L’Effondras are back with a palate cleansing two song EP called ‘EP’

French instrumental ambient post-rock three piece, L’Effondras, just released a two track EP on October 31, called EP. The record comes four years after the release of their last record, Anabasis. Pierre Lejeune, the band’s guitarist, sat down with The Gateway to chat about the release. 

“We didn’t put them on the previous record because we weren’t satisfied with them,” Lejeune said. “They were too different for the album and we weren’t very satisfied with the mix.” 

After remixing the songs themselves, “taking time and trying new things,” they felt it was ready for release. They didn’t love the vocals, and they were looking for more ambience. 

And this ties to the band’s roots, and decision to be an instrumental outfit. “We wanted to make something easy and hypnotic. We wanted to stay on the same riffs and have slow progressions. Always being simple, but then adding a few things. We didn’t want to have anything very upfront,” Lejeaune explained. 

The band’s inspirations reflect this too, Lejeaune noting Slint and Earth as early inspirations, but now, there are no inspirations that guided the new release. 

Lejeune said that while they weren’t conscious about it, the new release is more accessible and has “a bit more pop. [But], the lyrics for example are a bit disturbing and there is something strange and weird about it.” 

“This EP is very, very unique in our discography,” Lejeune says

L’Effondras have no current plans to play the songs live, and more so, just wanted to cleanse their palate before going into their next project. 

The release is mainly a studio experiment, Lejeune said. “This EP is very, very unique in our discography,” Lejeune said. The songs, recorded in 2019, were actually composed seven years prior, in 2012. Lejeune said that, with their age, they’re wanting to move on from them. 

Lejeune said they’re hoping to record their next record next spring. And, on their upcoming record, he said it’s going to be very different from this project. 

“I don’t want to go in the same direction of the EP but continue in the spirit of the [Anabasis]. [But] it’s hard to point out what might be different before we record it,” he explained. 

On a technical level, they are looking to change the instruments, have a lower tuning, and have a more raw sound. More of a continuation of Anabasis. 

As a whole, Lejeune wants listeners of EP to be surprised by it. But, he maintained that he doesn’t want listeners thinking the band might maintain that sound. “It’s a curiosity. Just something we made in the meantime,” he said.