LE LOUP

During certain periods in life, creativity goes beyond serving as an outlet for dealing with stress, beyond being a welcome distraction, and becomes a compulsion. It is at this moment, when creation starts to bridge the gap between superfluity and intrinsic necessity, that some of the best art is realized. For Sam Simkoff, the creative force behind Le Loup, a similar cathartic tumult resulted in The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium Assembly.

Created during a time of personal crisis, The Throne is a cataclysm, an escape, and a journey. Inspired largely by Dante's Inferno (also a journey conceived by a man in a time of crisis), here an emotional catacomb is traversed circle by circle. From Dante come apocalyptic scenes, rendered from personal feelings of hopelessness and impending disaster. Descent and escape are the central themes of "canto i" and "canto xxxvi", which take their titles from the first and last chapters of the Inferno, respectively.

Simkoff encountered the works of both Dante and another artist, James Hampton, during the initial writing of the record. The Throne takes its title from a piece of folk art that was meticulously built over the course of nearly fifteen years by Hampton, starting in the '50s. An engulfing homage to another heavenly realm, Hampton was a harried, outsider artist who kept his work a secret in a shed adjacent to his home. Consisting of 177 individual pieces that were painstakingly assembled from everyday objects, Hampton's throne became a delicate shrine to the transcendent.

More than a thematic influence, Hampton's work served as a model for pouring personal turbulence into work in a frenzied manner. Le Loup also takes the subtitle of album centre piece "le loup (fear not)" from the crown jewel of Hampton's throne, a placard at the top of his work wrought of tin foil, urging the viewer to "Fear Not". This hopefulness, in the face of uncertainty and despair, shines through on the epic album closer "i had a dream i died."

The complex themes of The Throne are characterized by mounting tension and dramatic swells, coupled with an engaging emotional resonance that lifts just as much as it illuminates. Simple melodies plucked on a banjo are buoyed by keyboard lines, improvised percussion, and sometimes as many as a dozen overlapping and intertwining vocal tracks, creating a complex and lush soundscape which shrouds itself only long enough to surge into hugeness. Conceptually abstruse while remaining fundamentally personal, The Throne is a collection of rushing narratives that connect the individual struggle of each of us to the death of the universe in a manner that is both intimate and unshakably vital.

Le Loup is:
Sam Simkoff - banjo, keyboards, vox
Christian Ervin - computer
Mike Ferguson - guitar, amp, vox
Nicole Keenan - keyboards, french horn, vox
Dan Ryan - bass, percussion, vox
Robert Sahm - drums, percussion
May Tabol - guitar, vox
Jim Thomson - guitar, amp, vox

LE LOUP - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millenium General Assembly

1. Canto I
2. Planes Like Vultures
3. Outside of This Car, The End of the World!
4. To the Stars! To the Night!
5. (Storm)
6. We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!
7. Breathing Rapture
8. Look to the West
9. (Howl)
10. Loup (Fear Not)
11. Canto Xxxiv
12. I Had a Dream I Died

Download We Are Gods! We Are Wolves! from here

Press

'Crazy title, crazy band? Well, yes, if you consider a banjo - Le Loup's instrument of choice - to be evidence of zaniness. But Sam Simkoff, the Washington DC resident responsible for most of the music, can't be taken lightly. His banjo is the rudder of a sound that finds a home for hypnotic psychedelia and electronica - in the most beguiling way. Some tracks are as simple as Breathing Rapture, with its banjo, xylophone and vocal; others have layers of reverb and effects; still others derive their impact from a kind of hymnal stillness. It's such an attractive mix that song titles such as We Are Gods! We Are Wolves! seem charming rather than pretentious' **** The Guardian
'This LP of ambitious home recording inhabits a similar magical folk-pop realm to Sufjan Stevens with its mandolins, exultant choirs and exclamatory song titles..' **** Uncut
"thumping drums, horn accents, monkish harmonies, and a spunky indie rock shine near the end elevates this song well above new weird Americana" Pitchfork
"jubilant 'n' skittering bumps, low-bit percussion, hand claps, the slight shadow of a Spacemen 3 guitar burst, bells and sighs" Stereogum Band To Watch
'when all seven members squeezed on DC9's tiny stage and filled the room with joyous noise, it was clear why they've gotten so far so fast" DCist
'Free of the rehashing and genre splicing that draws so much of our attention these days, The Throne... is a record quietly aiming for heights far above anything dared by the majority of young musicians currently making the rounds. It’s the sound of a singular vision coming into focus, taking bits of the everyday and creating something all together familiar yet eerily alien in the manner with which it looks towards the future. Densely layered in execution, Simkoff’s The Throne.., just like the work it takes its name from, is one of those rare creations that ingrains itself further and further into your psyche with each and every listen' 9/10 DrownedinSound
"Le Loup's hazy charms really resonate in the dog days of August " Washington Post

Touring

21 Feb 2008 CrawdaddyDublin with School of Language
22 Feb 2008 La MaroquinerieParis
23 Feb 2008 Festival La Route Du Rock, le Palais du GrandSt. Malo
24 Feb 2008 6PAR4Laval
26 Feb 2008 Le Grand MixTourcoing
27 Feb 2008 Le BotaniqueBrussels
28 Feb 2008 SoundstationLiege
29 Feb 2008 L'Autre CanalNancy
03 Mar 2008 L'UsineGeneva
07 Mar 2008 L'EmporiumRouen
12 Mar 2008 SXSW (march 12 - march 16)Austin, TX
18 Mar 2008 The EarlAtlanta, GA
19 Mar 2008 Local 506Chapel Hill, NC 20 Mar 2008 The BarberyPhiladelphia, PA
21 Mar 2008 The Black CatWashington, DC
23 Mar 2008 The Mecury LoungeNYC
24 Mar 2008 Union HallBrooklyn, NY
25 Mar 2008 T.T. the Bear'sCambridge, MA
27 Mar 2008 Waldron Arts CenterBloomington, IN
28 Mar 2008 Schuba'sChicago, IL
29 Mar 2008 1st Ave.Minneapolis, MN
02 Apr 2008 Holocene, portland, or
06 Apr 2008 The Casbah, San Diego, CA
12 Apr 2008 The College of William and MaryWilliamsburg, VA