Tag: Les Flâneurs Dark Souls

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Italian Act Les Flâneurs Teams Up with Alice Greco on a Folksy Road Trip Anthem

Initially starting his music career as a member of Italian indie band Il Disordine delle Cose, Alessandro “Alex” Marchetti is a multi-instrumentalist and producer, and the creative mastermind behind the rising solo recording project Les Flâneurs.

Deriving its name from the French word for “stroller,” “lounger,” “saunterer” or “loafer,” Marchetti’s Les Flâneurs can trace its origins to when the Italian multi-instrumentalist and producer began writing and recording material that possessed a much different vibe and feel from his primary gig: Sonically, Marchetti’s solo project meshes elements of trip hop, electro pop and folk while featuring lush orchestral arrangements and samples.

Interestingly, Marchetti has viewed his role in Les Flâneurs as part director and part producer. And much like a film, individual talents team up to bring material to life and improve upon it — or to create something entirely new. With his new solo project, the Italian multi-instrumentalist and producer has collaborated with an eclectic array of up-and-coming international artists including
Italy’s Carlot-ta, Sweden’s Hanna Turi and Brazil’s Priscila Ribas among others.

The past year has been an extraordinarily busy year for Marchetti: After releasing the attention grabbing debut single, the trip hop-like “Dark Souls,” he released his full-length debut A Long Season earlier this year — and to cap off a big 2020, he released the standalone single “On y va.” Featuring Alice Greco’s plaintive vocals over a lush and folksy arrangement of strummed, shimmering acoustic guitar, plucked banjo, shimmering bursts of twinkling keys and a soaring hook, “On y va,” is a road trip anthem that celebrates freedom — the freedom of being on the road, the freedom of youth and so on. Sonically, the new single is inspired by an unusual guitar tuning that Marchetti heard in a Grizzly Bear song. “I wrote the lyrics as I was traveling at the time, not just in a car, but inside my soul, exploring every day a new unknown part of myself,” Greco says of the song’s lyrics.

Shot in the Italian countryside at golden hour, the recently released video follows a young woman who hitches a ride into the city, to meet up with a dear friend. The two young women get tattoos together, meet up with other friends for drinks and conversation. If it wasn’t for the disorientating impact of the pandemic, everything about this particular video is a reminder of the bliss and passion of youth.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Les Flâneurs’ Trip Hop Inspired Debut

Alessando “Alex” Marchetti is a multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work in Italian indie band Il Disordine delle Cose, an act which has released three albums through Quite Please and Warner Chappell Music.

Marchetti’s solo side project Les Flâneurs — Les Flâneurs  in French means “stroller,” “lounger” “saunterer” or “loafer” — can trace its origins to when the Italian multi-instrumentalist began writing and recording material with a different vibe and feel from his primary gig; but with artists he had met while as a member of Il Disordine delle Cose. Sonically, the project’s sound features elements of indie electro pop, indie electro folk, complete with synths, drum machines and orchestral sections.

Interestingly, Marchetti views his work with Les Flâneurs as part director, part producer, in which everyone brings their talents to create — or improve upon the material. So far, the Italian producer and multi-instrumentalist has collaborated with an array of up-and-coming internationally based artists including Italy’s Carlot-ta, Sweden’s Hanna Turi and Brazil’s Priscila Ribas among others.

Marchetti’s Les Flâneurs debut single, the slow-burning and contemplative  “Dark Souls,” is centered around a sparse and atmospheric production featuring twinkling piano, stuttering beats and Alice Greco’s haunting and expressive vocals. Indebted to 90s trip hop — in particular Dummy-era Portishead and Massive Attack, the song manages to possess a chilly and air,  evoking a walk in a brisk and clear night.