FAUVE BLIZZARD [VIDEO]

Well, this song would actually mark the very first FAUVE EP, titled Blizzard - out 20th May. For the moment, however, the guys from FAUVE have released an eponymous song from the EP. Yes, that means it is also called 'Blizzard'. But they've only released it in video form. Not that that's a problem at all - it's a good video, and it seems to fit in with the whole theme of the song. In fact, if you wanted to get down into the real nitty-gritty of it, you could say that the song could not exist without the video - especially since the first time hearing this song is in conjunction with the video. It's almost as if FAUVE wanted that to be the case.

And if that were true, would that mean that FAUVE were more of a creative collective than a band? Well, yes. They profess themselves to be a 'project' and indeed count themselves a group of five musicians and one videographer. This means that they can present their music in a way that no other band can, really, without employing somebody else to film the video for them. It means total creative control and an ability to express whatever sentiments you want to in the video for your songs. You can, basically, make them fit. In any case, this video for 'Blizzard' is certainly an interesting way to offer up what is essentially the first single from their first EP. I wrote about their song 'Nuits Fauves' in December and instantly fell in love with their sound - what I didn't know is that they had no 'official' releases yet. So on, roll the months... and here we are.

Watch and enjoy. (it's in French btw).

There's an urgency in the vocals of the song, the mile-a-minute spoken-word/rap, frantically spitting out venom against what they call "le blizzard" - the blizzard, everything that's in the way of your desire to do the things you want to do; essentially, the blizzard is fear, obscuring a rational view of the future. But the song basically says to be not afraid of it. In so many words. It ends with 'nique sa mère le blizzard' - basically, 'fuck the blizzard' - and 'tout ça c'est fini!' - 'all this is over'. So, by turns and twists, the song gets from being afraid of the blizzard to being brazenly unafraid of it. It's all about dignity, standing up your own two feet, fighting boredom, doing what you want to do, determination, clench-your-teeth-and-do-it, take-a-leap kind of stuff. A nice message. Intense video to go with it.

As for the music itself, it's a gentle hip-hop beat with a set of strummed guitar chords - very effective for providing a base for the vocals which seem to be saying everything. It gets increasingly louder before the breaks, reflecting the torment in the lyrics, perhaps. In any case, it's an interesting sound and one that FAUVE initially caught my ear with - it's nice to hear that they're sticking with it, to be honest.

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FAUVE NUITS FAUVES

This might not exactly be the newest thing on the block at the moment, but it's certainly new for me. Well, new-ish. I've been meaning to post this song for ages - you know how it is: stuff gets in the way. Normal.

Anyway, this is FAUVE, self-confessedly more of a 'project' than a band. Although, according to the information on their website, they started out as just three musicians (friends with a desire to express the pathos in their lives), FAUVE now - after many people have joined the project in some capacity or another - count themselves as five musicians plus one videographer.

As for expressing themselves, emptying the overflowing mind, FAUVE seem to have no trouble with that at all. Of course, it's why they got together in the first place. This song, 'Nuits Fauves' (or 'Wild Nights' in English), illustrates perfectly what the band are all about: creating empathy within their listeners. The lyrics this particular song expound on the fear and desire that come hand in hand with the slightly vacuous nights out 'on the prowl' that certain generations of many countries and cultures experience. Luckily FAUVE display lyrics to all of their songs, so you can sing along.

But it's not singing. It's speaking - kind of. It's almost equivalent to the kind of rapping that Mike Skinner does in The Streets. But with this style it's much easier to get emotion across, in the way you speak, rather than with singing which of course always has to stick to a melody. The music fits the mood of the song perfectly, or makes the mood, with a cyclical guitar riff that meekly stretches like a cat in the background as a hip-hop rhythm beats along, in a kind of bleak pastiche of gangster rap. Wonderful atmosphere and dynamic here.

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Like FAUVE on Facebook
Follow FAUVE on Twitter
Watch FAUVE on YouTube
Visit FAUVE's official site