Our columnist Francis Zégut reveals his selection of albums. This month: Sleep Token, Madi Diaz, Slift and Trevor Horn.
Francis Zégut also shows you the destinations of his road trips.
Sleep Token – Take Me Back To Eden
On December 16, 2023, we went to the OVO Arena Wembley to see the Sleep Token concert. In front of the room, a merchandising truck selling T-shirts, hats, posters; an hour in line in order to leave with the memory of the moment. The first surprise is the number of young girls and women: almost half of the audience or even more! Having been on my show since January last year, Sleep Token fascinates, amazes, surprises with complex melodies, colliding worlds, metal and urban; it is progressive, fusion; it is neo-Gothic like La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, luminous and tortured, dizzying and unfinished. Vessel, the leader, had voice problems during four tracks, no matter, the audience sang in unison. Come on, I say it loud and clear, live, it’s crazy! Take Me Back to Eden, by Sleep Token, is my album of the year 2023.
Madi Diaz – Weird Faith
Madi Diaz has been in the game since 2007. She studied at Berklee College of Music, and during this time met Kyle Ryan, a guitarist from Nebraska. A pretty range, beautiful compositions, sometimes a country feel. Let’s be honest, it’s not that original, but it can be listened to endlessly, it’s cozy. She even opened for Harry Styles, again, to the point of becoming a musician on his tour.
Slift – Ilion
Here is Ilion, the third album of the Toulouse group Slift, music-fiction, zik for Klingon. Beyond the language barrier, exchanges inside the Enterprise take place through psychedelic shifts. The Stargate opens and sends us straight into Ceremony, by Pierre Henry & Spooky Tooth; it’s 1969, I’m 16, it suits me well.
Trevor Horn – Echoes Ancient & Modern
There are guys who have THE business card; guys who created, innovated in the musical field, Trevor Horn for example. Bassist, producer, he joined forces with Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley, it was 1979 and the Buggles released “Video Killed the Radio Star”. “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, from Yes, that’s him. In 1983, he founded his own label and the world discovered Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Propaganda and, later, Seal. Echoes Ancient & Modern revisits Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Yes, Joe Jackson… The guests are Iggy Pop, Seal, Tori Amos, Steve Hogarth from Marillion and many more. Nostalgic style exercise? Thanks for the music, Trevor Horn.
This column by Francis Zégut is available in our issue 159, available on newsstands and via our online store, with the cover of your choice. Choose between Bob Marley or Green Day.
