Abandoning a major European tour three years ago due to Covid, Lazuli retreated to their base in southern France, waiting for the world to re-open. During this protracted impasse, Dominique Leonetti wrote 11, a deeply personal collection of songs that appeared almost without fanfare earlier this year. In an ideal music cosmos, the stars would have aligned, enabling the French proggers to release 11, their 11th album comprising 11 songs, on November 11, 2022 (11 x 2). Sadly, due to global production delays, the universal numbers didn't add up this time.
"It was an unpleasant surprise for us a little frustrating, it is true. But the album arrived in the new year and that was perfect," declares Leonetti, the band's vocalist, instrumentalist and composer.
That record crystallises Leonetti's personal feelings after the band suffered major setbacks in 2020. It began not long after the release of their ninth album, Le Fantastique Envol De Dieter Böhm, when they were forced to halt their scheduled European tour after just two British dates as Covid struck. They were heading north to fulfil a dream of playing Liverpool's Cavern Club when news arrived that the French border was closing so they had little choice but to return home without performing at the venue associated with their musical heroes, The Beatles.
Then Gédéric Byar, their charismatic, dreadlocked guitarist, departed. However, later that year, they welcomed new guitarist Arnaud Beyney - friend of keyboards and French horn player, Romain Thorel - and in 2021, the stripped-down Dénudé came out.
"I wrote the words during the lockdown, like a need to escape," Leonetti reflects of 11. "When the world resumed its course, I found the courage to put them to music, so the songs came to life."
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1687518117/articles/VuOABpUsq1687523098578/7836073747.jpg]
He and his Léode-playing brother, Claude, recorded demos at their L'Abeille Rôde studio for Thorel, Beyney and drummer/percussionist Vincent Barnavol to hear.
"It was a joy to see their enthusiasm listening to them," Leonetti recalls. "Claude and I often have specific ideas, and the others know how to respect our directions while bringing additional soul to the songs. We are used to sharing them with Vincent and Romain, but it was impressive to see how easy and natural it was with Arnaud. It was as if we had worked together forever."
However, 11 slipped out without any major media fanfare apart from on their website and social media channels. This being Lazuli's 11th album in their 25th year, Prog considers that, given their consistently accessible, engaging music and electrifying crowd-pleasing live performances, a continuing lack of self-promotion remains a significant barrier to them attracting exponentially larger audiences and album sales. We mention this to Leonetti, who explains it's due mainly to them electing to work as a family-based operation.
"For us, it's necessary to be independent as it's the only way to make a living from your music. We are the sole masters of our artistic and financial choices, but that involves a lot of work. Many things we do are incompatible with a musician's brain, but we need to know how to do the tedious work if we want to continue to share our music. It results in stress and sleepless nights, but when you love what you do, they count for nothing. It's a kind of 'business' on a human scale. Working with family members makes things more peaceful; we're not suspicious of each other, and we all have the same philosophy of life.
"We prefer to remain free and in control, even if the road is difficult alone. I'm also clear the record industry today is probably no longer interested in groups like ours. Maybe our field of action is reduced, but it's better to remain modest than to lose your soul."
He adds: "There have never been so many promotion modes, but it's difficult to stand out in the growing mass. Certainly, we lack visibility in general, but we are also lucky to have certain magazines who have trusted us for many years. However, word of mouth and the stage remain some of our best means of promotion."
Leonetti is an artist who wears his emotional heart on his sleeve; the intricate, expressive dynamics of Lazuli's music and his searchingly powerful voice provide the sonic tapestries into which he weaves his poetic, allegorical lyrics.
Their 11th album's tracklisting includes the aptly named upbeat opener Sillonner Des Océans De Vinyl ('Cross The Vinyl Oceans'), an ode to music, but also encompasses the melancholy he felt during lockdown. Triste Carnaval (Sad Carnival') is a story told from a child's perspective whose mother makes him a superhero costume for the school carnival, but he turns up wearing it on the wrong day. Had such an incident befallen him? Leonetti laughs: "It's a nightmare many of us have or have had arriving in pyjamas at school! I experienced it when I was six. It wasn't exactly pyjamas, but I arrived in disguise at school a day before the planned carnival."
Disturbingly, Égoïne translates as 'hand saw' but Leonetti explains, "I compare myself t...
"It was an unpleasant surprise for us a little frustrating, it is true. But the album arrived in the new year and that was perfect," declares Leonetti, the band's vocalist, instrumentalist and composer.
That record crystallises Leonetti's personal feelings after the band suffered major setbacks in 2020. It began not long after the release of their ninth album, Le Fantastique Envol De Dieter Böhm, when they were forced to halt their scheduled European tour after just two British dates as Covid struck. They were heading north to fulfil a dream of playing Liverpool's Cavern Club when news arrived that the French border was closing so they had little choice but to return home without performing at the venue associated with their musical heroes, The Beatles.
Then Gédéric Byar, their charismatic, dreadlocked guitarist, departed. However, later that year, they welcomed new guitarist Arnaud Beyney - friend of keyboards and French horn player, Romain Thorel - and in 2021, the stripped-down Dénudé came out.
"I wrote the words during the lockdown, like a need to escape," Leonetti reflects of 11. "When the world resumed its course, I found the courage to put them to music, so the songs came to life."
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1625747790/1687518117/articles/VuOABpUsq1687523098578/7836073747.jpg]
He and his Léode-playing brother, Claude, recorded demos at their L'Abeille Rôde studio for Thorel, Beyney and drummer/percussionist Vincent Barnavol to hear.
"It was a joy to see their enthusiasm listening to them," Leonetti recalls. "Claude and I often have specific ideas, and the others know how to respect our directions while bringing additional soul to the songs. We are used to sharing them with Vincent and Romain, but it was impressive to see how easy and natural it was with Arnaud. It was as if we had worked together forever."
However, 11 slipped out without any major media fanfare apart from on their website and social media channels. This being Lazuli's 11th album in their 25th year, Prog considers that, given their consistently accessible, engaging music and electrifying crowd-pleasing live performances, a continuing lack of self-promotion remains a significant barrier to them attracting exponentially larger audiences and album sales. We mention this to Leonetti, who explains it's due mainly to them electing to work as a family-based operation.
"For us, it's necessary to be independent as it's the only way to make a living from your music. We are the sole masters of our artistic and financial choices, but that involves a lot of work. Many things we do are incompatible with a musician's brain, but we need to know how to do the tedious work if we want to continue to share our music. It results in stress and sleepless nights, but when you love what you do, they count for nothing. It's a kind of 'business' on a human scale. Working with family members makes things more peaceful; we're not suspicious of each other, and we all have the same philosophy of life.
"We prefer to remain free and in control, even if the road is difficult alone. I'm also clear the record industry today is probably no longer interested in groups like ours. Maybe our field of action is reduced, but it's better to remain modest than to lose your soul."
He adds: "There have never been so many promotion modes, but it's difficult to stand out in the growing mass. Certainly, we lack visibility in general, but we are also lucky to have certain magazines who have trusted us for many years. However, word of mouth and the stage remain some of our best means of promotion."
Leonetti is an artist who wears his emotional heart on his sleeve; the intricate, expressive dynamics of Lazuli's music and his searchingly powerful voice provide the sonic tapestries into which he weaves his poetic, allegorical lyrics.
Their 11th album's tracklisting includes the aptly named upbeat opener Sillonner Des Océans De Vinyl ('Cross The Vinyl Oceans'), an ode to music, but also encompasses the melancholy he felt during lockdown. Triste Carnaval (Sad Carnival') is a story told from a child's perspective whose mother makes him a superhero costume for the school carnival, but he turns up wearing it on the wrong day. Had such an incident befallen him? Leonetti laughs: "It's a nightmare many of us have or have had arriving in pyjamas at school! I experienced it when I was six. It wasn't exactly pyjamas, but I arrived in disguise at school a day before the planned carnival."
Disturbingly, Égoïne translates as 'hand saw' but Leonetti explains, "I compare myself t...
You're reading a preview of
Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 141