!! Many news !!

 

Here they are !!!

    This is what my "secret project" was all about ! My spring animals have been made in collaboration with the little shop Harjun Paperi in Jyväskylä, Finland. And here is the result, four brand new postcards. On sale in the shop since Tuesday and on their Facebook page, these postacards have already been sent to reprint ;)

I am really, really happy about this project because I loved painting those animals and most of all, I'm happy I've been trusted. And it seems it has success ! :)

For those who don't live in Finland and would be interested in buying one of or all the cards, you can leave me a comment or just send me a mail to the adress at the right top of the page : justinef.illu@ymail.com

I have some in stock myself ;) 

    And to make this experience even greater, I have been offered just a bit more than a week ago to settle an exhibition along with two other classmates of mine. We are all studying Finnish in this "school for adults" but the same building include also no other than the main library of the city, which is also the main library of the whole area of Central-Finland ! It started on Friday the 6th and will stay until the 20th. It is a real pleasure, albeit a bit of pressure, to expose there :)

    But because two never comes without three, I have a third great piece of news to announce.
I have been invited this year again to a meeting around the book, organized by the bookshop La Portée des Mots in Salon-de-Provence, France ! These adorable people had welcomed me already last spring to present my work and sign my freshly released book.
This meeting starts at 10, on the place down from the castle, and it's going to be amazing I'm sure ^^ I can't wait to be there !!!

 

INKTOBER ! (Part.3)

 

    I know... We're not in October anymore... But anyway, some of those were made while it was STILL October and I will still try to reach the 31 drawings, if my imagination can hold until then :)

It will also be a matter of do I have enough time to do it with all the new things that are adding up lately in my life. Not to mention projects I have for such a long time in mind and for which it's time to move on !!

Actually, all these 4 drawings have been inspired by my environment. And I mean... Really inspired. Of course inspiration comes all the time from everything but it was when looking at what was around me that I was instantly transpose them into a black and white drawing. My favorite may be the one with the bird, because that view was so lovely and so graphic, if I may. It's possible that I wanto to do it again, in a better and more precise way, and with some colors. What do you think ? :)

 

   The first drawing has been inspired by the autumn leaves that literally cover the ground on mornings I'm working. They're from all shapes to all colours and it creates such a lovely patchwork.

   The second drawing is absolutely nothing else than descibing in my own language what I saw one afternoon while going to walk. A bird in the middle of this skinny but lovely bush...

   The third one is more or less a painted reproduction of a picture that can be seen in the booklet of the album Ghosts of Loss, by Swallow The Sun. The photographer is Tuomo Lehtonen.

   And the last picture is after a vision I had of the moon one night. It was a big, very colored half-moon, and I could see as if it was lemon slices... With its border really brighter thatn the rest, and quite thin. So that was my interpreation !

And so here you were for the explanations :)

On the road... To a new story

   Aujourd'hui, je vous offre un post un peu spécial puisque très personnel.
En ce jour du 23 Octobre 2015, cela fait très exactement 4 mois que je suis partie à l'aventure. L'aventure de ma nouvelle vie.

Depuis ma Provence natale, j'ai rabattu le frein à main et roulé jusqu'en Finlande, mon nouveau pays. Allemagne, Danemark, Suède... Autant de merveilleux paysages qui m'ont accompagnée durant ces deux jours et demi de voyage. Je voulais en partager donc quelques extraits ici, sous une forme assez modeste mais à laquelle j'ai réfléchi pendant pas mal de temps.

Je n'ai que peu de choses à rajouter à ces photos, si ce n'est qu'elles ne sont qu'une infime partie de toutes les merveilles que je découvre et vis chaque jour. Et certaines de ces merveilles sont des sensations tellement intimes qu'elles ne peuvent pas être photographiées, mais elles n'en sont pas moins intenses, bien au contraire.

Je ne pense pas prendre trop de risques en disant que je suis actuellement plus heureuse que je ne l'ai sûrement jamais été :)

-----------

   Today, I'm offering you quite a special post since it is very personal.
In this 23rd October 2015, it's been exactly 4 months that I went onto an adventure. The adventure of my new life.

From my native Provence, I pushed down the break and drove all the way up to Finland, my new country. Germany, Denmark, Sweden... As many wonderful landscapes that were alongside me during those two-day-and-a-half-long trip. I then wanted to share some extracts of it here, under a rather modest shape but about which I thought for quite a long time.

I have barely nothing to add to those pictures, except for the fact that they are only a tiny piece of all the wonders I am discovering and living every day. And some of those wonders are so intimate sensations that they can't be photographed, but they are not less intense, that's all the opposite.

I think I don't take too many risks by saying that I am currently happier than I have ever been :)

 

Olen onnellinen ja rakastunut :)

Dévore-Livres à Pélissanne !

 

 Hier, c'était le salon du livre jeunesse à Pélissanne, celui-là même pour lequel j'ai créé l'affiche des "mots à la louche". J'y ai animé un atelier avec les enfants, où ils ont pu dessiner leurs propres lettres-animaux. Et puis j'ai aussi dédicacé mon livre ! Et fait de belles rencontres.

En conclusion, j'ai passé une journée magique sous un grand soleil d'été !

Je remercie encore Jocelyne, Fabien, Juliette et toutes les personnes qui travaillent à la médiathèque et au service communication de Pélissanne pour m'avoir permis de vivre toutes ces belles choses, de la création jusqu'au salon :)

----------

Yesterday, it was the children books' exhibition in Pélissanne, the exact one for which I created the "mots à la louche" poster. I've animated a workshop with children there, where they could draw their own animals-letters. And I've also dedicated my book ! And met lovely people.

In a nutshell, I've spent a magical day under a bright summer sun !

I thank once again Jocelyne, Fabien, Juliette and all the people working in the library and in the communication service of Pélissanne for having allowed me to live all those lovely things, from the creation up to the exhibition :)

* Online shop ! *

   Je ne l'avais pas encore fait ici, alors il est temps pour moi de vous présenter ma petite boutique en ligne sur Society 6 ! Et pour fêter ça, jusqu'au 7 juin, en cliquant sur le lien ci-dessous, les frais de port sont gratuits pour toute commande (hors encadrés, toiles et horloges). Ce qui fait économiser environ 10€ par article :) Une nouvelle image devrait arriver en objets dérivés d'ici la fin de la semaine pour les intéressés ! ^^

http://society6.com/justinef?promo=JFYFZKVQY8HB

-----------

   I hadn't done it here yet, so it is time for me to introduce you my little online store on Society 6 ! And to celebrate, until the 7th of June, by clicking on the link below, shipping costs are free for any order (except framed, canvases and clocks). Which makes save about 10€ by item :) A new picture should arrive among declined objects by the end of the week for the ones interested ! ^^

http://society6.com/justinef?promo=JFYFZKVQY8HB

More Reflections, more Realizations...

   Une bonne nouvelle n'arrive pas seule dirait-on... Le tout premier album de Wicked Breath est désormais disponible en pré-vente !!! Vous pouvez envoyer votre demande, en proposant le prix que vous souhaitez et sans aucune restriction, à :

sailittorinse@outlook.com

Les 10 premières commandes recevront une édition limitée digipack fait main :) En attendant de faire votre choix, vous pouvez écouter GRATUITEMENT quelques ou toutes les chansons de l'album à ce lien : 

http://wickedbreath.blogspot.fi/2015/05/realizations.html

Mes préférées à moi, pour le conseil, sont Drowning, Precipitation et The White ^^
Et en bonus ci-dessous, bien sûr quelques images des illustrations que vous trouverez dans le livret ^^ Parmi beaucoup d'autres !!

Alors écoutez, partagez, appréciez !! :)

-----------

    Good news don't come alone, so would it seem... Wicked Breath's very first album is now available for pre-order !!! You can send your request, naming the price of your choice and without any restriction, at :

sailittorinse@outlook.com 

The first 10 orders will receive a hand-made digipack limited edition :) While waiting for you to choose, you can listen FOR FREE to some or all songs from the album at this link :

http://wickedbreath.blogspot.fi/2015/05/realizations.html

My personal favorites are, for advice, Drowning, Precipitation and The White ^^
And the bonus below is, of course, a few images of the illustrations you will find in the booklet ^^ Among many others !!

So listen to, share, enjoy !! :)

** Crystal clear **

 

Pour célébrer le mois de Février ainsi que l'arrivée d'une petite vague de froid qui se faisait attendre, voici quelques semi-macro de gel, au petit matin :)

Et demain, c'est vacances pour moi ! Je croise les doigts pour avoir une vue au moins un peu enneigée lors de mon séjour !! See you soon !

----

To celebrate the month of February as well as the arrival of a little coldness wave that was highly awaited, here are a few semi-macro of ice, at dawn :)

And tomorrow, holidays for me ! I keep my fingers crossed for having at least a little snowy view during my journey !! See you soon !

 

LIBERTÉ (2)

(Version française dans le précédent article)

Today's post will follow a somewhat different shape from what I usually do. Because the events I have to share are all important to me and are tied up under one and only theme : freedom.

Meaning of freedom is quite a wide concept and may gather at the same time independance, lightness, self-awareness, emancipation, but most of all choice. Having the choice to live one's life the way one intends it to be.

 Almost a year ago, I was signing my first publishing contract for a children book project. This project, if you've browsed this blog, you know about it. Indeed, during the children book exhibition in Montreuil last year, I met a publisher who was interested in my end of studies album, my reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast. And it happened that I would then have to continue the work in order for the book to be publishable, which means that I had to produce quite a number of furthermore illustrations.
I had a very hard time with this project, for several reasons.

Seven months passed by in between the end of my studies and the meeting with this publisher. During that period of time, I worked on my drawing, I've been aiming at making it evolve. I started developing other projects that were really tempting me, I've been aiming at finding my own identity outside school. And this identity, it was NOT my end of studies project. Besides, the perspective of diving back into something that was definitively over in my mind had made me reluctant. Erasing for one moment everything I had started to build and going back to this old style that wasn't looking like me that much afterall.

 Likewise, when I had evaluated the amount of work it would require, I had realized that the next four following months of my life, at least, were about to be dedicated to this project and that I wouldn't have the possibility to move on with something else. Of course, this is what an illustrator's work is about and normally I would have been pleased, but this statement associated with my first point dived me into a long and tiring adventure, where my personal evolution has been on standby.
So today, this is with an intense feeling of lightness that I announce you that my work on this project is now OVER. On this Friday, January 9th of 2015, I returned the set of works I had started to do research into in June. The intensity of these last four months finds at last its balance and here I am, relieved from my school past.
I then hope that all of my energy will find echo with readers and that the pleasure to see my first album in bookshops will erase the difficulties I met during its creation :)

Here goes my first feeling of freedom. A huge weight lifing up and most of all, the possibility of moving on, of exploring, of chosing the path I want to follow.

----

I will keep myself evasive on the following point as it is very personal, but I still wanted to include it in this post since it completely matches the theme.
Since the end of my studies, I have needed to feel myself evolve, to commit to a new adventure that is maturity and responsability. Not everything went the way I would have hoped and little by little, I kind of implanted deeper and deeper roots, feeling like paralyzed and blocked in a space-time, witness of the world's evolution around me and without me.

A little more than a month ago, a buried thought that I had judged unreachable got back to the surface. And I then took a decision that will change quite a lot of things in my life to come. I simply realized my huge need for a new air, to carry out a demarcation between what is my teenager/student life and what is to become my adult life.
As soon as I set this finality, my prison started to fade out. I now have an aim, a personal achievement to reach. And even if I know that my fears will still be there on the way leading me to it, my freedom lies on the idea of feeling understood and supported and most of all on the idea of now knowing where I am going to.
And in order to prepare this new air, I will already allow myself a few holidays in two weeks, calmly, in the city of Annecy, that I can't wait to discover :)

Here goes my second feeling of freedom, the one of now having a goal that I've decided on and that will, I know it, allow me to escape and to open up.

----

At last, I wanted to share a few lines considering the events that happened in France two weeks ago. French and non-French, as you probably know, there was an attack on the 7th of January 2015 within the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office.

Beyond the unexplained and unbalanced violence of this act, what touched me the most is the lack of tolerance. The fact of not accepting that a person thinks differently than oneself and expresses it. To attack with weapons people who never defended themselves but with a pencil is, besides, overweening and coward. That we agree or that we don't agree, the newspaper always displayed humor only, towards everybody, but never hate. And those people, under the pretext of beliefs, still violated their principles by encouraging violence. Which makes me believe that terrorism has no religion. It cannot be otherwise. It is only an unstable pretext to hate. There was here a lack of respect towards a religious community but also a lack of respect towards a laic country, which has at the same time no religion, yet embraces them all.
Onto a humoristic note, but still quite serious to me, I share a quote from the character of Yoda in Star Wars : "Fear leads to anger ; anger leads to hate ; hate leads to suffering." Yes, fear can lead to hate and it is hard to resist to that feeling, but succumbing to it would be agreeing that they are right.

Here goes my third and last feeling of freedom. The one that should characterize all peoples. The one that allows to express ourselves, as much as possible with tolerance and with some kind of open-mindedness, and then driving away a collective suffering.

LIBERTÉ (1)

(English version in next post)

L'article d'aujourd'hui va emprunter une forme quelque peu différente de ce que je fais habituellement. Car les évènements que j'ai à partager ont tous une importance pour moi et sont réunis sous une seule et même thématique : la liberté.

Vaste concept que celui de la liberté, pouvant à la fois rassembler l'indépendance, la légèreté, la conscience de soi, l'émancipation, mais surtout le choix. Avoir le choix de mener sa vie comme on l'entend.

Il y a presque un an, je signais mon premier contrat d'édition pour un projet jeunesse. Ce projet, si vous avez parcouru ce blog, vous le connaissez. En effet, lors du Salon de Montreuil l'année denière, j'ai rencontré un éditeur intéressé par mon album de fin d'études, ma réinterprétation de la Belle et la Bête. Et il s'est avéré que je devais poursuivre le travail afin que l'album soit éditable, c'est-à-dire fournir un certain nombre d'illustrations supplémentaires.
J'ai eu beaucoup de mal avec ce projet, pour plusieurs raisons.

Il s'était écoulé 7 mois entre la fin de mes études et ma rencontre avec cet éditeur. Durant cette période, j'ai travaillé mon dessin, j'ai cherché à le faire évoluer. J'ai commencé à développer d'autres projets qui me faisaient envie, j'ai cherché à me trouver ma propre identité en dehors de l'école. Et cette identité, ce n'était PAS mon projet de fin d'études. Aussi, la perspective de me replonger dans quelque chose qui était définitivement terminé dans ma tête m'avais rendue réticente. Effacer l'espace d'un instant tout ce que j'avais commencé à bâtir et repartir sur cet ancien style qui ne me ressemblait pas tant que ça. 
 
De même, lorsque j'ai évalué la somme de travail que cela allait demander, j'ai réalisé que les quatre prochains mois de ma vie, au moins, allaient être consacrés à ce projet et que je n'aurais pas la possibilité d'avancer sur autre chose. Bien sûr, c'est là le travail d'un illustrateur et en temps normal cela m'aurait ravie, mais ce constat associé à mon premier point m'a plongé dans une aventure longue et fatigante, où mon évolution personnelle a été mise en attente.
C'est donc aujourd'hui avec un sentiment de légèreté intense que je vous annonce que le travail pour ce projet est désormais TERMINE. Ce vendredi 9 janvier 2015, j'ai rendu l'ensemble des travaux sur lesquels j'avais commencé à faire des recherches au mois de juin. L'intensité de ces quatre derniers mois trouve enfin son pendant et me voilà délestée de mon passé scolaire.
J'espère donc que toute mon énergie trouvera echo auprès des lecteurs et que le plaisir de voir mon premier album en librairie effacera les difficultés rencontrées lors de sa création :)

Ainsi va mon premier sentiment de liberté. Un immense poids qui se soulève et surtout la possibilité d'avancer, d'explorer, de choisir le chemin que je veux emprunter.

----

Je resterai évasive sur le point qui va suivre car il est très personnel, mais je tenais tout de même à l'inclure dans cet article car il répond complètement au thème.
Depuis la fin de mes études, j'ai ressenti le besoin de me sentir évoluer, de m'engager dans une aventure nouvelle qu'est la maturité et la responsabilité. Tout ne s'est pas passé comme je l'aurais espéré et peu à peu, j'ai comme implanté des racines de plus en plus profondes, me sentant comme paralysée et bloquée dans un espace-temps, témoin de l'évolution du monde autour de moi et sans moi.

 Il y a un peu plus d'un mois, une pensée enfouie et jugée inaccessible a refait surface. Et j'ai alors pris une décision qui va changer pas mal de choses prochainement dans ma vie. J'ai simplement réalisé mon immense besoin d'un nouvel air, d'opérer une démarcation entre ce qui est ma vie d'adolescente/étudiante et ce qui est sur le point de devenir ma vie d'adulte.
Dès lors que je me suis fixée cette finalité, ma prison a commencé à s'évanouir. J'ai désormais un but, un accomplissement personnel à atteindre. Et même si je sais que mes angoisses seront toujours présentes sur le chemin qui m'y mènera, ma liberté se loge dans l'idée de me sentir comprise et soutenue et surtout dans l'idée de savoir désormais où je vais.
Et en préparation de ce nouvel air, je vais déjà m'accorder quelques jours de vacances d'ici trois semaines, bien au calme, dans la ville d'Annecy, qu'il me tarde de découvrir. :)

Ainsi va mon second sentiment de liberté, celui d'avoir désormais un objectif que j'ai décidé et qui, je le sais, va me permettre de m'évader et de m'épanouir.

----

 Pour finir, je tenais à partager quelques lignes au vu des événements qui se sont déroulés en France la semaine passée. Français et non français, vous le savez sûrement, une attaque a eu lieu le 7 janvier 2015 au sein des locaux du journal satirique Charlie Hebdo.

Au delà de la violence inexpliquée et déséquilibrée de cet acte, ce qui m'a le plus touchée est le manque de tolérance. Le fait de ne pas accepter qu'une personne pense différemment de nous et l'exprime. Attaquer par les armes des personnes qui ne se sont jamais défendues qu'avec un crayon est, de plus, démesuré et lâche. Que l'on adhère ou que l'on n'adhère pas, le journal n'a toujours fait preuve que d'humour, à l'égard de tous, mais jamais de haine. Et ces personnes, sous couvert de leurs croyances, ont pourtant enfreint les principes de celles-ci en prônant la violence. Ce qui me fait croire que le terrorisme n'a pas de religion. Il ne peut pas en être autrement. Ce n'est qu'un prétexte bancal à la haine. Il y a eu là un manque de respect envers une communauté religieuse mais aussi un manque de respect envers un pays laïc, qui n'a donc à la fois pas de religion et pourtant les embrasse toutes.
Petite note d'humour, mais somme toute assez sérieuse pour ma part, je partage une citation du personnage de Yoda dans Star Wars : "Fear leads to anger ; anger leads to hate ; hate leads to suffering." Oui, la peur peut mener à la haine et il est difficile de résister à ce sentiment, mais y succomber serait leur donner raison.

Ainsi va mon troisième et dernier sentiment de liberté. Celui qui devrait caractériser l'ensemble des peuples. Celui qui permet de s'exprimer, autant que possible dans la tolérance et avec une certaine ouverture d'esprit, et ainsi éloigner une souffrance collective.

* Eat some fruits !*

En illustration publicitaire, on se retrouve parfois face à des sujets étonnants ! Comme ici, créer une double page de magazine à l'effigie du Programme National de la Nutrition et de la Santé ventant les mérites de la consommation de vitamines !
En plus, l'hiver approche et les vitamines, ça maintient en bonne santé ! (c'était la pensée sage du jour)

Illustration réalisée uniquement en papier découpé, avec réhauts au crayon de couleur sur un fond à l'acrylique. (Le logo du programme a, lui, été réalisé à la gouache)


(Je ressors mes anciens travaux...)


-----------

With advertising illustration, we are sometimes facing surprising subjects ! Like here, creating a two-page for a magazine at the effigy of the Nutrition and Health National Program, praising the merits of consuming vitamins !
Besides, winter is getting closer and vitamins keep you healthy !(that was the wise thought of the day)

Illustration realised exclusively with cut out paper, with colored pencils highlights on a painted with acrylic background. (The logo of the program has been realized with gouache)


(I'm looking into my older works...)

"This is the end..."

 ça y est !!!

Je suis enfin diplômée en illustration ! Après 4 mois de travail, nous avons tous présenté nos projets devant un jury ce lundi. La semaine dernière était réservée à l'installation et la préparation de nos stands en vue des portes ouvertes de l'école (qui ont eu lieu ce weekend), puis de notre présentation finale.

La journée de lundi fut très riche en stress et en émotion. Beaucoup d'attente et de doute. Heureusement que les résultats étaient annoncés le soir même !

Toutes les sections de l'école passaient leur examen ce jour-là aussi, et notre classe d'illustration a rencontré un succès total lorsque nous avons appris que nous avions tous été reçus, et avec un très grand nombre de mentions.

Bref, ces 5-10 minutes resteront gravées dans ma mémoire encore longtemps...

Ci-dessus et après, quelques photos de mon stand... Quelques planches d'illustrations suivront dans les jours qui suivent !

-----------

That's it !!!

 I am at last an illustration graduate ! After 4 months of work, we all presented our projects in front of an examining board this Monday. Last week was meant for the installation and the preparation of our exhibition stands with a view to the "open doors" of the school (which took place this weekend), then to our final presentation.

The day of Monday was very full of stress and emotion. Lots of waiting and doubt. Thankfully the results were announced on the same evening !

All of the school areas of specialization were having their exam on that day too, and our illustration class met a complete success when we heard that we all had passed, and with a great number of distinctions (mentions).

Anyway, those 5-10 minutes will stay carved in my mind for still a long time...

Above and after, a few pictures of my stand... Some illustration boards will come in the following days ! 

It's never too late... !

        


   Le sujet du jour va être un peu plus différent que d'habitude, et surtout les photos que je vais disperser n'auront pas de rapport avec le texte!! En effet, suite à plusieurs évènements, je vais changer de registre et vous offrir mon classement des albums sortis en 2011, ainsi que mes commentaires! Et donc, comme vous allez vous en rendre compte, les photos enneigées qui les accompagne n'ont pas une significations intrinsèquement philosophiques ou je ne sais quoi! Mais tout simplement je n'ai pas eu le temps comme je le voulais de faire un visuel pour l'occasion et comme il a neigé par ici la semaine dernière et j'aime tellement la neige, je me suis dit que j'allais faire d'une pierre deux coups! ^^

Donc voilà pour vous! Et désolée les gens français, mais le classement a été écrit en anglais et je me sens paaas du tout le courage de tout traduire! Mais, mon vocabulaire n'est pas non plus des plus compliqués à comprendre!!

-----------

   The subject of today will be a bit more different from usual, and most of all, the pictures that I am going to spread won't have any link with the text!! Indeed, after several events, I am going to change of genre and will offer you my ranking of the albums of 2011, as well as my comments! And so, as you will realize, the snowy pictures that accompany them have no intrinsically philosphical meaning or something! But it is simply because I had no time to do a visual for the occasion and as it was snowing around here last week and that I like snow so much, I thought that I shoudl take the occasion! ^^

So here for you!

Thrice - Major/Minor

**

  The songs on this album are in general missing of variety and dynamism, and it seems that all of the tracks are following the same pattern, or at least the same ambience, which leads the album to sound pretty long. I noticed two tracks though, Promises and Disarmed, the first one being probably the most vivid and interesting song on the album and the second one, beginning just as the rest of the songs except that around half of it, a beautiful guitar riff comes out of nowhere and brings the little sparkle I was waiting for. Too bad it's the last track of the album...
I wouldn't call it a bad album though, just that the whole delivers no surprise and that, knowing the number of masterpieces on The Artist In The Ambulance, the only album I had from them for a while,  was a bit disapointed by the band. But ah well... They called it quit a few months ago so I won't be too harsh for this last effort of theirs!

 Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra

***

Having never been a huge fan of Limp Bizkit, I would say that this album is in a good continuity of the previous ones - read that I was not expecting anything special from it, I was already more than happy to know that Walking Away would be an official track! All in all, I would say that the songs are enjoyable and really really nice for some... And some others that I maybe wouldn't have minded taking off, but it's still very minor. The only thing is that it is maybe too repetitive in the formula of the songs, and especially since I own the special edition of it with 18 tracks, which ends to be pretty long. But I acknowledge that the absence time of the band was pretty long, so it's really cool I think that they came back with so many tracks, and with such an awesome guitarist * brackets* But I have the feeling that all I'm writing so far doesn't quite justify the 3 stars, so let's try to be more precise! The first time I listened to the album, I have to admit that I liked it but it wasn't for sure a revelation. And it's still not one but it did grow on me and I happened to find really interesting things in almost every songs, and even if like I said before, the formula is maybe too much the same all along, it doesn't prevent that it is a good formula, with dynamics and nice melodies all in all.

+++ - Crosses

***1/2

I didn't know at all what that new project would sound like, but I enjoyed it! The whole sonority is fresh, the mix of electronic and ambient music is quite efficient and Chino Moreno brings the most relaxing side of his vocals to it. And so the result is an EP I like to listen to when I need to concentrate, or when I'm a bit tired or just feeling calm in general... Well, that is to say that it is not for every mood but still good enough to bring nice feelings, and again not the ones I am used to. This Is A Trick is my favorite, as an opening track it creates the surprise and is very dynamic with little elements I haven't found on the other songs. The rest of the EP is more experimental to me, and I mean that it is turning more around the research of new sonorities and maybe minimalism, which is of course not negative at all though! Just that it sounds maybe a little less structured then, and it is longer to get into it. But all in all again, a very enjoyable EP!


Staind - Staind

***1/2

I didn't know much about Staind before, so let's say that I have started my experience with that one album! And it is a very enjoyable one. To me, it is a good album to just relax and take off from the usual bands I'm listening to. And I think that the proof that it is quite relaxing to me is that the songs I tend to prefer are among the most melodic ones, just like Failing, Throw It All Away or Take a Breath. Even if overall it is a melodic album, but with its good balance of beautiful and more dynamic, heavier songs.And I am now thinking more specifically about the song Now, which has a great riff, and not only, since it is also one of the best to me on the album! And well, apart from telling these little things, I have not much more to say! It is for sure not a revelation, neither a deception at all, but really the kind of music I will enjoy listening to whenever I am in a calm mood or in need of calm...

Silverstein - Rescue

***1/2

This is when I heard that album after maybe a couple of listenings that I realized two things: 1) this band really can play KILLING riffs and 2) oh this is so good when the singer lets clean vocals to the profit of screamings! Indeed, the best example is probably showing on the first track, Medication, which has a wonderful introduction and while the tension starts growing and that you feel the explosion coming, this is the typically punk-emo clean vocals that comes in instead... Not that I had minded at all before, I like a lot this band for anything they do, but it went clear to me that on that album, moments when they are the best are when they simply combine their most powerful riffs with screaming... Which eventually comes later on that same first song! And which makes of it anyway a great way to start the album. I particularly noticed as well Intervention, The Artist (it's rare that a featuring song is among my favorites but it happens! Yeaaah, I have a song in mind that is a featuring and is amazing, but I'm getting out of subject now!) and In Memory Of... which is maybe the softest song on the album though but doesn't prevent it from having a really simple beautiful riff that carries you into the song completely. And as it's the last track, we can say that both the opening and ending songs were well chosen! And then, about the other songs, I would say that it sounds like Silverstein for sure, meaning that they are good ones even if maybe less good than some on their other albums. The thing is that they seem to be shy of innovating, which happens to a lot of bands but then, they will keep doing good songs but expected ones!

Earthtone9 - For Cause And Consequence

****
As always with Earthtone9, at least as far as I know, they could find a great mix of beauty and power on this EP! And I honestly don't know much of what to say because this is simply a good continuity of what they can do. Only with four songs, they could keep variety, each song has its own personality, and still the unity is there! My personal favorite is Ghosts, it's really what I mean when I talk about beauty and power. I am not very good at describing a band in their style... It's more towards my own feeling. And I am aware that my feeling is not necessarily the same as others' but still if it does that effect on me, there are chances it could for other people as well. So I encourage you all to check this EP anyway, considering that it is also the first release they had in a long time!

Cave In - White Silence

****1/2

You want some chaos? Then here you go... I only knew Cave In so far for their album Jupiter, released in 2000, and it seems that I have been missing a lot during the 11 years in between! Or maybe not that much while reading the comments of fans about this newest release... It seems that the band came back to old roots (and what heavy ones!) while some of their public are more attached to the softer sound they had built all along these past years and are seeing 2011 as a big change in the musical history of Cave In. I knew them then during their full soft spacy sound, that I appreciate a lot this said, and so when the title track begun, I at first wondered if we were talking about the same band... Brutal, chaotic, a bit uncomfortable and so relieving at the same time... Actually reminding of The Blood Brothers a bit, at least the Guitarmy period. But in a way higher level. I think I honestly held my breath during the first 6 tracks of this album, diving into a wave of pure beautiful heaviness, mixed at points with that typical, almost celestial, sound that is theirs, and by that I'm particularly talking about Sing My Loves, the epic track on the album and my favorite. If it wasn't for the last three songs, this album would have reached a full 5 stars rating...Indeed, those are really unbalanced with the rest of the album, even if the real intruder is by no means Iron Decibels to me. I guess it has good things in it, and it still has to grow on me but the overall sound of this song is closer to trendy pop-rock bands than to what our ears were so happy to receive during the previous 25 minutes. The two others are just way softer but are keeping in a way a good vibe of what at least the band used to sound like. And Reanimation is, I have to admit, a lovely ending track.
But what I will for sure recall from this album is the crazy feeling I got while listening to it the first time, and the mood it still keeps me in now. A really surprising and great album, for all of those who are missing a refreshing heaviness vibe!

Evanescence - Evanescence

****1/2

Wow... So, with Evanescence... I had almost forgotten about them during these past few years, but thanks to the recent crazy re-discovering of a friend, I went back into them as well! And it just happened that they release a new album on this same year! While Fallen is really still an awesome album to me, when I heard What You Want, the first single off of this new self-titled album, I couldn't help but to be slightly disappointed. The song finally grew on me though. But the good news were that What You Want happened to be on a lower level than most of the album to me, making the rest of the songs really great, and for some... Really really really great! We can still recognize the priamary elements of the band, still with an evolution in the style, in the ambience, which is of course only a good thing and what any band should seek for. My personal favorites are Oceans, Sick, which caught me right at the first listening, and The Change, which incedibly grew on me, most likely due to the hard moment I was going through and the power that this song had had over it. But the whole album just keeps growing on me with each new listening. It is all at the same time catchy, beautiful and powerful, and even if I can't say that the band is among my top favorites, still there are moments when I can't stop listening to them because, I guess, it feels really good inside. And this is just the key of a very good album!

Fear and The Nervous System - Fear And The Nervous System

****1/2

This album was a very very nice surprise... I was expecting liking it a lot after the preview with Choking Victim, which is an amazing song, and my expectations have been more than fulfilled. The whole album is diverse, and I would say maybe quite classic yet with a little something more that creates the originality. I already loved this album and still it keeps growing on me, I am hearing all the time these songs with something new, new feelings towards each and then I am not hearing a song on a lower level than the others (maybe to the exception of Chinatown, which is for sure my least favorite track, but still great). It has everything: dynamics, great and beautiful melodies, true ambiences and a wonderfully talented vocalist! And I don't really know what else to say because I am not sure I can even explain why I like it. So I would just recommand it for anyone who is maybe waiting for a revelation or just waiting for the occasion to be left leading through ones imaginary and get a bit crazy!


Times of Grace - The Hymn of a Broken Man

****1/2

Here we go... Times of Grace have been quite a revelation to me. When I heard a couple of  preview songs, it had already made me want to hear more and so, when I saw the album in a music store, all alone in the middle of other bands', I didn't hesitate because I had the feeling I would like it a lot, and you can say that it was a sign it was meant for me to buy it then! Indeed, I've been caught right away by the melodies, as for the instruments as for the vocals... I, usually not too fond of heavy screamings like that, found myself really conquered because of the balance between screamings and melodic vocals... And his voice, I have to say, is pretty much death! I couldn't really explain the whole feeling I get from most of the songs... The music violently takes me to the stomach but then fluidly and softly carries me away with it. Fight for Life demonstrates that feeling perfectly. It hurts because it's so beautiful... Have you ever had that feeling too? When you almost get tears while listening, but you don't know if it's just the beauty of it or if it's because it tells you something so intimate that it touches you so much but you don't even understand why. The title track does that effect a bit, as well. And really, there are just a few songs that I find a little under the others in terms of power, like Live In Love, but... Even the last three tracks that I had found weaker have grown on me now and I see them in a new way. I recommend that album to anyone looking maybe for another world to discover. It is at least kind of the effect it had on me!

 


Minora - Imago

*****

A perfect album to close your eyes and let yourself be overwhelmed by beauty, by calm and intensity at the same time. It also has the effect of a warm nestle in which we could find shelter, and through which the cold world outside could appear even more beautiful. But also, through the tonality of the whole album, the resonances and the melody itself (yes, I voluntarily used the singular form), it brings us a fresh breeze, like the one we could have at the top of a snowy mountain, purifying mind. That's how I feel it. In other simply words, this album is very relaxing. I don't know if I could analyse enough to give a more detailed description of it though... Some songs may be slightly better than the others but honestly, each has its weight of emotion and of greatness. And one of the really good thing is that there's a true unity throughout it, the same atmosphere and still every songs are very different to me, they have their own identity... Which shouldn't even be worth mentioning, but I think it's not that easy to find, and especially for an atmospheric album.

Thursday - No Devolucion

*****

Ah Thursday, Thursday, Thursday... I started listening to this band several years ago and I appreciated them already a lot, but the more they were releasing albums the more their music as a whole was growing on me. Hence I also think that their albums are better and better with time, and hence No Devolucion is for me THEIR masterpiece. Even if I would call it close to A City By The Light Divided, there is something in this album that takes you for a trip in the air right from the first track. There are litterally aerial, poetic and beautiful ambiences all in all. It tells you a story from beginning to end and even if I consider Magnets Caught In A Metal Heart, Millimeter and Turnpike Divides like being the songs a little apart from the rest in terms of quality, I can also say that they are then the little touches that allows the story to have some elements out of the logical continuity and so to bring some variety, yet we can still recognize their style. And what else to say?... The general feelings I am getting from this album is inner peace, full emotion, and most of all the impression of having my mind floating into something out of space and out of time... Really wonderful album. I would recommend it for any person liking ambient music or just relaxing yet dynamic music... And of course to any other people willing to look for new things!
Unfortunately the band announced in November that they were stopping the band, most likely forever, but I would still quote Geoff Rickly in an interview "...and this record (No Devolución) was the first one where we said, 'You know what? Who cares? Let's say our career is over tomorrow, who fucking cares? Let's make something beautiful' " and I would just add congratulations guys, you did really make something beautiful and I'm proud of having been in the adventure, this was really the best way to end your career...