:

Dark Night Of The Soul, Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse

Stéphane :

Seu Jorge

We Are Unique's Supporting Members recommend ONE 2010 release! (4)

2010-12-23T17:57:00.001+01:00

Carole :
"in D", Arandel
Listen here.

We Are Unique's Supporting Members recommend ONE 2010 release! (3)

2010-12-22T17:44:00.000+01:00

Côme :
"Fallen House, Sunken City", B. Dolan

We Are Unique's Supporting Members recommend ONE 2010 release! (2)

2010-12-21T22:33:00.001+01:00

Sam :
Sufjan Stevens, All delighted People EP
Buy here.

We Are Unique's Supporting Members recommend ONE 2010 release!

2010-12-20T16:21:00.004+01:00

Éric :
Here we go magic
Listen here, buy there.

Stéphane :
The Black Angels
Listen here, buy there.

Emmanuel :
TU FAWNING
Listen here, buy there.

Guillaume :
Bertrand Belin
Listen here, buy there.

Laurent Holdrinet is a king

2010-10-24T10:05:00.001+02:00

New Jerri flyer...

Poster for our next show

2010-04-29T21:53:00.001+02:00

Angil par Richard Robert

2010-04-25T22:33:00.001+02:00

ANGIL & THE HIDDENTRACKS – THE AND

Des transmissions de pensées, des partages de sensations, des combinaisons d’affects, des croisements de voix et de regards, des mélanges de souffles et de gestes… Voilà ce qui se joue dans The And, le troisième album d’Angil And The Hiddentracks. Après le joyeux branle-bas sonore et poétique d’Oulipo Saliva, la société musicale réunie autour de Mickaël Mottet revient à un songwriting plus limpide, plus immédiat, laissant la part belle à la mélodie. Sauf qu’il se trame toujours autre chose derrière les interactions instrumentales et la très humaine mécanique des fluides qui soudent ce petit monde.

The And pousse un cran plus loin une magie qui était déjà à l’œuvre dans Oulipo Saliva : il transforme tout ce qui fonde la beauté d’un rendez-vous collectif comme celui-ci en matière vibrée, en onde de désir, voire en pure décharge émotionnelle. Dans l’art pas si simple de l’écoute mutuelle, les membres d’Angil ont franchi un palier supplémentaire. Enregistré live en studio dans la lumineuse quiétude de l’été 2009, The And traduit en lignes musicales les contours d’un espace chaleureux, d’un cercle amical qu’agrandissent les présences passantes de voix complices – Françoiz Breut, Raymonde Howard, Jim Putnam (Radar Bros), Laetitia Sadier, Half Asleep, Emma Pollock… Il capture l’incandescence d’un moment de partage forcément unique, forcément fugace, forcément intense.

The And a quelque chose d’un instantané ; mais c’est un instantané qui ne manque pas de perspective, de profondeur de champ. Un bloc brut de présent dont le passé, apparaissant maintes fois en filigrane dans les textes de Mickaël Mottet, dessine l’ombre portée, le juste prolongement. Un présent que la chaleur du souvenir vient sans cesse éclairer. The And est ce disque où de bonnes âmes, unies par la mémoire de multiples expériences communes, se rassemblent comme si c’était la dernière fois, comme si c’était là l’ultime trace qu’elles allaient abandonner dans ce monde.

Ce disque aurait pu s’intituler The End, mais il s’appelle The And. Peut-être parce qu’entre un mot qui trace un lien (and) et un mot qui annonce la fin (end), Mickaël Mottet a préféré choisir le premier. Sans ignorer que toute forme de lien – entre aujourd’hui et hier, entre soi et les autres – est la plus belle fin à laquelle puisse aspirer une vie d’homme.

Richard Robert

New Angil live poster

2010-04-05T22:27:00.003+02:00

by Guillaume Long and Nancy Pena

Sail home

2010-03-04T18:32:00.001+01:00

New song up on our Myspace page: "Sail home", featuring Jim Putnam.

Sail home

“We’ll sail home by moonlight, another honeymoon.” (F.W. Murnau)
The fabric will come loose and sever from the loom.
The aching, the thrilling, I’m sure will be gone soon. We’ll head home.

Your phone’s on in your dress; my number’s the top one. It dials as you walk; I answer and listen to the world from your pocket until your credit’s gone. Come back home.

I guess there is someone, I guess you’re with him now. I don’t blame him for making weapons; I blame him cos he digs art. Well I dig dignity; though I’m digging my own.

The nosebleeds, the sick days, the memories, us fighting. It’s a big house; it’s our house. Our fences. It’s burning.

The couples on small boats all waving and shouting. Here’s Ringo; here’s Captain; and the band’s still playing. We can’t hear their music; it’s the waves, it’s the wind. It’s an old film

“We’ll sail home by moonlight, another honeymoon.”
We’ll head home.

The And

2010-02-23T15:04:00.003+01:00

Our new album The And will be out in May 2010!

We recorded it last summer, live at Ohmnibus Studio (St Etienne, France) as a full 10-member band. The record was produced and mixed in the old way, with references to some 1960s LPs we love (by the likes of Otis Redding, Nina Simone or Miles Davis).

Guillaume Long and Nancy Pena have just finished drawing the cover.

Hidden List - Top fivers

2009-12-30T12:33:00.003+01:00

Gérald (We are Unique's boss):

TOP 2009, 12 disques qui ont compté pour moi.

VIC CHESNUTT At the cut

Album testament (toujours avec les géniaux membres de Silver Mont Zion et Guy Picciotto de Fugazi) puisque Vic vient de nous quitter le 24 décembre dernier, après une énième tentative de suicide qui a malheureusement réussie. Il va me manquer terriblement. Après Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, la musique perd encore un de ses plus grands songwritters.

JEFFREY LEWIS & THE JUNKYARDS ‘Em are I

Avant, Jeffrey c’était le bordel, de l’antifolk avec des pépites mélodiques égrainées au long de ses disques. Désormais avec ce nouvel album, Jeffrey, c’est un des plus grands, des tubes à gogo, héritier de Robert Pollard, Jay Mascis et autres Stephen Malkmus.

THROW ME THE STATUE creaturesque

Deuxième album, plus produit que le premier, mais toujours aussi bon, de ce groupe digne héritier de Guided By Voices. C’est léger, pop, lo-fi et classieux, bref ils me mettent la pèche et je les aime pour ça.

YO LA TENGO Popular songs

Prenez une bonne dose de I can hear the heart beating as one et de Summer songs, et vous aurez une petite idée de ce nouvel album. Soit du très bon YLT, variés, avec de la pop, de la bossa, du folk, du noise. Un groupe essentiel.

PJ HARVEY A woman a man walked by

Moins personnel que White chalk, car enregistré avec John Parish, ce nouvel album de la belle Pj comporte son lot de belle chansons énervées et d’autres expérimentations. Une des plus grandes chanteuses en activité.

JERRI

Je suis chauvin, oui et alors ? Je vous emmerde. Jerri, c’est avec 0°, l’un des meilleurs disques sorti en France cette année. Et comme souvent avec nos sorties, malheureusement pas très bien compris par le public.

0° des étoiles plein les yeux

Je suis très fier de ce disque, d’avoir aidé Nicolas Tochet de faire un si beau premier long effort. Des participations superbes (Angil, Cascadeur, Le Chapelier Fou) et des morceaux qui marquent longtemps au fer blanc. Vivement la suite, mais avant ça, vivement le nouveau Melatonine…

DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE Dark night of the soul

Danger mouse n’arrête jamais ses collaborations, et avec Mark Linkous, ce disque est un joyeux bordel pop où se croisent plein de stars en tout genre. Mention spéciale à Casablancas qui impulse la chanson pop de l’année pour moi.

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS The lost channel

Un excellent groupe folk canadien, dont ce nouvel album présente une patine proche d’un Automatic for the people…rien que ça, vous imaginez donc le niveau.

WHY ? Eskimo snow

Why? s’écarte de plus en plus du hiphop pour se rapprocher de la pop. Mais toujours barrée la pop, quand même.

THEMSELVES Crowns down

Dose One et Jel are back ! Putain que c’est bon !!! Vous voulez du bon hiphop oldschool mais aussi novateur ? Allez y !!!

B R OAD WAY Gang plank EP

Nos amis les Broadz s’éloignent de plus en plus de la musique abstraite et cinématographique de leur début, pour se rapprocher d’une efficacité pop industrielle organique imparable. J’espère pour eux que le grand public sera enfin au rendez-vous, ils le méritent.

Hidden List - Top fivers

2009-12-30T10:18:00.000+01:00

Rémi :

Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Diving With Andy - Sugar Sugar

Lhasa - Lhasa

Lightning Dust - Infinite Light

Sharon Van Etten - Because I Was In Love

Hidden List - Top fivers

2009-12-28T17:16:00.000+01:00

Manu :

69 : Novo Rock

Animal Collective : Merriweather Post Pavilion

Arctic Monkeys : Humbug

B R OAD WAY : Gang Plank

Be My Weapon : March/2009

Belone Quartet : 1802

Bill Callahan : Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Black Lips : 200 Million Thousand

Coconut Records : Davy

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse : Dark Night Of The Soul

Deerhoof : Offen Maggie

Ego Twister Movie Ruiners

Health : Get color

Jerri

Mansfield.TYA : Seules au bout de 23 secondes

N.A.S.A. : Spirit of Apollo

Sonic Youth : The Eternal

Them Crooked Vultures

Tortoise : Beacons of Ancestorship

Zéro Degré : Des étoiles plein les yeux

Best live shows:

Action Beat

Animal Collective

Health

Part Chimp

Themselves

2009-12-28T17:01:00.001+01:00

Camille :

Zero degré - des étoiles plein les yeux

oddateee - halfway homeless

p.o.s - never better

broadway - gang plank

jerri - jerri

bike for three! - more heart than brains

2009 Top 5

2009-12-21T22:11:00.004+01:00

Mickaël (Angil & the Hiddentracks) :

1. Broadcast and the Focus Group (http://futurecrayon.blogspot.com/)

2. Rain Machine (http://www.anti.com/artists/view/70)

3. Mos Def (http://www.myspace.com/mosdef)

4. Qwel & Jackson Jones (http://www.galapagos4.com/)

5. Cate le Bon (http://www.catelebon.com/)

2009-12-03T10:02:00.003+01:00

I'll be participating this event on Dec. 12.
Ho, and on the next day, I'll turn 31.

Drawing by Benoît Guillaume

2009-11-03T14:33:00.003+01:00

With legendary French cartoonist and publisher JC Menu, rehearsing a cover of "Tipp City" (The Amps). Benoît Guillaume drew it.

2009-09-24T11:18:00.003+02:00

Not on the previous picture
but definitely in the band

Guillaume Long

New Hiddentracks picture

2009-09-20T19:47:00.004+02:00

Us, last summer, recording The And.
The drummer's girlfriend took the picture. We're sitting in the stairs leading to the studio.

Featured (as opposed to tagged):

Francis Bourganel (saxophone)
Flavien Girard (keyboards, carillon, guitar), carrying David Hurault's face (percussion)
Pierre-Alain Giraud (clarinet)
Pauline Dupuy (double bass)
Mickaël Mottet (guitar, lead vocals)
Thomas Boudineau (trombone)
Jean-Christophe Lacroix (bugle, trumpet, violin)
Xavier Pradel (drums)

The And - beginning Monday 17

2009-08-12T09:01:00.002+02:00

We'll be recording our next album The And for 2 weeks from Monday 17.
This is a picture of the studio, Ohmnibus.

The night we played Pavement's "Grounded" with Why?'s Yoni Wolf

2009-07-17T20:38:00.004+02:00

May 3, 2008
(Bikini, Toulouse)

Jenny Soep's nice drawing

2009-07-09T19:56:00.002+02:00

She did it while we were playing. Amazing, isn't it?

Monade + Angil @ Gran Lux

2009-06-30T12:09:00.004+02:00

Last week-end with Monade at Gran Lux, St Etienne's best venue. What a day!

Currently listening to...

2009-06-07T14:07:00.003+02:00

Emiliana Torrini's Me and Armini.

http://www.deezer.com/#music/album/211189

Finally bought it. A very nice album.

Autumn Shade

2009-05-28T16:55:00.003+02:00

Autumn Shade

2009-05-27T20:33:00.002+02:00

Angil & the Currently-listening-to's:

Lisztomania by Phoenix - great, great song. Just bought the album.

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney. Brilliant.

New video!

2009-05-24T08:51:00.003+02:00

Live version of You most II+III, Good bye Oulipo Saliva, Tigerfest, Scotland

Good Bye Oulipo Saliva

2009-05-08T20:12:00.004+02:00

We'll soon be playing two shows untitled "Good Bye Oulipo Saliva" (one in Scotland and one in France).

Guillaume Long drew the nice poster.

Canada/US tour

2009-04-14T19:40:00.005+02:00

New York

Canada/US tour

2009-04-12T17:52:00.004+02:00

Toronto

Canada/US tour

2009-03-25T10:55:00.005+01:00

Montreal has a city below the city.

Also, I've incidentally discovered today that the e-less novel untitled Gadsby, by Ernest Vincent Wright (1939), is fully available here. Amazing.

Back from Canada/US tour

2009-03-23T14:55:00.005+01:00

I'll be posting a few photographs taken in the course of our Canadian/US tour in the next few days.

Moog Store in Montreal. Expensive impressive stuff.

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 10

2009-02-17T12:52:00.002+01:00

Mathieu says:

- Shearwater - Rook (The Smiths Vs Mark Hollis)
- Deerhunter - Microcastle (the new Quickspace?)
- B R OAD WAY - Enter the Automaton
- Kris Dane - Rise & Down of the Black Stallion (Mark Lanegan and Tom Waits in the same LP)
- Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom (Phil Elverum's melodic genius)

Camille says:

Why? : Alopecia
Alias : Resurgam
Son Lux : At war with walls & mazes
Subtle : ExitingARM
Dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip : Angles
Leila : Blood, Looms and Blooms
MGMT : Oracular Spectacular
Portishead : Third
Albin de la Simone : Bungalow!
Julien Ribot : Vega
Sebastien Tellier : Sexuality
Angil Was A Cat
Psykick Lyrikah : Vu d'ici
Broadway : Enter The Automaton
Angil : Ha Ha
Idem : The sith aspiration museum overview
R-Zatz : will we cross the line?
Minitel Rose : The French Machine
Anoraak : Nightdrive with you
College : Secret Diary
Crystal Castles
Gong Gong : Mary's spring
Vic Chesnutt : North Star Deserter
Silver Mount Zion : 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

A compilation for The And, our next album

2009-02-15T18:00:00.002+01:00

Découvrez Tindersticks!

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 9

2009-02-11T20:11:00.001+01:00

Emmanuel says:

31Knots : Worried well
Angil was a cat (merci Manu !)
Beck : Modern guilt
The Breeders : Mountain battles
B R OAD WAY : Enter the automaton
Deerhoof : Offend Maggie
Foals : Antidotes
King kong was a cat
Leila : Blood, looms and blooms
Mogwai : The hawk is hawling
Portishead : Third
Radar Bros. : Auditorium
Silver Jews : Lookout mountain, lookout sea
(Swell) : South of the rain and snow
Why ? : Alopecia

... and since both cannot be separated as far as I'm concerned, here are my 15 favourite films:
1. No country for old men
2. Two lovers
3. Shotgun stories
4. Entre les murs
5. Redacted
6. Valse avec Bashir
7. Gomorra
8. La vie moderne
9. Un conte de Noël
10. L'un contre l'autre
11. The dark knight
12. Peur(s) du noir
13. Young Yakuza
14. Serbis
15. Elle s'appelle Sabine

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 8

2009-01-30T15:01:00.002+01:00

Guillaume (of the Hiddentracks) says:

Forent Marchet, Rio Baril.
An album built like a novel. Gorgeous melodies, words to cry for. I've been expecting a French record such as this one.

François says:

Silver Jews, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

+ I say:
Another one I forgot: Scarlett Johansson's Anywhere I Lay My Head. Amazing.

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 7

2009-01-21T10:35:00.002+01:00

David says:

Relax by Frustration (http://www.myspace.com/_frustration)
Really different stuff from what has been going on in the world of post-punk.

Third by Portishead

Also, King Kong Was A Cat
I do understand why you wanted to re-create something out of it: their album is brilliant.

http://www.kingkongwasacat.com/

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 6

2009-01-20T13:22:00.003+01:00

Dominique, Anne, Louise & Enzo say:

"WHY? - Alopecia
They're just great. Alopecia is the album that we've been listening to the most in 2008. And their gig was the best of the year.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Full of energy + fresh + exotic = make you escape the ongoing moroseness! They sound like the Feelies on their way back from Africa.

PORTISHEAD - Third

Late '08 favourite: MEGAPUSS - Surfing.
And our kitchen becomes a dance floor. An out-of-time record that has you dancing in the clouds with the Beach Boys or the Doors. Like it ain't no joke.

Also: SYD MATTERS' Ghost Days, ANGIL WAS A CAT, THE BREEDERS, THE NOTWIST..."

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 5

2009-01-15T11:43:00.004+01:00

Jean-Christophe (of the Hiddentracks) says:

Why? - Alopecia

Stéphane says:

The Do - A Mouthful

Juno - Soundtrack from the motion picture (and a great movie, too) (trailer)

I say:
I'd like to mention two other records and one great song I've heard this year.

The Walkmen - You and me
Good songs, amazing voice, clever production.

The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night
Just bought the LP - listening to it right now, actually. Fantastic stuff, as usual.

And THAT song: Sugar Man by Sixto Rodriguez. A symptom of its time (production means a lot here), but still a good song. I wonder what instrument they're using. I'd go for Ondes Marthenot.

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 4

2009-01-10T13:05:00.002+01:00

Gérald's choices:

(Gérald Guibaud is one of the founders of my French label, We Are Unique Records)

"First of all, our label productions, mostly ignored, what can I say...fuck them all and their fucking hype!

IMAGHO "inside looking out"
Jean Louis Prades plays as IMAGHO some incredible electroacoustic-folk-jazzy tunes. To me, IMAGHO is the missing link between GASTR DEL SOL and FENNESZ. A great great musician, humble and sincere. He recently was nominated (among more than 1,000 artists) at the Qwartz electronic music awards in the 'Best Albums of the year' category, alongside such great artists as Autechre and Battles from Warp. It is only fair.

B R OAD WAY "Enter the Automaton"
B R OAD WAY is one of the most underestimated French bands. Their songs might be compared to the Notwist. But "Enter the Automaton" is a thousand times better than "the devil, you + me"!

ANGIL WAS A CAT
Fucking great mix of hiphop-pop with unconventionnal electronica. The best hybrid vinyl EP of the year.

Friends' records that you need to listen to:

LENA "the uncertain trail" (Sounds around)
One of the most brilliant French musicians. Jazz, electronica, hiphop, triphop, spoken word - LENA mixes them all with class and creates a fantastic musical odyssey for its listeners. Also nominated to the Qwartz electronic music awards in the 'Best Albums of the year' category. He does deserve it.

EXPERIENCE "nous en sommes encore là" (MVS)
Experience is one of the best rock bands in France. They are also the best hiphop band in France. Music and words. Great production in Steve Albini's studio. Respect.

CORNFLAKES HEROES " Dear Mr Painkillers" (Greed recordings)
A very nice "indie" band that makes me feel like if the nineties have never ended. Maybe not very original, but they play well, with infectious enthusiasm. Lovely.

DEPTH AFFECT "hello crisis" (Autres directions in music)
Click'n'cut blitch electronica meets hiphop and dubstep, by one of the most interesting electronic bands in France.

ALINA SIMONE "placelessness" (Travelling music)
Ukrainian folk singer (exiled in US) with an incredible voice. Her first album was re-released by our brothers of Travelling Music. I recommend it to all Pj Harvey, Catpower and Shannon Wright fans. Her next album, entirely made of covers of a Russian poet, sang in Russian, is simply fantastic. An artist whose name you should remember.

Other records from the rest of the world:

RADAR BROS. "auditorium"
A Radar Bros. album is always a classic. This new one does not infrige this rule. Jim Putnam is a fucking great songwriter.

THROW ME THE STATUE "moonbeams"
The record that brought the most pleasure to me this year. Fantastic popsongs. These guys are the new Guided by voices.

WHY? "alopecia"
Yoni Wolf is a genius, one of the best melody makers. This new album first disappointed me, but after several listens (around a few hundred times) I was deeply into it. A classic.

SUBTLE " Exiting Arm"
Subtle are the Sonic Youth of underground hiphop. And Dose One is also a genius.

EMILY JANE WHITE "dark undercoat"
The best 2008 folk record. This girl made me shiver this year with her homely tunes.

V.O. "obstacles"
I met this belgian band when they played with Angil in Brussels this year. They played lovely music between Tortoise, Jim O'rourke and other nice postfolk stuffs. A great discovery for me this year.

PORTISHEAD "Third"
The come back of the year. Simply radical. Bravo, a great band that deserves respect.

R.E.M. "accelerate"
Surely not the greatest REM album, but I've always been a fan of the band. This short and direct new album simply rocks, and it does it well.

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 3

2009-01-07T22:20:00.002+01:00

Anne-Louise says:

PORTISHEAD - Third ("no comment!")

GABLE - Seven Guitars with a Cloud of Milk ("sort of wacky, with loads of various atmospheres")

SHUGU TOKUMARU - Exit ("the kind of record that makes you feel like you constantly are a 5-year-old with chocolate on your teeth")

JUANA MOLINA - Un Dia ("she's also great live!")

FRANCOIS VIROT - Yes or No ("Some like it, some find it a bit too much. I love it!")

Find out more about the Hiddenlist here.

2008's most underestimated album

2009-01-04T15:39:00.002+01:00

Flavien's suggestion:

The Breeders, Mountain Battles.
http://www.deezer.com/#music/result/all/breeders%20mountain%20battles

Flavien says: "The best B-sides LP this year. And the best collection of distinct songs."
I say: ... Fucking A!

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums - 2

2009-01-04T11:43:00.002+01:00

Côme's choices:

Etyl "Les Souris"
http://www.myspace.com/etylfr

Côme says: "First I saw the video of "J'me fais mal", then I liked the LP artwork, so I bought the record. I'm glad I did: this is great stuff. Melancholic and brilliant songwriting!"

The Notwist "The Devil, You + Me"
http://www.myspace.com/thenotwistnow

"I bought their LP last summer in Montreal, following my brother-in-law's advice. Just marvellous! (plus, the American artwork is much nicer than the European one!)."

Mind Necrosis Factor "Morphogenesis"
http://www.myspace.com/mindnecrosisfactor

"My brother-in-law (again) got me introduced to Reason, whom he works with. Monstruous, heavy atmospheres, weird Eastern-oriented samples and voices..."

Blue Sky Black Death "Slow Burning Lights"
http://www.myspace.com/blueskyblackdeath

"A hip hop producer who decided to do very efficient trip hop à la Cinematic Orchestra."

Look Daggers "Suffer in style"
http://www.myspace.com/lookdaggers

"Concept genius, between Ikey Owens and 2Mex... I'm speechless!"

To find out more about the Hidden List, click here.

The Hiddenlistians' top 2008 albums

2009-01-03T13:55:00.006+01:00

Rémi's choices:

Portishead - Third

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

(click here to see their "A Punk" video, definitely a nice one)

Rémi says: "Didn't really like the album at first, but I gave it more listens, and it turned out to be totally amazing."

Department of Eagles - Ear Park

The songs on their Myspace page are good. I need to check it out...

Shugo Tokumaru - Exit

This sounds real nice too!

Find out more about the Hiddenlist (Angil & the Hiddentracks supporting list) here.

Anathallo

2009-01-02T20:30:00.002+01:00

(One of) my favourite 2008 show(s).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-J91Cnnjo

Portishead

2008-12-29T21:08:00.001+01:00

Portishead, Third.

My favourite 2008 album.

Flavien says: "An important record, regarding its most probable posterity, and how impressive it is in its own time."

2008-12-24T14:38:00.003+01:00

Nneka : Walking.

My favourite 2008 song.

Photographs

2008-12-23T20:57:00.006+01:00

November 1st, 2008: before we played with the Chap at Grrnd Zero Lyon, our friend Laurent Holdrinet took a few nice pictures.

Musical food / Eating music

2008-12-14T21:36:00.008+01:00

November 25, 2006: we did a very special performance as 'the Doo Doo Doo Tsi Tsi Ta’s' in Saint Etienne.

'We': Dimitry (aka Souljah'Zz), Xavier, Flavien, Francis, and me (of the Hiddentracks).

We prepared and cooked an omelette, live.

We looped some of the sounds we made with a Boomerang phrase sampler. Chopping onions: "chop-chop-chop-chop" --> hi hat. Breaking eggs: "crack", "crack" --> snare. Frying potatoes: "woossshhh", etc. Then we started playing music on these loops.

We improvised 'hip pop' songs out of it.

Of course, at the end of the show, each member of the audience got a little piece of the omelette.

Captain Bob R.I.P.

2008-12-10T13:28:00.005+01:00

Brahim Aslafy, "Captain Bob".

"Thelma or Louise?", a 'twice-live' session

2008-12-09T09:23:00.000+01:00

Dijon, November 19th, 2008. On tour with the Radar Bros.

We'd been staying at Chantale's (she took the picture). I found these funny round-shaped decorations in her hallway; we decided to use them as an accessory.

Left to right: Rob Thomson (our nice Scotish driver); Brian Hussey, Steve Treichel, Jim Putnam (aka the Radar Bros.); me.

Two days after that, we recorded a song together, at Nantes' Jet FM. Jim and Brian sang the very soft backing vocals going "oooooh". The next day, Françoise Breut added her own vocal part.

We invented a new concept, I guess: a live session recorded at two distincts moments. We should call them 'twice-live' sessions.