Album Notes

À Rebours: deliciously melancholy rock. Diverse, emotional and trans-genre. Decidedly alternative, artsy-fartsy, pretentious, dark...and sometimes even fun.

À Rebours is a musical conspiracy conceived and executed by Ian Stone. The project is intended for full band performances and the sound is a combination of several different genres colliding under a dark, overcast sky. The band and sound began in 1998 with the moniker “Maxwell's Demon” but, many frustrations and flaky band mates later, a name change and a fresh slate all around revitalized the music and sent it in the current, and correct, direction. Ian currently plays all the instruments and writes all the music.

Performances of late usually occupy either of two categories: a) one-man shows with several guitars, backing tracks and a lot of theatrics, or b) stripped down, solo acoustic shows with alternate versions of songs arranged for this purpose. Plans for larger scale, full band shows are in the works. In the meantime, À Rebours' music has been played in numerous clubs in the US and Europe, on assorted college and online radios, and live in several assorted venues.

The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez said, “If they give you ruled paper, turn it the other way.” In other words, break away from the norm; go against the grain!

Marching to the beat of a different drummer and thus always being the odd one out seems to be the process by which those among us turn their alienation with the world into a path towards truth, love and beauty. Herd mentality is perhaps the largest malady afflicting human beings today. Too many people in the world are like lemmings ready to plunge off the first cliff that's placed before them. The standard norm for society, for the family, for being a man or a woman…most of it is utter bullshit and one must rage against it with a hard, gem-like flame.

It is this sentiment through which À Rebours finds its voice.

À Rebours was signed to Final Joy Records in October of 2006.

À Rebours is currently based in upstate New York.