The French Semester is a five gun salute to the foreign and the familiar. Five friends from LA bonded by an insistence on analog grooves and live instrumentation for a new musical pop-art thats always changing. Raised on the baroque of late 60's folk acts like the Left Banke, macabre 80's dreampop of the Rain Parade, and the DIY 90's esprit de corps of Guided By Voices, the band has been hailed for charting its own path amid a flood of garage, alt-country, and synth-rock repeaters. At the core is an almost obsessive songcraft with a heavy premium on lyrical impressionism: "we all are passerbys, thinking we all are bastards/ born in a village, faces with the city lights in them." The songs tell of dusty Third World goodbyes, and sanctuary in the human and urban landscapes of Europe and America. Forged from diverse experience in homelands afield such as Vietnam, India, and the Phillipines, the various members embrace and deliver their message like carrier pigeons sent to remind you that 'we're not so different all of us'. All the while, burying the hook in a smooth, ear-pleasing live set that usually ends in a flurry of dancing bodies. The French Semester is Riaz Tejani, Gil Disloquez, Charles Maxey, Elaine Bagorio, and Russ Quintana. They recently toured France and Spain, and will be supporting the release of the 'Forces Afield' E.P through Spring 2010. For inquiries please contact pianomanagement@live.com .
Read more...