Capitol Vision

Description

In his new album, Talisco bares his claws and toughens his tone; it's time for assertion: stinging guitars, metallic strings—never mechanical—blasting electro, and indie-pop anthems. The artist returns from his American journey, deeply marked. "Capitol Vision"? His new electro-rock visions, vital. He observed the City of Angels from the heights of Mulholland Drive, above the urban canopy, "to contemplate the city's brightest lights." To shed light on himself. Talisco's second album, "Capitol Vision," illustrates his past three years: his Californian immersion, his love story with L.A., tours all over the world, and more introspective dives in the studio. His new, vital visions. Talisco in radical mode. "Direct," the artist prefers to say, as he bares his claws and toughens his tone. It's time for assertion: stinging guitars, metallic strings—never mechanical—blasting electro, and indie-pop anthems. He returns from his American journey, deeply marked, much like the opening track of the album, "A Kiss from L.A." A burning kiss, a bite. "It's a rawer album than the last because I'm telling stories I actually lived; there's no fantasy, no fictional characters, no fake Talisco—it's my reality." A man in the city, not in the American dream. Colors. Like Dennis Hopper's film, Talisco, the "street artist" with musical brushes, has created an urban fresco rich in colors and full of humanity. It deals with shadows and light, a mad race ("The Race": "One day, someone told me I hadn't even crossed the starting line but was already negotiating the turn at the finish area! It's true, I live life full throttle; it's my making and my undoing...") and a retreat far from the world of men ("The Martian Man"), of demons and specters. Of burning the candle and even fighting against death, with three tracks dedicated to a loved one who passed away in 2015. "In the song 'Behind the River,' I fantasized about his journey to the afterlife to make things more beautiful, softer, more acceptable..." An unconventional gospel, without a chorus, with a shroud of synths and guitar tears. In "Sitting with the Braves," a psych-rock trance with feedback cracks, he fights the grim reaper in his own way: "She hovers around his room; we close the shutters, we barricade ourselves so she can neither see nor take him..." Ghost dance. If he's no longer running, Talisco remains resolutely in motion. As much a storyteller as a storyboarder, the musician-director creates sumptuous backdrops and records according to the light of day or night, between sunsets and downtown club neon lights, from L.A., New York, or Berlin. He strikes his Fenders, makes the fuzz scream, and weaves intricate patterns on old analog synths (Prophet and Jupiter), without falling into rock clichés or binary urgency. Taking the time to find the right tempo. Throughout the album, Talisco navigates between wild riffs and lush orchestrations, saturated shouts and choral chants. Caresses or kicks. Global vision. Like a studio alchemist, Talisco has assembled hypnotic electro Legos, twisting and distorting sounds; he even tinkered with his Fender Stratocaster to make the beast roar: "I've laid my sounds a bit more bare and used a lot of samples that I exploded in every direction, much more than on 'Run,' for a more direct, more animalistic result." He also enlisted the services of one of the top US talents, Jaycen Joshua (3 Grammy Awards and many stars on his hunting board, including Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Iggy Azalea, Snoop Dogg, Little Dragon, etc.) to mix the album. "'Capitol Vision' was born from a desire to be whole; I didn't want to be polite," summarizes the artist, who joyfully employs counter-rhythms and sample feints. It's also a "live style" record, marked by the fever of the past three years of touring. "Giving space to the instruments, above all not stifling their character," magnifying without embellishing... From his home studio, Talisco gazes at vast expanses and draws his own world map. We know that whether their butts are on a cloud or their noses stuck in our earthly affairs, angels live in another dimension.