Mermonte was created a few years ago in the mind of the composer and multi-instrumentalist Ghislain Fracapane. He wanted to write pop songs inspired by the great artists of previous generations (The Beatles, Jim O' Rourke, Gastr Del Sol, The Beach Boys, The Cure, Steve Reich, Tortoise) as well as the contemporary scene (Efterklang, Sufjan Stevens, The Redneck Manifesto). With help from his network of friends and musicians in Rennes, France, the young thirtysomething began to record his first album in 2011. He performed almost all of the instruments himself (voices, guitars, bass, glockenspiel, drums, percussions, trumpet, keyboards).
But Mermonte was not destined to remain the project of a single man in a studio and quite soon, the question of how to reproduce these complex symphonies on stage emerged. The quality of the compositions and the arrangements of Ghislain attracted the interest of his musician friends. Ten instrumentalists, coming from the most diverse disciplines (from classical music to death metal, as well as punk rock and even gospel), began to rehearse at the beginning of 2012 for a first concert at the Jardin Moderne (Rennes).
Not only friends were present at the concert, but also most of music professionals of the area, having heard of this new exceptional band. The concert was a success and word of mouth, amplified by social networks, soon led to an increasing buzz about the project. A series of concerts followed, the growing public were enthusiastic, and the band won the hotly contested awards “Inrocks Lab” and the “Tremplin des Jeunes Charrues” in 2012; the blogosphere became excited, and the release of the first album soberly entitled Mermonte (Hiphiphip Records/ Les Disques Normal) brought critical acclaim from the media (Magic, France Inter, FIP, and Inrockuptibles, …).
In this first work, Ghislain Fracapane and Mermonte invite the listener to explore the shores of a sparkling melodic pop, with modern and sophisticated arrangements, complex but accessible. This is a fairy tale journey into an intriguing and beautiful universe. A mix of French and English, post-rock and instrumental pop, repetitive music and pastoral folk song, somewhere between Saint-Malo, London and Chicago, right in the middle of the ocean as a matter of fact, with the horizon clear as far as the eye can see.
But it will take more that this growing success to calm the creative enthusiasm of Ghislain Fracapane and his crew. The man is not the kind to rest on his laurels, so he is already getting down to work writing new songs. New compositions are taking form and the first demos of what will become the second album of Mermonte are being recorded on tour or at home, between concerts. The demands of stage performance are having a considerable influence on these pieces, and Ghislain’s rising fame is giving him the confidence to experiment with the sounds. The instrumentation has become even more varied with clarinets, flutes, saxophones, vibraphones, xylophones and timpani all invited to join the party.
The new recordings showcase the creative excitement of Mermonte, the mixing and the production values are generous and all encompassing. We can hear the influence of Can, Alice Coltrane, the records of the cutting edge label Touch, but also the punk and the catchy pop of Block Party. The album is dedicated to Ghislain's friends, who influenced him in music and in other aspects of his life. Songs bear the names of each one of them. All this will be revealed in May, with the release on the Parisian Record label Clapping Music (Orval Carlos Sibelius, Yeti Lane, Ramona Cordova), an album which is already one of the most awaited albums of the year. Mermonte have every intention of fulfilling these expectations.
