PLANCHETTES Bio 2019
A crackle of electricity. A surge of adrenalin. A whole lot of noise and ass-shaking. In these fake and fractious times, the unerring power of rock ‘n’ roll has never seemed more vital or necessary. But just in case the world needs a reminder, New Orleans’ Planchettes are here to reacquaint us all with the greatest invention of the 20th century. A fiery but finessed power trio with hearts full of swamp blues, rockabilly, ‘60s psych and primitive post-punk, Planchettes are both a twanging, horror-tinged throwback to a pre-digital age and a jolting shot in the arm for today’s thrill-hungry rock scene.
“The type of music we play is just an extension of the unbridled raw emotion that lies right beneath the surface of our skin,” says bassist Tralita. “Whether it feels elated or distorted or sloppy or scared or harmonious or angry or sexy or manic or like a revelation from the divine, we are all these things. The music is the vibrations of our energy. A primal scream. The blood that feeds. I personally have always been attracted music that leaves no doubt in my mind that humans have a soul. Songs that show teeth.”
Soon to be released through Rise Above Records, Planchettes’ self-titled debut album pulls off the shrewd trick of saluting rock ‘n’roll’s formative years while also sounding fully equipped for the 21st century and heroically cool as fuck. This is righteous, rebellious and rampaging rock ‘n’ roll.
“The Planchettes sound is very deliberate and unique,” adds vocalist/guitarist and chief songwriter Kevan. “We try to capture a certain dramatic feeling, much like a period piece film or a play tries to immerse its viewers in a world of its own. Whenever a Planchettes song is written, it’s produced with each player in mind, complementing our strengths and strengthening our weaknesses. All three members have very different musical backgrounds, but together we complement each other perfectly, thus creating the Planchettes sound. But above all, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll!”
Recorded over an unexpectedly arduous six-month period, Planchettes is an album born of struggle but blessed with fizzing momentum and seductive charisma. From the rollicking soul-rock of opener Snow Pig to the fidgeting space rock stomp of Everyone Else, Kevan, Tralita and drummer Andres Orozko are versatile but ferociously focused, with an abundance of killer riffs, gleaming hooks and an irresistible sense of controlled chaos emanating from every short, sharp burst of voodoo punk euphoria. These are simply great songs, played with priapic vigour and rendered in deliciously primitive sonic shades.
“Planchettes pull a great deal of inspiration from ritual and mythology,” Tralita notes. “Our live performances feel like nothing less than a ceremony, a mass, a purge or even a sacrifice. Recording the album was an epic adventure with many heroic battles being fought on slippery inclines. Fortunately for us, our fearless leader Kevan is a master of recreating sounds from the ‘60s and has the amazing ability to find the equipment that best suited our desired sound, and then the patience to figure out why it wouldn’t always work.”
“Although the sound we love and obsess over from the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll was strictly analogue by engineering standards, it was also the only standard!” says Kevan. “The Planchettes sound is a healthy mix of analogue with other modern variations of technology thrown in, purely out of sheer accessibility and practicality. We did a combination of half live recording, half multi- tracking for this record. I think we get our point across clearly.”
With shades of everything from The Cramps and The Birthday Party to the Small Faces and the Groundhogs, Planchettes’ first full-length makes no apologies for its debt to the past. But there is an urgency and grittiness to Planchettes songs like snotty Mod-stomp La Fin Du Monde and the thuggish psych ’n’ blues of Mourning Sun: these are songs designed to wake the world up and drag them to the Devil’s dancefloor. Having found their natural home at Rise Above Records, New Orleans’ sharpest and coolest new band are ready to plug the rest of us in to their voodoo rock mainframe too.
“Most songs I write are thoughts and emotion that I’ve processed as a sort of therapy and put onto paper,” the frontman explains. “But on a simpler level, I write what I think will get people moving. The spirit of rock ‘n’ roll has always been an uncontrollable force in a person’s soul, and I love watching people twitch and gyrate to a song that I’ve written.”
“We’re very much excited about the future of Planchettes!” Tralita concludes. “We hope to for the band to become our vehicle to tour and experience the world at large. We want to take our gospel and spiritual meltdown on the road and shake up the skies!”