HULL QUEBEC “FREE-PUNKS”’ 7th RELEASE IS A STAGGERING ELECTRIC VS. MIDI CONCEPT RECORD
BUY / STREAM LE MAL NOW
ONTARIO & QUEBEC TOUR STARTS THIS WEEK
"FET.NAT is basically constructing their own language" - Toronto Star
“FET.NAT is one of the best kept secrets, quite simply a major force of music" - La Presse
"A marvel that fearless creativity can lead to undeniable originality." - The Line of Best Fit
"So much fun that it was spilling out over the all-smiling crowd in waves." - Exclaim!
Le Mal Album Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Since founding in 2010, FET.NAT has created a musical universe all its own, crossing leftfield punk, trip-hop, free jazz and afrobeat, on a backdrop of absurdist humour lit by the Rock In Opposition movement. The veteran Hull, Quebec, foursome – featuring the franglais poetics of JFNO, Pierre-Luc Clément on guitars, Linsey Wellman on saxophone, and secret weapon Olivier Fairfield (Last Ex, Timber Timbre, Andy Shauf) on drums – has made its name on fiery live performances that clash maniacal theatrics with confounding musicianship.
Today, with the release of Le Mal – a concept record with one side containing MIDI interpretations of the other – FET.NAT delivers a stunning document of their musical connectivity and precise recording vision. Instrumentals of experimental restraint, with menacing electronics and flashes of polyrhythm underscore JFNO’s warped, possessed poetry. The result is a full-player of discernible variety – an illusory mirror image of itself – with familiar but offset halves that consume each other.
The album is available now on 12” vinyl and all digital ways via Toronto-Philadelphia label Boiled Records. Launch shows take place in Toronto, Guelph, and Hull this week. Full dates below.
BUY / STREAM LE MAL
Clément explains: “The MIDI concept was designed as an experimental trilogy, to try to extract ourselves from our own musical equation in three steps: step one being side A’s electric instruments, and step two being side B’s MIDI refractions. The third step will be full erasure, happening only at the end of the existence of FET.NAT.”
Written and performed by all four members, Le Mal’s nine tracks were arranged by Clément and Fairfield at their home studios in Hull, summer 2018. There, the sonic identity of FET.NAT’s 7th release came to life, with the conceptual blueprint paving the fluid path of the music.
JFNO says: “The way we worked on this record makes it special because I freely let PL and Oli do whatever they want with the lyrics, which was more like a résumé of poetry. Rarely have I seen this type of shared trust and ethic between writers and musicians. By letting go, it made la suite des choses very interesting and unique.”
LE MAL TRACK-LIST:
1. Tapis
2. Patio Monday
3. Des Fois
4. Soft Purse
5. Your World Is My Mystery Gift
6. Tapis d’Orient
7. Patio Tuesday
8. Des Fois II
9. Your World Is My Mystery Gift II
TOUR DATES:
Feb 28 - Toronto ON - Feast in the East w/ Absolutely Free, Badge Epoque
Mar 01 - Guelph ON - E Bar
Mar 02 - Hull QC - Petit Chicago
Mar 22 - Montreal QC - St-Edouard Church w/ Red Mass, Absolutely Free
Mar 23 - Quebec QC - Pantoum - w/ Absolutely Free
I’ll keep you warm and safe, I can watch you for ol’ time sake.
Il a fait preuve de beaucoup d’imagination pour s’inventer une vie.
