ARTIST: Cyann And Ben
TITLE: Sweet Beliefs
LABEL: Ever Records
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 194kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 51min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-09-11
RIP DATE: 2006-08-01
Track List
----------
01. Words 4:46
02. Sunny Morning 7:10
03. Sweet Beliefs 6:12
04. In Union With 7:06
05. Guilty 5:16
06. Recurring 5:18
07. Let It Play 3:32
08. Somewhere In The Light Of Time 3:44
09. Sparks Of Love 8:47
Release Notes:
Those who like their music to be served in bitesize chunks should back
away now, and those for whom an artist's value is based upon how many
convictions they have received from the local constabulary should move
on, because there's nothing to see here. But those for whom music is a
joy, a world in which to marvel at the patterns that sound can draw in
one's mind, will want to settle in for the long haul. Sweet Beliefs the
third album by Paris based Cyann & Ben, is about "the whole", the
experience, and it demands your attention right from the outset. It's an
epic and yet intimate album that draws upon a wide variety of influences,
giving the space rock template a Gallic makeover by adding a much needed
romantic grandeur. But because Cyann & Ben's Paris is not the one you see
in Amelie û it's dirty, dark and stressful as much as beautiful û Sweet
Beliefs, with its multi-layered and ambitious sweep, sounds as unsettling
as it is irresistible.
The seeds for the enigmatically, altruistically named Cyann & Ben were
sown in the cold, grey, rainy city of Charleville-Mezieres. A small
provincial French town on the border with Belgium, it was the birthplace
of the legendary French poet Arthur Rimbaud. But even he, locals are
forced to concede, tried to run away four times by the time he was 17.
Now it is due to be the site for the trial of Michel Fourniret, a
self-confessed serial killer who claims to have murdered up to 20 people
in France and Belgium between 1987 and 2001. Three of Cyann & Ben's four
members û Cyann (keyboards, vocals), Ben (vocals, guitars), and Charlie
(drums, samplers, synth) û grew up there, experimenting with music in
various configurations before finally making good their escape to Paris.
Cyann & Ben as an entity, however, was formed in spring 2001, soon after
the two started working together, and they were joined by Charlie and
Lo∩c (guitars, keyboards) for their first studio recordings. The
chemistry that developed, especially when the four of them left the
studio and took to the stage, was such that they soon started working and
writing together regularly. Within a year they were signed to the
currently dormant Gooom Records û former home to M83 û and not long
afterwards released their debut album, Spring, to wide acclaim in their
homeland. A second album, Happy Like A Tree, followed in late 2004,
consolidating their reputation and, despite limited distribution, won a
small army of fans across Europe. Both albums were also released in the
US by Locust Music, home to û amongst others û releases by Espers,
Matmos, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary.
With their third album, however, Cyann & Ben have significantly refined
their sound. The nine songs on Sweet Beliefs form a collection of noble
but gritty beauty, its escapist enchantment anchored by a human frailty
and vulnerability. But they also stand up for themselves: immerse
yourself in tracks like ôWordsö, with its inexorable journey towards its
Pete Townsend conclusion; ôSparks of Loveö's gravity-defying magic; the
heartbreaking intimacy of ôSomewhere In The Light Of Timeö or the tension
of the album's title track as it draws towards an inevitable crescendo.
As a suite of songs its slow burning pleasures take a while to reveal
themselves, but the majesty within is worth your patience. Memorably
described by Magnet (US) as ôa slow motion hurricane ripping apart your
temporal lobeö, Cyann & Ben's music offers an otherworldly grandeur:
psychedelic, noble, fragile, pastoral, experimental and incandescent all
at once, the sound of Sonic Youth reared on Pink Floyd's lost masterpiece
Soundtrack To æMore', or maybe Low picking Mogwai to pieces.
Sweet Beliefs was largely recorded in Paris at Vogue Studios, home of the
legendary French label Vogue, where legions of French stars of the 60s
and 70s, including Franτoise Hardy, cut many of their classic albums.
After being closed and left to decay for many years it was recently
renovated and Cyann & Ben were amongst the first to work there. Sweet
Beliefs, like the studio and indeed Paris itself, is steeped in musical
history but no stranger to hard times. It acknowledges the fact that
wherever you are û Charleville-Mezieres or Paris û there is no such thing
as a perfectly happy ending, but the efforts to find one can still be
vastly rewarding. That is the secret of its success, and its conviction,
honesty and optimism give us all a reason to believe...