Cheval De Frise

Description

A "cheval de frise" is a defensive structure. This is the name Thomas Bonvalet and Vincent Beysselance chose for their duo, creating anxious, agitated music with perpetually changing, almost baroque motifs. Urgent, emotional, and paradoxically structured and meticulously thought out, it draws heavily from the various forms of 90s American post-hardcore while immediately asserting an undeniable uniqueness. Their lineup is instrumental, with the bass forgone in favor of an amplified classical guitar, giving it its identifiable sound. In a French musical landscape where rock and guitar music no longer excite, Cheval de Frise is a surprise. In 2000, the band entered the studio to record their eponymous debut album, released a few months later on the Bordeaux-based label Sonore. It was enthusiastically received, leading Cheval de Frise to tour throughout Europe. The following record, "Fresques sur les parois secrètes du crâne," was recorded in 2002. The band broke up in August 2004 and posthumously released the mini-album "La Lame du Mat." In the years that followed, numerous instrumental, energetic, fast, and complex bands emerged worldwide under the "math rock" label. But Cheval de Frise retained a unique quality, marked by a certain anachronistic romanticism. Remastered by Carl Saff, "Cheval de Frise" is re-released on the Computer Students label (New York).