The Sound of Voice and Bass Falling in Love…
One moment, Swiss singer/synth-player Lea Maria Fries and French bassist/producer Julien Herné happened to meet on a stage in Paris. The next, they fell in love, and the next they released an album. “Et.nu” by et.nu is available now from Prolog Records with distribution by Broken Silence/Believe.
Previously linked with Berlin, Zurich-born, -raised and -educated Fries began as a singer with jazz leanings but has long since extended her stylistic reach into areas that defy any attempt of categorisation. An enthusiastic improviser, she also has a deep interest in electronica, rock and soul music. We last met her in the SME Newsletter for the release of her album with the Berlin-based band Vsitor (sic). Julien Herné’s discography is even longer and just as stylistically diverse, taking in all kinds of experiments in contemporary jazz and electronica.
Et.nu was born on an idyllic morning in Julien’s garden in Paris, with a “fucked-up” guitar, a voice, an old microphone and a pot of strong coffee. A little later, according to Herné, they packed their car “with Tetris-precision”, drove to Brittany where they rented a “little cottage” and “made this record”. All sounds on it are made with bass, voice, synth and household utensils. The results are a powerful diary of the sounds and words that formed their days, documenting the process of two human beings falling ever deeper in love and bringing together their musical worlds.
This is what Lea Maria Fries says on her homepage about et.nu: „et.nu“ stands for a volcanic explosion. Hot lava rock. Molten. Energy. Golden. It also implies standing in the nude, ie. a sensual / sexual connection to life. Simplicity and honesty, which, of course, are the key ingredients of great art.”
