French Prog Ensemble Yang Release Highly Anticipated 3rd Album “The Failure of Words”

Founded by Frédéric L'Épée in 2002 (previously founder of the bands Shylock in the 70's and Philharmonie in the 90's), Yang is an instrumental quartet which compositions melt guitar counterpoints, odd time signatures, New Music with a hint of oriental modes all together with a powerful rock pulse.

Their new opus, "The Failure of Words", is a touchstone in Yang's evolution. This album, unlike the others, aims no more to sound like in live situation but is a musical process itself. The idea behind the project was to express the inability, as human beings, to really communicate with our species, always experiencing conflict, disharmony and delusion. Only art, love, are able to convey our deepest feelings and ideas. Words failed us.

Says Frédéric, "This album could be taken as a book made of illegible words. As we give up searching for sense, we may hear music speaking its own language."

Recorded in different studios then mixed and produced in Berlin by Markus Reuter and Benjamin Schäfer, the album "The Failure of Words" has been built for a recording. Not only rough guitars here, but also different keyboards, acoustic guitars, some special sound treatments, and a very dedicated and sophisticated production.

The artwork chosen for the album is by Bruno Mendonça, to whom Frédéric dedicates the song "Babel Inside", and whose work is in a big part inspired by the deprivation of communication, the impossibility to deliver a message. Bruno passed away in November 2011 before Frédéric and he could give shape to their collaborative album project.

Musicians:

Frédéric L'Épée: Guitars, Keyboard

Laurent James: Guitar

Nico Gomez: Bass

Volodia Brice: Drums

Yang's 1st CD, "A complex nature", released on Cuneiform records in 2004, has been recorded in 3 days, in a conscious attempt to harness the power and spontaneity of live performance. Frédéric L'Épée and Julien Vecchié were on guitars, Stéphane Bertrand on bass and Volodia Brice on drums.

The line-up changed for their 2nd album, "Machines", released in 2010. Frédéric L'Épée and Volodia Brice have been joined by Nico Gomez (Björk, Roy Hargrove, Snow Boy) and Laurent James (Lord of Mushrooms). This new line-up appeared to be quite different from the previous one. Nico, mainly a jazz and Latin jazz bass-player, and Laurent, a Metal and Prog-Metal guitarist, gave a brand new twist to the atmosphere of Yang's music and their collaboration marked a turning point in the band's work. The sound evolved towards a more energetic "nu-jazz" style, with the same raw sound (yet adding a touch of electronic here and there).