LENPARROT
The latest from LENPARROT; photographed by Maxence Lebreux.
LENPARROT presents the breath-taking video for “Dévot”, directed by Elsa & Johannaa collaboration with Noé PFstarring Johanna Benaïnous, Elsa Parra, Noé Pradel-Fraysse, Dominique Rivard, ft. Athena as the Horse, taken from THE Naufrage EP available now from Atelier Ciseaux Records. Following up the well received Aquoibonism EP, the artist born Romain Lallement from Nantes, France continues to compose songs of sophistication and sweet, minimalist devotions that only grow more distinct and pronounced with time.
“Dévot” is a song about separate people described in a simile of disparate oceans swimming back to one another. The rural games and regiments that Johanna, Elsa, Noé, & Dominique indulge in are seen from the passage of day to night where the LENPARROT trip of spinning mind expanding loops and lovers’ croon creates a ballad and spectacle of the bizarre and beautiful. Inexplicable phenomenons and rituals are carried out with characters that pay something of a meditative prayer to a metaphysical force that is only manifested in the music alone. Read our recent interview with LENPARROT’s Romain Lallement.
Tell us everything that has been happening in the world of LENPARROT since our talk last summer.
Quite a lot, to be honest! The release of Aquoibonism by Atelier Ciseaux has been welcomed by a lot of great musical reviews in France and blogs from all around—I’ve been very pleased. The label made a short run of 100 tapes of this first EP in May—it was sold out in July! We played in a couple of nice venues, even in London with our friend Julien Gasc. Then back home at the end of the summer, we started to record Naufrage. Time has passed in the blink of an eye, no kidding!
Takes us from 2015’s Aquoibonism to the new ambitious EP Naufrage, and how you feel your own focuses and aesthetics have grown in that span and space of time.
The songs from Aquoibonism were mostly the first ones that I wrote for LENPARROT. They went out of me without any questions or considerations about their process or whatever. When they were out, I had pretty much nothing to say (laughs)! Things were a bit different with Naufrage, because there was already a first EP behind me, so I wanted to push those new songs forward. Maethelvin, Olivier Deniaud and I have been way more fussy on the production, and how each sound and song had to evolve. I didn’t wanted to reproduce this kind of unfinished melody mood which could appear on Aquoibonism.
How do you define your own creative recording and writing methods, or does it change from song to song?
It doesn’t follow any special plan. It can start from a idea, a melody, a little suite of words melt together—or just an afternoon spent on my piano or a synth. But quite often, the song needs to sleep for a while inside my head to gain maturity. I don’t have much waste when I’m writing, but this is why each song takes time.
Tell us about the epic video adaptation of Dévot by Elsa & Johanna!
I’m delighted that Elsa & Johanna are taking part in LENPARROT. We started working together last year with the short film made for Gena. The girls were in New York at this time – a perfect coincidence for a song inspired by Cassavetes. Dévot is our third collaboration together, this time alongside Noé PF—them 3 have created an incredible reverie. Elsa and Johanna usually ask me a bunch of questions about the song—where does it come from, if it’s inspired by something in particular. They need details about the lyrics and their meanings. After that, they’re free to do whatever they want wherever they want. Each new video sets the level a bit higher : I’ve never been disappointed.
What have you been listening to, reading, watching, enjoying in general lately?
The last Kurt Vile album, b’lieve I’m goin’ down…has been the perfect record for the end of the year. More recently there’s the new project from Julien Ehrlich (formerly of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Whitney, which amazes me pretty much.
I’m currently reading the last novel written by my friend Julia Kerninon : Le dernier amour d’Attila Kiss, and it’s true beauty. And last but not least, I just learned today that Homeshake have planned their first french gig this spring in Paris and THIS is fuckin’ awesome.
Next moves for LENPARROT?
I gave myself a couple of months to write some new songs – that I’d love to record in july. If things are going well my first LP could be done at the end of the summer. I know where, when and with who – but not how.
I’ve been pretty lucky since the beginning of LENPARROT, let’s hope that it won’t stop too soon [laughs]!
The new LENPARROT EP Naufrage is available now from Atelier Ciseaux.
