Deleyaman: The lover, The stars & The citadel

photo: Azam Ali

BEST OF 2016
2
HCTF

French-American darkwave duo Deleyaman can take the words of La Plaine. a 19th century poem written by Paul Verlaine and turn it into a contemporary chanson. Update Paul Eluard's L'Amoureuse? No problem. And finally their biggest reinvention coup: tackling Pierre de Marbeuf's La Mer et L'Amour, the first half of À Philis, a double sonnet written in the 17th century.

Multi-instrumentalist Aret Madilian and singer Beatrice Valantin don't take shortcuts on their new album The lover, The stars & The citadel. The lyrics are laid out on a bed of intricate soft music, augmented by carefully sound effects - a door opens, the drop of needle. All the shopping in the library of great French poetry aside, their own material is of the highest standard also. The Sisters of Mercy-alike Secret Treasures is a tribute to all those in need of shelter in an age of war stricken regions. Summer Flower questions the unavoidable decay of great beauty. Dead Can Dance fans should take note of Brendan Perry contributing Greek bouzouki to the orchestral beauty of Escape, an ambigious tale of a woman who tries to get away from it all.

The lover, The stars & The citadel is a superb collection of great words riding on the waves of music that is soothing and scary at the same time. It's a sonic trip, but not necessarliy a happy one.

Aret Madilian: vocals, all instruments
Beatrice Valantin: vocals
Gerard Madilian: duduk
Brendan Perry: Greek bouzouki on "Escape" and percussion programming on "Autumn Sun"

The lover, The stars & The citadel is a self-released album. Buy it from their website. The CD is distributed in Europe by Sonic Rendezvous and by Cobraside Distribution in the US and UK. A vinyl version will be released in February 2017.

Tracks:

1. La Plaine
2. Silence
3. Morning Light
4. Secret Treasures
5. Galaxy
6. La Mer et L'Amour
7. Escape
8. Summer Flower
9. Beautiful Dawn
10. Autumn Sun
11. L'Amoureuse

Live dates:

• 11/25 Chambon s/ Lignon, France @ La Gargouille
• 11/26 Chambon s/ Lignon, France @ La Gargouille
• 01/22 Offenbach, Germany @ Hafen 2
• 01/26 Koln, Germany @ Cafe Lichtung
• 01/27 Saarbrucken, Germany @ Kettenfabrik
• 01/28 Brussels, Belgium @ Art Base
• 02/05 Basel, Switzerland @ Offene Buhne

» deleyaman.com

HCTF review of The Edge.