Dorian Pimpernel - Hollandia (Japanese Edition)
Country: JapanLabel: Rallye Records
Released: 9 June 2007
Genre: Rock / Avant-Pop / Electronica / Experimental
Details:
* Japanese Edition
フレンチ・シネマの撮影現場やパリのインディ・シーンなど様々なアート分野で活動していたメンバーが集まり結成されたフランス/パリを拠点に活動する8人組のソフト・ロック楽団。60年代のソフト・ロックを再現するかのような極上のハーモニーと甘いメロディ、60年代のフレンチ・シネマから抜け出してきたかのようなレトロでノスタルジックな佇まいがパリのインディ・シーンでも異彩を放ち、公式なCDリリースがないにも拘らずフランスのプレスがこぞって絶賛の声をあげる期待の超新星。TAHITI80がもし60年代に活動してたら―？そんな夢のような心躍るサウンドを体現する極上のソフト・ロック!
Interview:
We were quite surprised by the intellectualism of the Parisians from Dorian Pimpernel. Sowing little seeds of culture here and there for the ignorant fools that we are (anyone ever heard of Ludwig Wittgenstein?), Dorian Pimpernel is the sonic goldsmith of dazzling songs, adventuring us in the nostalgia of the victorian era.
TheFake: Who are Dorian Pimpernel and why did you choose this name?
Dorian Pimpernel is victorian ghost filtering Spector and Carrol – I know . Many speak of him, few have seen him. The only relic he has left is a music box, discovered in the attic of a haussmanian building by seven apprentices in wizardery doing their utmost to make it play again : misty chimes, iridescent timbres, crooked philters and tintinabulum.
At the first listening we are struck by the melodies that sound very much like Trafffic and The Floyd of ‘67, do you consider yourselves as mods of this era?
Pink Floyd and Traffic weren’t especially mods, neither are we to speak the truth, despite our great fondness for three button jackets, fitted shirts and dotted ties.
Is is due to having seen the movie Quadrophenia too many times?
I have seen it only once, actually. In my opinion, Quadrophenia contents itself with signs without reaching the essence. Anyways, « le cinéma anglais n’existe pas » (François Truffaut). Neither does rock cinema, except for Zona Inquinata (F.J. Ossang), Flash Rouge (Marc’ O) and Dig (Ondi Timoner), but that’s a documentary.
The songs are hypnotizing, surrealistic and often reminds us ”Sergent Pepper”, what do you think about that?
I haven’t heard about it, but I wish them to sell as many discs as we have.
You’ve released a 4 track Cd. When do you plan to release a first album?
When ears will have opened again their eyelids.
Are you more Nuggets I or Nuggets II ?
We’re more likely Napoleon XIV.
Do you often tour out of Paris, your birthtown?
Yes, for movies, next to Béthune ( Le Dieu Saturne , Jean-Charles Fitoussi). By the way, Dorian Pimpernel’s infrastructure is quite difficult to move, we are seven, with big istruments (Wurlitzer, Farfisa) and a mini Super 5 to move it all. And the economic superstructure of the entertainment society lacks a bit of delicacy.
In France, where there isn’t any mod culture, isn’t it quite difficult to be recognized when you know that the audience is for example quite reluctant or indifferent to hearing bands sing in English?
France maybe doesn’t have any or only a few, mods, but she gives birth to dandys : Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jean Eustache, Jacno… It is also true that pop culture isn’t familiar to France. In addition to that, the English language is more malleable in musical terms and Dorian Pimpernel’s unconciousness is structured like a stroll on the Thames.
If you only had 24 hours left to live, what would you do?
I’d convert to Islam to meet the seventy-two virgins and enjoy eternal bliss.
Any message to deliver ? (feel free…)
« My idea nevertheless is not to refresh an old style. This isn’t about taking old formulas and arranging them so as to fit the expectations of the new trend. What it is about, is speaking, maybe unconciously, the ancient language, speaking it in a way so that it would belong to the new world, without necessarily belonging to the trends of this one. » (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Julien GARRIC
Translated by Yoanna CLAQUIN
Tracklisting:
1. Opalin Days – 2:23
2. Omorose – 3:26
3. The Mimeograph – 3:56
4. So Long Sumbolon – 2:46
5. An Inner Stroll – 4:23
6. Ovlar E – 3:03
7. Octave Heliophone – 3:33
