Les Friction’s debut album
Les Friction’s first album, of the same name, is finally here.
It is the fruit of the collaboration between Helmut Vonlichten and Nihl Finch: “For over a year the two sketched, constructed, deconstructed, reconstructed and recorded all over the globe in search of their palette using the retrosonic process. This process was used by the Vonlichtens for the ES Posthumus records and involves printing specific elements to different formats to capture and enhance their aural essences. At once, they created musical, palette, lyrical and arcing story themes of time/space/dimension travel and the universal desire to find home. It was this process that defined Les Friction.
Another brotherhood that came into play was that between Nihl and a mesmerizing singer by the name of “Paint”. While vocal duties were shared in the making of this record, Paint’s ability to deliver the emotional weight of the story made him the perfect messenger”, Les Friction explains on their site.
The result of this is a total of nine tracks unique in their genre, mixing rock, orchestra, and influenced by the style of E.S. Posthumus, Helmut Vonlichten’s former company. Each one tells a story; some are about space travels and fights: “We have the force to fight/ We have the blinding light/ We have the will to win/ Forever we’ll defend/ Knocking out the sun/ With a runaway transmission/ A force that can’t be heard/ Coming in louder than words”; and some of the stories are more intimist and talk of love, suffering, and loss: “I hear your voice but you’re not here/ I walk the halls and I’m alone/You’re not coming home/ I’m holding out til we’re out of time/ Would you pierce the veil/ Would you cross the line/ I can feel you here, souls redefined/ I can’t let go of our design/ Come back to me”.
Les Friction is available in digital format on iTunes (main versions + instrumental versions in bonus), and in digital and physical format on Bandcamp (withouth the intrumental versions).
and one of “Louder Than Words”:
