April Birthdays 
JUNE 11, 2021 - Rouen, Normandie, France - French instrumental outfit Les Agamemnonz have shared their new album Amateurs – out today via Hi-Tide Recordings. Ahead of the release of Amateurs the band has shared singles “Artemis,” “Xiphias”, “Mount Capitola,” and “No Shoes No Service,” which highlight the French band’s American influence. On the new album the band shares, “We see Amateurs as a real turning point in the way we can produce music. It’s not a drastic change, it’s rather fluid actually, but we allowed ourselves to work on things only for the record, rearranged existing tunes to fit a different mood (as we did here with “Artemis”) and enjoyed more and more the idea of arrangement. We can’t wait to have listeners from all over the world get an ear on this album, eyes on the cover, and to play brand new tunes live really soon!” Fans can purchase and stream Amateurs now at https://found.ee/amateurs
Playing on the ambivalence of the word that designates the enamored connoisseur as well as the non-professional, Amateurs is paradoxically the band's most ambitious production, both in writing, arrangements, orchestration, recording. In addition to references to their spiritual father Joe Meek ("Artemis"), or to a more French legacy ("Conseils de la Fée des Lilas"), it is unquestionably their most "American" record, with clear references to the golden age of studios ("Theme from 'Amateurs' "), to a certain cinema ("Redwood Heights"), or to more personal experiences of touring the United States ("No Shoes No Service"). It is in all coherence that this album is also their first collaboration with the American label Hi-Tide Recordings.
“Amateurs” track listing
- Ouverture à l’américaine
- Theme from “Amateurs”
- Xiphias
- No Shoes No Service
- Artemis
- J’avoue
- Mount Capitola
- Air Force
- Conseils de la Fée des Lilas
- Attention!
- Mount Harissa
- Redwood Heights
For the past decade, Les Agamemnonz have performed hundreds of gigs, in concert halls, art centers, apartments, on village squares, beaches, boats, etc., across Europe and the United States. Never leaving their Greek "chitons", playing barefoot come rain or shine, they get eclectic audiences to dance, ignite all age groups and - being instrumental - cross easily all language barriers.
If the craze they generate goes far beyond the borders of their genre niche, it is however the surf music community who give them the greatest honors, by placing their previous album in 3rd position of the 100 Best Surf Records of the Decade or by positioning them as headliner of the Asbury Park Surf Music Festival.
As acknowledged figures of this international scene, Les Agamemnonz stand out by their ability to quote their classics (The Ventures, The Astronauts, etc.) while developing a sound and a writing of their own. The tightness of their rhythmics and the originality of their arrangements draw from their deep interest in all forms of electric instrumental music that have flourished all over the world (Eleki music in Japan, Rautalanka in Finland, instro in France, electric Cumbia, Sega, etc.).
Les Agamemnonz is Benjamin Bonaventure (lead guitar), Simon Ripoll-Hurier (rhythm guitar), Grégory Bonaventure (bass), and André Pasquet (drums). Additional musicians featured on the album include Michael Jacques (french horn, trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn), Frédéric Jouhannet (violins), Antoine Berland (medium grand piano), and Zach Robbins (field recording).
—LISTEN, SHOP, CONNECT:
https://hitiderecordings.com/linkinbio
Last edited: Jun 11, 2021 16:42:12
