After hours grooving with the supercool French duo…
The Velvet Underground : 1st album (PSLKTR)
There’s a famous quote saying that The Velvet Underground’s first album only sold a few thousand copies when it was released, but everyone who bought one formed a band. I bought it when I was 15 but started making music with Monoblok at 32. The quote is still right. THE masterpiece.
David Bowie “Low” (Monoblok)
Low is one of my all time favourite Bowie albums, it’s actually very hard to pick one track as all the record is awesome. Brian Eno deserves muchrespect for the incredible production work he has done on this record, this is one of those truly visionary and ever influencing albums that defined a lot of the music from the last decades.
Neil Young “Harvest” (PSLKTR)
The perfect soundtrack for snowy winter when you’re at home or driving your car. The flow on this LP is so perfect, I’ve never been a big fan of Neil Young or artists from the folk scene but grace is all over this album.
Pink Floyd “Obscured by Clouds” (Monoblok)
Some special childhood memories in there. as this record used to be played a lot at home when I was a kid. I remember listening to the eponym opening track again and again, and I’m still really impressed with the sound those guys achieved at the time, how modern it still sounds today.
Pulp “This is hardcore” (PSLKTR)
Certainly the best LP/track/video clip from Pulp. I remember when I first listened to Pulp, my brother lent me his “Different Class” album, I stayed in my apartment listening at it for a whole week, then I took my first pill because of “Sorted for E’s & Wizz”, what a jerk ! I felt so close to the lyrics, in terms of songwriting France has Serge Gainsbourg but Uk has Jarvis Cocker.
The God Machine “One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying” (Monoblok)
This has been one of my favourite records ever since I was introduced to The God Machine by a friend in college. Each track is a pure gem of minimalist songwriting, with a raw edge and lots of imperfections that make it sound so human and so powerful.
Suede 1st album (PSLKTR)
Suede has always had a huge influence on me, this band accompanied me since my teenage. Their 3 first albums are the most played ones in my library and will still be. I met their leader, Brett Anderson, once and spent sometimes talking with him about music & life, a moment I’ll never forget.
Nine Inch Nails “The Downward Spiral” (Monoblok)
This is one of those albums I will never get tired of. I have been listening to it for about twenty years and I still find it inspiring today, the ultimate blend of electronics, raw guitars, rage and despair, making it the perfect soundtrack whenever you feel like you’re about to break.
The Strokes 1st album (PSLKTR)
In 2001 I was completely into electronic music but this album reminded me where I came from. To be played at maximum volume, singing loud even when people are around you. So much anger in it. Lots of people said that they were not true rock n’rollers, fuck them. One of the best first albums of all times
My Bloody Valentine “Loveless” (Monoblok)
This album is truly a masterpiece and a landmark in sonic exploration. I loved it the very first time it landed on my CD player in nineties, and I have never stopped listening to it ever since. The omnipresent mixture of guitar textures and electronics throughout the album is awesome, and I really admire Kevin Shields – even if he was allegedly responsible for the label’s bankrupcy at the time – who managed to create such a hybrid record, noisy, experimental and strangely catchy at the same time.
Monoblok & PSLKTR – Relapse EP (Meant Records)
French duo Monoblok&PSLKTR return to the Meant label with a superb new EP of emotive, vocal lead electronica replete with remixes from Rework, Arnaud Rebotini and My Favorite Robot...
Yann Aubertot and Benoit Mascot AKA Monoblok&PSLKTR have been releasing oustanding left of centre, electro fuelled music for the past 5 years, racking up singles on imprints such as Notorious Elektro and Lebensfreude Records before finding a home with Remain’s Meant Records. Their music is a seamless fusion of rolling electronic grooves melded with their own indie-rock influences and twisted vocal offerings and this latest package is another perfect example of their eclectic musical style.
The EP opens with title track ‘Relapse’, a bouncing and dark edged slice of hypnotic indie electronica. Rubbery live bass and atmospheric guitar licks play against off-kilter synth lines and an insistent drum pattern to create an ethereal soundbed for the duo’s nuwave, gothic vocals. The original is followed with a remix from German production outfit and label mates Rework who stripped things back, delivering a spacious reinterpretation that eschews the live elements in favour of a more minimal approach.
The second of the two original cuts sees Monoblok&PSLKTR drop the tempo and turn up the electro funk for the excellent ‘Walking Disaster’. The original version focuses on old school arp lines, dark sweeps and haunting vocals whilst Black Strobe man Arnaud Rebotini provides a remix which boosts the intensity with metallic hits, swirling FX and a reverb drenched sound.
Finally Canadian three piece My Favorite Robot get to grips with ‘Relapse’ turning in a reworking that brings the tracks cinematic flair to the fore, wrapping the darkly illuminating guitars around stuttering beats and claustrophobic delays, mesmerising stuff.
Meant Records have delivered once again, with an EP that beautifully blurs the lines between indie and electronic music.
Monoblok & PSLKTR – Relapse EP (Meant Records) Out Now!
