I’ve been quite obsessed with post-all-kinds-of-things oriented music lately, and according to my bygone and upcoming scribings, that won’t be changing anytime soon. There’s just something within those openly interpreted and undefined genre frames that I thoroughly enjoy, and I guess that’s enough of an explanation really. Today, I’ll be digging deep into the essence of the Spanish trio Le Temps Du Loup, and their vibrantly emergent musical entanglements.
Le Temps Du Loup was founded in Madrid in 2010, describing themselves as post-nada. They have been dwelling in the instrumental realm through a handful of releases, the most recent one being the full-length Cardinal from 2018, and an accompanying single “Karellen III – Epilogue” from earlier this year. As fortune has it, I stumbled upon them few months back, and it was clear right away that I needed to feature them here. I’ve said it before, but if there’s a bright side to self-isolation and huge amounts of excessive time to waste, it’s the chance to discover new music and really indulge in it.
‘Initially, the idea with which Le Temps Du Loup came to be was to create a project with no voices (we had bad experiences in previous bands), and to form a group with the minimum number of members to make everything as easy as possible. With this initial idea we started to work and shape the ideas we had in mind. It was a path of trial and error and also of learning to work on songs where the voice was not the main thing and create structures that were interesting and fun to listen and play.‘
The first example of the band’s focused attention to details, structures, and instrumentation free of dictating voice arrived few years later, in the form of the… well, conveniently named EP 2013. Albeit a tad rough around the edges, the incipient vision and the distinct writing style were there right from the start. Granted that it wasn’t my introduction to Le Temps Du Loup, all the ingredients that later morphed into a rather delightful course, are apparent on it.
The meal metaphor frankly sits well in the context of this style. You have something light and rousing as an appetizer, then a robust and nuanced entrée drenched in wild flavours you need a moment to really grasp, proceeding to an oh-so-sweet and thrilling dessert to cap off the experience. It’s all thought out and nothing’s arbitrary or left to speculation. In the same way, it’s structured, designed, properly put into practice, and full of joy. Broadening that framework into other things with similar effect, we quickly get to the subject of influences and impulses outside of music. Even though there’s no words to go with it, the musicians still draw their stimulus from somewhere, to be ingrained with the music itself.
‘Everything around us influences us to a greater or lesser extent. Our city, our day to day, the places where we travel, what we live when we go on tour, the books we read, art, cinema, etc. It’s difficult to show how all of this influences you in the music you create, especially when there are no lyrics, just music, but all of the things we mentioned affect our mood and we believe that this is reflected in the music we make. Moments like those that we are all living with this pandemic will have a great reflection on what we do next.‘
Fast-forward a year, and the band’s second effort Jauría was released. This is where Le Temps Du Loup jumped few gears and things really got interesting. The opener “Iranian” kicks in with a feedback swell and driving rhythmic section, bringing a smile to my face every time. Introducing more impactful sections and partly sliding to a prog territory at times, the track relents to a more customary post-rock passage, only to suddenly shift back into atmospheric heavy beating with hints of sludge and doom here and there. All that might sound scattered and being all over the place, but once you hit play on it, it’s clear that isn’t the case.
The other tracks live within the same, evolving and unpredictable space. Despite implementing characteristics from a variety of sources, they’re all contained and molded into Le Temps Du Loup‘s habitude. Even though there was only a hair over year between Jauría and the debut, it sounds like the gap would’ve been far longer, solely because of the compositional and creative growth.
‘The creation process has been changing over the years, but the biggest change we started to experience since Álvaro joined the band. Initially the songs were very focused on bass and guitar riffs and we paid little attention to the rhythm and development of the songs. With him we have learned to compose in a different way. In fact, the evolution we are experiencing from Jauría to Cardinal is largely due to him. Progressively we started to analyzing each part more and learned to create parts that flow much better with each other. On the other hand, Álvaro, apart from being a good drummer, also plays the guitar and also provides many ideas. Long story short, it is all more collaborative.’
Speaking of being collaborative, Le Temps Du Loup‘s next release was the single “Por La Mitad”, that originally appeared on a label compilation/sampler by Nooirax Producciones. The track is like an independent expansion into the sonic tableau the band began to paint on Jauría. It also stands out like a second thumb as one’s pinky, since it includes vocals for the first and only time in the band’s career so far. And with the emphasis being on even more experimental approach than its precursor, “Por La Mitad” feels like a logical conclusion for the first stretch in Le Temps Du Loup‘s history.
I view the band’s discography in a way where the first three releases form a coherent musical arch that, despite being integral and essential in the bigger picture, has a life of its own. This sentiment stems mainly from the fact that after “Por La Mitad”, the group took three years to perfect their newest album in a lunatic and meticulous fashion leaving no room for chances or fortune. And that method bore fruit like never before.
That fruit eventually took the shape of six monolithic pieces that together formed the entity that is Cardinal. Here the band has found their own sound – their honest self – that could be heard knocking just around the corner on the previous efforts. Goes without saying that bands who pop out from the rest, strive endlessly for exactly that – their own sound. It’s not something that you can force, nor is it something that would happen strictly naturally either.
‘We believe that the goal of any band is to grow and evolve as musicians and songwriters. Although that idea is always there, it is not something you can force. At least in our case, that doesn’t work. Evolution has come naturally as we have got to know each other as musicians and as people, when we have lost the fear of receiving ideas from another member and leaving the egos behind and when you understand that any evolution involves collective effort and great exercise of trust between the members of the band. Part of the evolution that we achieved with Cardinal comes, as we said above, from the incorporation of Álvaro and from doing a more collaborative work, in which the three members are key pieces.‘
Cardinal is easily Le Temps Du Loup‘s greatest work to date, as if that wasn’t cleared out already by my previous comments. The band weaves majestic and emotional soundscapes in a manner that comes across as effortless, even though that most certainly isn’t the story behind them. Birth pangs are part of the business, and the trio got a firm grasp of just that throughout the album’s creation process.
‘It was a very frustrating process at first because it seemed like we were not going anywhere. “Eulerian”, which was the first song we wrote for Cardinal, took us a year to finish. At that time we were turning around the structure, the central riffs, etc. Once we complete that song, it seemed that we took off all the weight and fear and then the rest was born in a matter of months. Although it is true that there was a lot of work both on and off the premises. We spent many weekends turning ideas and structuring everything. We had many interesting ideas. We are very proud to have been able to shape all that material, although until we saw it recorded we were not aware of the potential of all the songs. Looking at it with the perspective of time, it was a time full of great enthusiasm and many insecurities, too.‘
The group’s honest about the trials and errors they faced along the way, and even if the album itself flows seamlessly in its final form, it’s also quite easy to understand that the material isn’t the kind that just magically happens and comes together overnight. In fact, I personally think that bands and artists alike should be more straightforward about these matters. Don’t get me wrong, a good chunk are very open about the throes affiliated with artistry, but that aspect should still be brought to broad daylight more often, if not for else, then to underline the fact that there’s no tricks, sorcery, or easy answers to anything when it comes to creating music.
But underlaying or overbearing concepts are one of the few things that you can plan. Now, the results of the realization of any plan always vary, but if it hits home, it usually does that particularly well. Such is the case through the entire experience of Cardinal, but it can be specifically cropped to two tracks on the second half of the album. “Karellen I – Contact” and “Karellen II – Ascension”, are what could be described as conjoined and intertwined narration, just like their names suggest. These tracks grow and advance in perfect unison, presenting not only the prime of the album, but also utilizing the finest and most refined assets Le Temps Du Loup are offering to us at the moment.
It’s fascinating that this multifaceted notion didn’t actually even reach its end on the album. Well, initially it was supposed to, but it didn’t. A month ago, the band released “Karellen III – Epilogue” as a standalone single, that still connects to its previous parts on a deep level. This guitar-driven installment is constructed of swelling ambiances, developing moods, and a surprisingly cinematic approach. And a whole lot of reverb. Like, a lot.
‘The idea of structuring “Karellen” as a two-part story, initially was because we came up with many ideas that fit together and after giving it a lot of thought, we believed that it could work as two separate but totally coherent parts, with a beginning and a development, although we gave it an open ending. With all the time we have been confined at home, we started talking about the idea of ending this story. And working from a distance, we composed and mixed it. We believe that it is a worthy closing for this story, in addition to reflecting very well our state of mind at the moment. It has also helped us to learn to work differently, without the need to go to the rehearsal room (although we recognize that going to rehearsal was something that we missed a lot. We have returned to rehearsing together and it’s very gratifying). It is also a small stylistic evolution within our history. We took one of the darkest tracks we have and turned it into a more ambient mood.‘
Returning to my thoughts expressed few paragraphs ago, the whole isolation/quarantine/cancel everything situation ransacking the globe at the moment perhaps yields at least some positive results. I’ve said that indulging with music is definitely a plus, but maybe people everywhere will also understand bands and their ordeals more in the future. It’s not like you could take anything music related for granted to begin with, but a lot of people tend to do that, and I hope that could be converted to past tense after all of this is over.
Bands who have the capacity for it, have grabbed the bull by its horns and make the most out of the spare time now suddenly on their hands. Le Temps Du Loup did just that as well with the new “Karellen” movement, and managed to do that in a way where the result adds value to their output, rather than being from the stripped down jam-ish corner of the ‘quarantine files’. I asked the band that how they’ve coped with the current situation and the constantly changing climate in the music industry, and our thoughts clicked together quite well.
‘We don’t think about that much, really. Right now it is very difficult to predict an scenario for the upcoming months. If there is something everyone can learn from the new situation is that our supposed stability and all that was being taken for granted, was not as real as we thought.‘
And as you might’ve expected, the group wasn’t safe from getting all their plans messed up either, though they’re still hopeful, which is refreshing with all the negativity surrounding us all at the moment.
‘Right before the pandemic we had just started composing new material after finishing Cardinal‘s presentation dates. Also, our plan was to record new material by the end of the year and we are still aiming on that. With a little bit of luck, and if the pandemic lets us, we will have a new album by the next year. Also, a couple of remaining concerts have been postponed to September, but still remains to be seen. For now we are going step by step, trying not to frustrate ourselves with uncertain plans, given the current situation.‘
There is always hope. That thought might appear as more abstract than it should at the moment, but it’s something we all should consciously reach for now. Le Temps Du Loup has managed to capture this vista in their music ever since their debut. If you have already listened to the tracks embedded on this article, you know what I’m talking about. The prevailing atmospheres are partly bleak and drenched in sadness, I’ll give you that, but there is always a strong, positive undertone present. And if you have no idea of what I’m babbling on about, I snort towards you and politely ask you to dive into the post-everything grandeur that is Le Temps Du Loup. You can do that on their Bandcamp, and don’t forget to follow them on Facebook as well.
That’s about it this time. Unsurprisingly, we drifted to the strenuous end of things again, but believe me when I say that I, and literally everyone else in the world, are looking forward to be able to hold up a conversation without dwelling in matters concerning the pandemic and the turmoils it results in. I honestly tried to end on a positive note, but that didn’t really go well, now did it? So, I’ll let the band take care of that.
‘We would like to thank you for giving us this space to talk about our music. It is an honor and a relief to come up with people discovering and enjoying our music. Thanks to all those who has bumped into us, and supported us, and those who has sent us messages of encouragement, especially during the last couple of months. Take care of yourself!‘
