A chance meeting in Paris between noted blues/rock guitarist Sylvain Laforge and New Yorker Angela Randall was the catalyst for ‘LUX’, now known as LUX the band, an electrified alt-folk rock sort of outfit who are building on the success of their debut album, Super 8 with their second, very well-received album GRAVITY – all analog recordings that were produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Peter Deimel at Studio Black Box, France.
Having played the big festivals and all the major venues in Paris with Les Rita Mitsouko and other bands, LUX the band is a more intimate affair for Laforge and one where he is no longer the guitar-for-hire but, as he puts it, ‘the boss’. A strong believer in the purity and tradition of American blues, Laforge felt an immediate chemistry with Randall’s understated lyrics and, shortly after their first meeting, they were writing songs and gigging together.
Imagine Natalie Merchant wandering into Villa Nellcote when the Stones were recording Exile on Main St. and you’ll get a flavour of who they are and that seductive allure of punchy guitar and wounded lyrics. Laforge feels strongly that all songs should work with just guitar and voice and, similarly, Randall’s spare lyrics tap into that same traditional aesthetic uncomplicated by layers of production or studio gimmickry. As an acoustic duo their songs and performances were the gentler side of Americana but first after the 2014 debut 5 track EP and then the first full album Super 8 , LUX the band began flaunting a distinctly rockier sound. The group returned to the studio to record tracks for their second album, GRAVITY, which was released on 9 December 2022. GRAVITY has received an incredible reception from the independent press and radio. Recorded live, showcasing Laforge’s consistently stunning guitar work, these full-band recordings – now with Amaury Blanchard on drums joining Julien Boisseau on bass – not only breathe new life into their repertoire but reveal great promise for new songs, new performances and new followers.
The release concert for GRAVTY was held in Paris at Café de la Danse on 17 March.
A new EP of 5 tracks recorded live in the studio, “Before Night Falls – The Black Box Sessions”, was released digitally on 12 January 2024.
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