Lesoir go epic on a twenty-minute journey entitled Babel.

Release Date: 10th February 2021

Label: Bandcamp

Format: limited LP / digital

We’re big fans of Lesoir here. Now, under the title of Babel, Lesoir presents its first epic – a 20 minute and 20 second journey on which the band shows itself from its most melodic side, deepening the sound of their previous album Mosaic and pushing their creativity.

The lockdown period of 2020 saw them begin work on something that would become an ‘interim project’ for the band. Recorded at various locations in South Limburg (NL), the resulting extended piece of music almost inevitably grew into a full-fledged addition to the band’s already existing repertoire.

Babel sketches the experience of the disaster year 2020, in which nature takes back what has been taken from her through pandemics, forest fires and floods. Using the story of the Tower of Babel as a metaphor, a powerful epic emerges from a fragile song, after which the atmosphere changes and escalates into a musical explosion.

It’s a bold piece from the band who let their hair down and explore many moods and atmospheres through a series of musical passages and instrumental flights of fancy, taking them well beyond the song format. Not only that, Babal finds them roaming in and around exciting and adventurous new areas.

Ingo Dassen of Lesoir says this about the release: “After our 5th full-length album Mosaic was received internationally with great acclaim, the global pandemic threw a spanner in the works of our live shows. But the creativity and motivation to be ready when we were and also to keep challenging ourselves creatively even in times when everything went against us was so strong , that we just retreated in the height of the global crisis to see if we could make a whole out of all the little musical ideas in my and Maartje’s heads. No expectations, just being together in our bubble for a week, not worrying about the rest of the world but focusing completely on ourselves. I think that is what Babel radiates.

Yes, the world is on fire, but for us, 2020 was also a year of joy, new life, a re-evaluation of what is really important in our lives. And we wanted to capture this personal, emotional and sometimes all-consuming year. For later, for us and for you.”

Whta’s great about Babel is to see the band working their chops into such an extended piece. The opening vocal passagecould easily come to a logical conclusion, but with a little Doors-y tikling and a hint of Tull-y flute, we pick up again and go with the flow into a more intense and heavier part. Yes, there are the Floyd influences a(check out the huge solo about three quarters in) s the music is allowed to breathe and hang around combined with the sense that there could even be parts worthy of songs by themselves, but credit to Lesoir for having the ambition to do some stitching and experimenting. There’s lots to appreciate including an intense disembodied voice that ups the urgency of the theme.

You can see the official short film by Lesoir and Crystal Spotlight here, AND…here’s the one-time-only performance of Babel live, together with friends Ferry ‘Punto’ Duijsens, Janneke Meessen, Eurasia Quartet, Ramon Reijnders, Camila Cipoletta.
 

Lesoir’s Babel is available on vinyl, handmade and limited to only 250 pcs. Each piece is numbered and on request signed by the band.

Lesoir: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube

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