Esper Division
A two-man Montreal band — Francois-Jean de Brienne (melodies) and Alexandre Jean-Claude (rhythms) — that performed live with lyrics sung over tracked pieces; "no handle", the band's name is the name. The single source is DennisC's "Faces in the Crowd" interview of October 1995 — printed in traxweekly #29 as Interview #5 of the short-lived separate "Faces In The Crowd: The Publication", the issue in which the column was folded back into the newsletter (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division).
Facts#
- De Brienne, 26 and married, had tracked for three years without releasing; the band "went public with MC3" and placed 11th in the veteran section (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division; see compos).
- Style "techno-esoteric or techno-gothic — sort of orchestral stuff with a beat"; influences Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode, Front 242; tracking taken up after hearing skaven as "a cheap alternative to producing good-sounding music" (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division).
- Shows are "the main purpose": the tracker as backing band under vocals (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division; see live-tracking).
- Listed among the 1995 regions of the scene as its Montreal representative (see tracker-scene-history); the band "got into tracking after hearing skaven's work" (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division).
- De Brienne's eleven years of violin lessons serve composing and critical listening — classical training "enables you to listen with a more critical and learning approach"; half the scene's output "basically sucks" because people start without musical background; #trax is "too political"; advice: "Eat three times a day and sleep at least 4 hours" (source: s-tw029-faces-in-the-crowd-esper-division).
Related#
live-tracking · compos · skaven · traxweekly · kal-zakath · tracker-scene-history