Second article for this series of the most influent albums for Lyncelia, today I talk about this album that left nobody safe. It’s “Pornography” by The Cure released in 1982.

After using the old “Seventeen Seconds” cassette during summer 2003, I came back and go to the first record store to buy it as CD. This day, my father said “This album, I don’t know it, but I heard it’s a strong one” by pointing his finger on “Pornography”.

I came back with two CDs of this band I’m interested in.

My vision of music has changed with the famous “Seventeen seconds” but I didn’t know that my entire life was about to change so quickly when I put for the first time the album “Pornography” on my CD player.

I didn’t know what was about this album, nor foresee the thrashing beat I was about to have.

The CD player is closing and I press Play. And “One Hundred Years” sounds.

A strange beat of drum machine then guitars came with very dark chords playing on minor second (I better knew in Black Metal) threw me on the walls. I never heard this!

And the voice of Robert Smith, dark, powerful and desperate. Haunted with feelings I knew.

This song could speak about the entire album: Despair, uneasiness

Je ne savais pas du tout à quoi m’attendre, ni même envisagé l’énorme claque que j’allais prendre.

I never felt a so emotional power.

“A short term effect” start on more traditional thing for me, a simple drum beat, a rounding bass and guitars enhancing the voice. But there was a weird thing, something hidden. There is lots of dissonant guitars introducing some sickness to this song. It could be a pleasing song but now it became more difficult to hear with all these dissonances.

The album follows an ascension in despair with the song “Siamese Twins”. Down tempo song, hypnotising me at the first notes full of melacholia. How a melody could translate so well what I felt deep in me since few years. This melancholia blow me, at last I accept it.

Then comes for me the Climax of the album, its higher top in two words: “The Figurehead”.

After the melacholia of “Siamese Twins” we come on the despair of “The Figurehead”. For me, these two songs are unsplitable.

“The Figurehead” upset me the most. I will never be the same after this song. All is despair, the bass (sober and catchy), minor guitar chords, its cold and dark melody that fills my body and soul even today. The best song of the best album of The Cure, they’ll never do a better song, and NOBODY could never do better than this song.

Then follow the great “A strange day” and “Cold” that confirms that this album is a pure masterpiece for whom who have the strength to go down introspective obscurity risking to never come back.

I don’t really appreciate the song “Pornography” even if lots of person consider it as an apocalyptic ending, for me there is not the same strength as “The Figurehead”, “Siamese Twins” or “One Hundred Years”.

This album is a great album I still listen with the same pleasure.

From this first lestening, my life has completely changed, I go down the Gothic music Obscurity that push me inside the Gothic underground.

The Cure with “Pornography” gave me a different music that fits me perfectly.

At this time I was fed up with Metal Music and Metalheads, Gothic Music was a salvation, a fresh air. The Gothic Underground were a place where I could be myself with people like me.

And you, what gives you “Pornography”?

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I open this new serie of article on the album that directly or undirectly influenced Lyncelia.

I start with this one, “Seventeen Seconds” by The Cure.

The starting point is here, summer 2003, my father gives me an audio cassette saying “Hey, at last I found my old Cure cassette”. I didn’t know that my live was about to change.

It’s been 2 years that I played on stage with my previous Metal band with this cool The Cure shirt, it was in my drawer since the end of the 80’s. It was the property of my cousin deceased in 1988, I wore it in memory of him.

My father told me “I must find my Cure cassette to make you listen to”. I was interested cause I wanted to know what my cousin was into to get closer from his memory that haunts me.

Back to summer 2003,

I put this cassette in my walkman plugged in little portative speaker to listen to it in the shower. The intro “A Reflection” sounds, the chords both clear and mysterious have an interesting effect. Then comes “Play for today” with its up tempo. I don’t understand what I hear.

What music is it? What kind is it?

How could you make a fast and rock song with no distortion?

This is what stayed in my mind during few weeks. I listen again and again to try to understand something. It seems both simple to listen but hard to understand. As if the hermetism let foresee some lights behind.

The sound, both clear and aerials takes me higher on each listening. Since that, I always was in search of this sound.

I heard some melancholia hidden behind this pure naked sound and catchy gimmicks.

And the bass parts, never I could thought that bass could be so important. Coming from Metal, the bass is always on background.

I was still wondering what kind of music it could be. Is it Rock? Pop? Jazz?! Nothing of these, it’s another kind. Later I read that it’s ColdWave. What? Coldwhat? ColdWave? What’s this name coming from nowhere…

Wave for the new wave style, Cold for the sound. It’s coherent.

From this time my life is not the same, my meaning to the music has changed. My state of mind changed, I’ve found the soundtrack of my new life.

I’ll never fed up to listen to this album (even today after 15 years of listening). A song like “At night” makes me thrill each time, and say that melancholy is the quintessence of beauty and nothing and nobody could do better than this song.

After this summer, I came back home and the first thing I done was to go to the first record store to buy this album and this day my father told me “This album, I don’t know it, but it seems that its a very intense one” pointing on “Pornography”.

I came back with the 2 albums.

And again my life was about to change, but this time in the gothic obscurity of “Pornography”.

Our next concert will be the opening act for Pink Turns Blue in Paris (FR) on saturday 23rd March 2019 @Gibus Live.

We’re very excited to be back on stage with our new formation and with new songs as opening act for this legendary band in this legendary venue.

As it’s the period of gift, we offer you 3 bonus tracks on FREE Download exclusively on www.lyncelia.com.

Download on http://lyncelia.com/lyncelia-shop/digital-anthology-2008-2018-bonus-tracks/

Our “Anthology 2008-2018” shouldn’t be complete without the covers we made throughout these 10 Years. You can find for the first time on Download our covers of “Sorry Angel” (from the french artist Serge Gainsbourg), “L’aventurier” (from french band Indochine) and the very last one “The Figurehead” from The Cure.

Merry Christmas!

Don’t forget to like, share and follow us on social networks.

For this last post, I had to end on our latest releases. First of all, I want to thank you for your support et to read this series of article every months to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Today I will talk about “Self-Mystery Girl” and “The Beauty of Doubt”.

I start with “Self-Mystery Girl”, it’s a song I started to write in november 2013 (I was working on completing “Unbound Pleasure”). I found the principal lead on bass. I transposed it quickly for guitars cause it’s a melodic lead that must be on the foreground.

The song comes easily and was the first post Forsaken Innocence song written and completed in 2014. I still feel a little strange when I see that there is 3 or 4 years between the writing and the releasing.

For this song I wanted to came back on my coldwave roots, that’s why I choose a clean fender sound with Flanger effects (for more detail on sound of this song, I wrote an article here).

For the video, I had in mind a black/White video, exactly the contrast of the previous videos in colors. As this song has a new wave feel, we wore tie and black shirt to outlined this detail. Of course Isabelle our model add the feminine side, sexy and sensual that fits this song and what about are the lyrics of the new songs. After forsaking Innocence and hope, Lyncelia assume her sensuality and seduction.

About “The Beauty of Doubt”, the idea was to release a completely different song from “Self-Mystery Girl”.

More melancholic and darker, “The Beauty of Doubt” develop an almost Doom feeling influenced by bands like My Dying Bride and Theatre of Tragedy.

I wrote this song in May 2016, on a day I felt very lonely and missing my beloved. One of my fears is to be abandoned again, I developed this idea of missing and of doubt.

For the sound, I used my Gibson SG with overdrive pedal to have a heavier sound on this downtempo. Female voices were added at the last moment, right after the recording session.

I wanted something very strong for the end of the song. We worked on these voices with 2 sessions, the first one to try some ideas and the second to record the final voices tracks. Amélie have the talent to make her voice fitting our music at the perfect pitch with her lyrical voice adding the tragic feel I wanted to have.

The photoshoot for the lyrics video was done in summer 2018, I wanted a very sensual image but still melancholic to translate the doubt and despair of the lyrics. Isabelle managed to translate it perfectly as close as the lyrics.

Pour ce dernier article, je me devais de terminer cette retrospective sur nos dernières sorties. Tout d’abord je souhaite vous remercier pour votre soutien et d’avoir suivi cette retrospective chaque mois pour célébrer les 10 ans de Lyncelia.

Aujourd’hui, je vais parler des récents “Self-Mystery Girl” et “The Beauty of Doubt”.

Je commencerai avec “Self-Mystery Girl” qui est un titre que j’ai commencé à composer en novembre 2013 (à l’époque je travaillais sur la finalisation du titre “Unbound Pleasure”). Bizarrement, c’est à la basse que j’ai trouvé le lead principal du couplet. Je l’ai ensuite très vite transposé pour la guitare car c’etait une ligne mélodique qui se devait d’être mise en avant.

Le reste du titre suivi assez facilement et fut un des premiers titres post Forsaken Innocence à être composé et terminé en 2014. Ca me fait toujours bizarre de voir qu’il y a toujours quasiment un laps de temps de 3 ou 4 ans entre la composition et la publication, j’ai toujours de l’avance sur mes compos.

Pour ce titre je voulais revenir à mes sources coldwave, ce pourquoi j’ai opté pour un son clair Fenderien avec effet Flanger (pour plus de détail sur le son de ce titre, j’ai fait un article ici sur le sujet).

Pour le clip, j’avais en tête de faire un clip en noir et blanc, ce qui contrebalance avec les précédents clips qui était en couleurs. Comme ce titre à une ambiance assez new wave, on a choisi de porter chemise noire et cravate pour souligner ce détail. Bien sûr, l’apport d’Isabelle comme Model ajoute le coté féminin avec une touche sexy et sensuelle qui colle parfaitement à ce titre et aux thèmes de nos nouveaux morceaux. Après avoir abandonnée son espoir et son Innocence, Lyncelia assume maintenant toute sa sensualité et sa séduction.

Concernant maintenant “The Beauty of Doubt”, l’idée était de publier un titre complètement different de “Self-Mystery Girl”. Beaucoup plus sombre et mélancolique, “The Beauty of Doubt” développe un coté presque Doom aux influences de groupes comme My Dying Bride et Theatre of Tragedy que j’adore.

C’est un titre que j’ai composé en mai 2016, c’est à dire relativement récemment par rapport aux précédents. Ce fut un jour où j’ai ressenti grandement le manque de ma bien aimée. Une de mes peurs principale est d’être abandonné, j’ai donc développé ce thème du manque et du doute.

Pour le son, j’ai utilisé ma Gibson SG avec de l’overdrive pour avoir un son plus lourd sur ce tempo lent. Les voix féminines ont été rajoutées au dernier moment, bien après avoir enregistré les instruments et ma voix.

Je voulais quelque chose de fort pour le final de ce titre qui me prenait aux tripes. On a travaillé sur ces voix en deux sessions, la première nous servit à tester des idées et à les peaufiner et la deuxième fut la versions finale. Amélie à parfaitement su intégrer sa magnifique voix lyrique qui rajoute le coté tragique que je cherchais à obtenir et qui donne à ce morceau toute sa saveur.

La séance photo pour la video s’est faites durant l’été 2018, je voulais une image très sensuelle mais relativement mélancolique pour traduire le doute et le désespoir développé dans le texte. Encore une fois, Isabelle à réussi à retranscrire exactement ce que je voulais développer.

…When burning passion runs into your veins, with the beauty of doubt to awaken near the beloved one…

Digital Download on http://www.lyncelia.com/lyncelia-shop

“The Beauty of Doubt” enhanced a more tragic and dramatic side of our music with the add of intense female lyrical ending vocals from Amélie B.

This down tempo song reminds the darkest hours of The Cure, and also bands like My Dying Bride and Theatre of Tragedy with the brand that characterizes us.

Recorded, mixed and Mastered at Total Recording Studio (March – May 2018).
Female voice by Amélie B, additional whispered voice by Isabelle R.

pictures by Alexis B.
Model: Isabelle R.

Today for this 11th article we’re coming back 3 years ago in 2015 when I did the Indochine Cover with the very first Lyncelia video.

It’s been a while I wanted to make a video and more images with Lyncelia. This is with this cover that I realized my beginning in video making to develop the Lyncelia image.

So, why an Indochine cover? Band as much loved than hated, especially in the french gothic scene. You couldn’t make a Joy Division cover as the others?

Because Indochine is a band I loved (especially their darker period in the 2000’s), they also represents the 80’s New Wave years cause they were at the same time as The Cure or Depeche Mode. And also to cover a song known by all french people to a Goth and darker song.

I had the idea of this personal cover in 2014 after working on 5 covers of Indochine for a special show for the wedding of my sister who is a huge fan of this band.

I started to work on this cover on November 2014, I slowed down the tempo to make it darker and enhanced the synthesizers. I thought I could have some difficulties to rearrange but this cover were much easy to do, I had the good ideas at the good time (and this is not like that everyday…).

I needed extra time to adapt my voice to this song, it was not easy. It’s easy to sing but I’m not used to sing in french language.

Quickly I wanted to make a video for this cover. It was a source of discord between Claudia and me about the Lyncelia aesthetic that brought us to stop our collaboration few weeks later.

The making of this video is quite cheap, I did it with what I had: a little camrecorder on a tripod, few “cool daylight” lights (on the ground or mounted on clothes dryer), a black curtain before a wall and let’s go for the shoot.

The recording took 2 days. The first day for all the guitars, bass, synths, vocals footage. But by watching the rushes, my make up for the vocal parts was too intense so I decided to redo it the next day.

Remains the edition, not easy when you don’t know where you’re going. I must learn to use the multitrack and to synchronize all tracks to select only the more effective ones.

After this step I felt we missed a female presence. I get in touch with a neighbor and this is Miss Lison that you can see in the video. We took an afternoon to shot it in the street and in my house.

This sequence, even a little too long, gives an interesting dimension to the video. Such a pity I didn’t mind to put it all along the video to be more logical.

But this is from our mistakes that we learn and this very first video gives me the envy and the experience to make others and to always want to make it better than the previous.

Since that, I learned more on video making, lighting and edition. It’s always interesting to add an artistic practice to Lyncelia and to develop farther this project.

…To be continued…

Aujourd’hui pour cet avant dernier article, on revient plus de 3 ans en arrière en 2015 au moment où j’ai fait la reprise d’Indochine “L’aventurier” avec la réalisation de mon tout premier clip.

Cela faisait plusieurs années que je voulais réaliser un clip et faire plus de visuels et d’images avec Lyncelia. C’est donc avec cette reprise que j’ai fait mes début dans la video pour développer plus profondément l’image de Lyncelia.

Alors pourquoi une reprise d’Indochine? groupe autant adoré que détesté surtout dans le milieu gothique. Tu ne pouvais pas reprendre du Joy Division comme tout le monde?

Parce qu’Indochine est un groupe que j’aime beaucoup (surtout leur période plus sombre des années 2000), qui représente également les années New Wave en France et qui fut les contemporains de The Cure et autre Dépêche Mode et aussi pour reprendre un titre connu de tous dans la chanson française et d’en faire un titre Dark et bien Gothique.

L’idée d’en faire une version personnelle est apparu en 2014 après avoir travaillé sur 5 reprises d’Indochine pour un concert spécial en aout 2014 pour le mariage de ma soeur qui est très fan d’Indochine.

J’ai commencé à travailler sur la version Lyncelia en novembre 2014, j’ai ralenti le tempo d’origine pour en faire un titre plus typé Goth et mis l’accent sur les synthétiseurs. Contrairement à ce que j’aurai pu croire, l’arrangement cette reprise c’est faites très rapidement et relativement facilement. J’avais les bonnes idées au bon moment (ce qui n’est pas le cas tout les jours…).

Il m’a fallu un peu de temps pour adapter mon chant à ce titre, ce ne fut pas une mince affaire. Ca reste un titre relativement simple à chanter mais l’usage du français dans mon chant ne m’est pas coutumier.

Très vite j’ai voulu réaliser un clip pour cette reprise. Ce qui fut une source de désaccord avec Claudia à propos de l’esthétique de Lyncelia qui nous amènera à la fin de notre collaboration quelques semaines plus tard.

La réalisation du clip fut assez rudimentaire, j’ai fait avec les moyens que j’avais à ce moment, un petit camescope sur un trépied, quelques éclairages “lumière du jour” installés de manière rudimentaire (au sol et d’autres suspendus sur un sèche linge), un rideau noir devant un mur et c’était partie pour le tournage du clip.

L’enregistrement c’est fait en 2 jours. la première journée pour tous les plans guitares, basse, synthés et chant. Mais en regardant les rushes, lors des prises de chants, mon maquillage était trop prononcé et j’ai donc décidé de refaire les prises chant le lendemain et le résultat correspond mieux à ce que je voulais.

Me restait plus qu’à faire le montage qui n’a pas été simple quand on ne sais pas trop où on vas. Il m’a fallu apprendre à utiliser le multipiste et à tout synchroniser pour ensuite sélectionner que les plans les plus efficaces.

Après cette étape de montage je trouvais que ca manquait d’une présence féminine. J’ai contacter une voisine qui a accepter de participer. C’est donc Mademoiselle Lison que l’on voit sur ce clip.

Cette séquence, qui est peut être un peu longue avec le recul, apporte tout de même une dimension interessante dans la narration du clip. Dommage que je n’ai pas penser à l’incorporer plus longuement dans la video ca aurait été plus logique et efficace.

Mais c’est de nos erreurs que l’on apprends et ce tout premier clip me donna l’envie et l’expérience d’en faire d’autres et de faire à chaque fois mieux que le précédent. Depuis je me suis beaucoup investi dans la video, l’éclairage et le montage. C’est toujours intéressant de pouvoir rajouter une pratique artistique de plus à Lyncelia et de developper le projet d’une autre approche.

…A suivre…