8 Tracks: That Inspired ‘The Tourist’ – Housse De Racket

This song is a massive hit but we started to listen to XTC quite late, around 2013. We’re huge synth lovers but first and foremost, we’re a guitar and drum band, and to us, all the energy of this song is contained between the very distinctive and efficient guitar riff and the massive sound of the drum (even if it was the bass player who wrote that track!)
So when when we rediscovered this song, while we were broadening our horizons, we felt that it was exactly the kind of sound we wanted to enrapture.
But… creation has its secrets and inexplicable paths, so at the end of the day I’m sure we don’t sound like XTC at all!

Everything has been said about Fleetwood Mac – they are undoubtedly a fascinating band. From the UK blues era to the Californian hits and early ’70s psychedelic tunes, they always had something very special. Amongst the hits, there are a large amount of weird tunes and innovative sound ideas.This song by Lindsey Buckingham is a bit odd but very emotional at the same time, and we don’t know why but we feel that the chord progression of this track sounds a little bit French, like Air would do.
Funny story: I was searching for this LP in Paris but instead I found it in a tiny second hand market at my father’s place in tiny village in South France!

Jazzzzzzzz. It’s not so often that pop oriented bands quote jazz bands in their influences but we’re both jazz lovers (well… not all jazz, we’re not that old… yet).
Most of all, it’s the rhythm of this tune who really amazes me. Maybe it’s drummer speak but I really feel there’s real magic in the way the pattern is built. For a lot of musicians who loves synthesizers, Herbie Hancock is an inevitable reference point. At some point, I was a bit over it but now I’m really into to his older stuff (before electronic era.)
The title is also great, and fitting of ‘The Tourist.’

It’s really hard to make great songs only using major chords, and even harder with only three of them, but this song achieves just that. We have always been impressed by bands who sound laid back whilst managing to communicate emotion and beauty. The way Alan Vega sings is so perfect and we were really into his rockabilly/new wave voice last year (his solo stuff is great too).
Anyway, it’s always a good lesson to hear great minimalist music, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

This song is like a mantra. It’s naive and deep at the same time and the more it builds throughout. In the end you can visualise this ‘Big City’. As for the Suicide song ‘Dream Baby Dream’, only major chords are used which bother us because we thought only minor chords were taken seriously. To be continued…

We’ve always loved reggae music. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it now but our very first band was a funk/reggae band. Yes. Don’t ask why, there’s always been a lot of reggae bands in the suburbs of Paris, still a mystery to us…
Steel Pulse are an English band and this reggae music sounds different. It sounds like London, not Kingston. We don’t have any Lion of Judah tattoos but we listen to this record quite often.

We discovered James Blake’s music at a show he played in Paris and it was quite an experience. It sounded empty but filled us with an inner strength at the same time. Starting almost in near silence, the song finishes with great chaos. To us, it’s rhythm and blues music from the future. Very inspiring.

During the writing of our record we thought we invented our very own kind of funk music. We called it ‘funk 3000’: crunchy drums, hand percussions, falsetto vocals, synthetic & fuzzy horns.
Well, we guess it’s exactly what Beck tried to do with this record taking himself for Prince…in 1999! The circle is complete.