"Méandres"
New Thot EP Out
Thot already released their new EP on March 11th. The three songs "Euphrate", "Bateleur", and "Sleep Oddity" are available digitally and on CD. Under the direction of Thot founder Grégoire Fray, the post-music collective has once again created something unique.
I already posted a teaser for the record on the blog in December – Now you can finally listen to it in its entirety.
If you are already familiar with Thot, you will probably notice Grégoire's, in this case, French lyrics. The amazing Juliette Mauduit supports him. The voices of the choir Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices additionally enriched the track "Euphrate". This suits the band, which otherwise tends more towards the industrial niche, very well. The harmonious vocals make a beautiful unity with the raw sound of the collective, turning it into something completely new.
"Méandres" lives from its contrasts
It is probably also the strong contrasts of the other two tracks that create the perfect overall picture that emerges when listening to "Méandres".
"Méandres" stands for a series of even and winding curves within a riverbed or watercourse. Thot use it to describe their personal journey. In other words: their development as a band. Grégoire wrote the songs for the EP before the world sank into the virus crisis in March 2020. The sound eccentric uses it to express his love for electronic basslines and heavy guitars.
The album kicks off with Thot's collaboration with The Mystery of The Bulgarian Voices. "Euphrates" is about women fighting for their rights. In the second track, "Bateleur", named after a tarot card, Grégoire switches back and forth between French and English. The bassy piece gradually develops into a special kind of hymn. While the tempo slows down towards the middle, Juliette Mauduit's voice slowly takes over. Finally, the ballad-like "Sleep Oddity" is all hers. The song is about sleepless nights and astrophysical confusions. Gloomy guitars and present keyboard leads prepare Grégoire's entry, which finally becomes one with a bath of feedback, reverb and noise.
"Méandres" was made by Grégoire Fray (music, lyrics, guitars, keyboards, programming and lead vocals), Juliette Mauduit (additional vocals), Gil Chevigné (drums arrangement and performance), Michel Thiel (percussion performance), Stéphane Fedele (bass) and the singers of The Bulgarian Voices Gergana Dimitrova, Violeta Marinova, Sofia Yaneva, Mirela Asenova, Daniela Stoichkova, and Elichka Krastanova (choir in "Euphrate"). Thibault Dupont did the engineering and mixing at Gam Studios (Waimes, Belgium), Dada Studios (Brussels, Belgium) and Renewsound (Sofia, Bulgaria). Jules Lechien was the recording assistant. Frederic Altstadt of Ångström did the mastering. Grégoire Fray and Michael Thie created the artwork.
You can find my interview with Grégoire here. Download and streaming options for "Méandres" can be found here.