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Youri Defrance — Ley Lines Blues (Wigwam Live Mt Lozère)
((Not on label) no#, 2024, DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2024-10-18

Ley Lines Blues (Wigwam Live Mt Lozère) Cover art

Here we have a somewhat puzzling release. The artist is Youri Defrance, but it appears as if he is performing as Wigwam, or maybe in a Wigwam, but there is not much information available. The album title is Ley Lines Blues (Wigwam Live Mt Lozère). Mont Lozère is a massif in the Cévennes National Park, a subrange of the Massif Central in France. And for those of you unfamiliar with the term, ley lines are straight lines drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites, and prominent landmarks, which believers argue were recognized by ancient societies that deliberately erected structures along them. In other words, believers think that these ley lines have mystical powers. So in the depths of the night, at the top of Mont Lozère in a dome-tent-wigwam partly built with his hands, shamanic blues musician Youri Defrance captured the raw essence of his art in an extended live recording Ley Lines Blues (Wigwam Live Mt Lozère). This was a mammoth undertaking for both Youri and now the listener as the six tracks span a total of 2 hours 10 minutes, the shortest at 11:30 and the longest lasting 41:26! The album is basically two compositions with three parts each: “New Moon” and “Full Moon.” Apparently the music was performed as two performances in November 2023, one during the new moon and the other during the full moon. “New Moon” is the first three tracks, and there is no hint of an audience. However, at the conclusion of “Full Moon Part I” there is some applause from what sounds to be a very small audience — you can’t fit a whole lot people into a wigwam. Now to the music itself... Youri plays acoustic guitar, Mongolian filddle, other acoustic instruments, and some minimal percussion with wordless singing interspersed with throat singing. Youri’s shamanic chanting and guttural vocals are inspired by his travels to Mongolia and Eastern Europe. The music is constantly shifting with the rhythm remaining the only constant. These had to be very exhausting performances. There are moments when some beautiful acid folk melodies emerge as if from behind clouds. Over the course of these extended sessions, I am reminded of Sergius Golowin’s cosmic Krautrock masterpiece Lord Krishna von Goloka, Americana singer songwriter country blues, Tony Conrad’s Outside the Dream Syndicate, and the Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo chant. Never boring, the continual shifting across different genres (blues, jazz, country, music of the steppes, and aboriginal rhythms) makes for an enjoyable listening experience, though you do have to invest a significant amount of time to fully appreciate the music.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Youri Defrance

More info
http://soundcloud.com/wildhouseblues/sets/ley-lines-blues-wigwam-live-mt

 

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