Sudden Death of Stars: Merci et au revoir

Sad to hear that Sudden Death of Stars have come to the end of their mission.

The Rennes-based act released two albums, 2011's Getting Up, Going Down and 2014's All Unrevealed Parts of the Unknown, which came out on Ample Play records.

The band said in a statement: "Sudden Death of Stars suddenly died.

"Though the phenomenon occurred some times ago, it can only be observed now because of the time needed by the light to travel to your screen. Unless it was the time needed by its members to accept it.

"Anyway, as sound travels slower than light, you may have the opportunity, for those who wish, to listen to our posthumous productions hopefully in a near future.

"We’d like to thank everyone who supported us along these seven years of psychedelic septet, and especially Close Up and Ample Play."




I loved what they did,  a modern 21st century take on psychedelia, in the best traditions of the genre influenced by earlier acts but inspired to create something unique.

Getting the opportunity to catch them live at the Sympatic bar in Rennes as part of the Bars en Trans festival a couple of years ago was  quite an experience.

Thanks for the memories, and hopefully we'll hear from the former members before too long.

Vive le Roq @5 - Five 'new' acts

OK, not strictly speaking 'new' acts, but a list of five acts that were new to me and I only came across
as a direct result of having my ears open for this blog. Some of these acts have gone on to be pretty big, but I first came across them while on the look out for interesting francophone material, taking me way out of what would be my normal musical comfort zone.

Since launching the blog, I've had a tremendous opportunity to hear acts that I might not have otherwise had the opportunity to discover. There are few opportunities for French acts in the traditional media in the UK, whether on radio or TV, but since organising this blog I've heard more interesting acts,  perhaps due to the greater availability of music and information being easier to come by.

There have obviously been many acts I've heard for the first time, but here is a quick top five

Moodoid

Francophone psyche, smart and fun with an understanding of the greats of the past but with a forward looking attitude.




Woodkid 

To be fair, I may have come across this act as they went on to soundtrack adverts, films and more, but I first heard of them through this blog, and they impressed me hugely. This is also one of my favourite videos I came across in my viewing for this blog.



Fat supper 

Now firm favourites here, a French indie act that have consistently delivered interesting sounds. First encountered thanks to the Transmusicales de Rennes festival in 2012.



Grand Blanc

A band that ticked so many boxes of my musical like list. A flavour of the 80s, whether New Order or Depeche Mode, but with a very modern outlook. They've yet to even release their debut album.





Sudden death of stars

I never thought that a year after I first heard them I'd be seeing them play in a small bar in Rennes in front of a home crowd alongside Orval Carlos Sibelius. One of the absolute musical highlights since starting the vive le roq blog.

French acts at the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia.

Some great French bands playing in the UK this weekend at the Liverpool International Festival of
Psychedelia.

Several favourites of this blog take to the stage of the UK's most technicolor two-day event.

Tonight sees Zombie Zombie and Saturday's bill includes Moodoid and Orval Carlos Sibelius, along with Sudden Death of Stars.

All great bands that I have featured extensively over the last few years and months here at Vive Le Roq, and great to see them all playing in the UK again. Hopefully it won't be too long until they play somewhere I can see them easily.

Dzens of other bands play at the event, serving  all manner of fresh sonic madness.

Rennes based Sudden Death of Stars made the track The Break Up available as a free MP3 recently, a track from their All Unrevealed Parts of the Unknown collection that was released earlier this year.

Review: Sudden Death of Stars - All Unrevealed Parts Of The Unknown

I've been a fan of Sudden Death of Stars since I caught their debut album Getting Up, Going Down and it
was a real pleasure to catch them live in December in Rennes last year, one of the (many) highlights of the visit to the city during the Transmusicales and Bars en Trans events.

It doesn't get much better than a great band in a packed venue in front of a local crowd.

So I was looking forward to their new release, All Unrevealed Parts Of The Unknown, which came out last month on Ample Play Records. Although when you look forward to a release there's always a bit of a worry that it doesn't quite live up to expectations.

But no worries here, this collection hits the spot and more.

The Void opens with a languid early Pink Floyd feel, all sitars and wide spaces, but the's a more muscular garage vibe to other tracks.

It's a psychedelic collection for sure, but Sudden Death of Stars don't get too hung up on recreating the past.
Nor are they too worried about whether or not it's what the 2014 hipster feels they should be listening too either. It's playful and fun, exactly like it should be.

All Unrevealed Parts Of The Unknown stand as a colourful and imaginative work of any time, whether in the West Coast of the USA in 1965 or on the West Coast of France in 2015.

Time to get an order in for a copy on vinyl.

Fingers crossed that their next one is a double or triple vinyl full-on concept album.

Sudden Death of Stars: Live in the UK

This weekend and next week sees audience in the UK getting the chance to see one of France's finest new
bands live, with Sudden Death of Stars playing a number of dates across the UK.

The Rennes-based psych pop act are playing ahead of the release of their new album All Unrevealed Parts of the Unknown on March 11.

It's their second album, and it comes out on Ample Play Records, a label set up by Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres of Cornershop.

I saw them live in December in Rennes during the Bars en Trans festival, and their carefully-crafted studio work certainly retains its charm in a live environment.

They are in Liverpool at the Shipping Forecast tonight, Feb 28, Edinburgh The Wee Red Bar on Saturday March 1 and in Glasgow at Stereo on Sunday March 2.

Dates continue at Manchester Band on the Wall on March 4, Bristol on March 5 and London's The Old Blue Last on March 6.

They play Halifax Doghouse on March 7 and Preston The Ferret on March 8 before heading over to France, where they play a number of shows including one in Paris at Espace B on March 14, and homecoming show at the 1988 Live CLub in Rennes on March 15.

The Sudden Death of Stars: Inside Out and Halcyon Days

Two new tracks from the forthcoming Sudden Death of Stars album, which is due out on March 10.

The band, from Rennes, were one of the bands I was lucky enough to catch live on my recent visit to the city, when they played as part of the Bars en Trans festival, an event that takes place in bars and nighclubs across the city at the same time as the Rencontres Trans Musicales festival at the Liberté and Parc Expo events.

Bars en Trans was a much lower key event, but with a vigorous lineup of acts at a wide variety of venues.

While the acts may not have been as widely known as the likes of Stromae,  the smaller venues gave a much-deserved platform for emerging talent.

Sudden Death of Stars were one of the bands I managed to catch,  and I have to say I was pretty surprised as I was listening to them towards the end of 2012, never imagining I'd have the chance to catch them live on their home turf a year later.  A real pleasure.

Anyway, their new album -their second- All Unrevealed Parts Of The Unknown comes out on Ample Play Records, with live shows in Liverpool (Feb 28) and March (March 4). They play in Paris on Friday March 14 and in Rennes at the 1988 Live club in March 15 if you're lucky enough to be in the area.

You can listen to two tracks here on the Quietus website.