A Rebours
NEWS  

À Rebours' debut album, "VANISH" is AVAILABLE NOW!



Get it at http://www.finaljoyrecords.com


Advertisement
» go to the music page for more
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Radio in the Attic (demo)
play lo-fi play hi-fi  24fps
play lo-fi play hi-fi  This Winter
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Chiaroscuro
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Dust
play lo-fi play hi-fi  NecRomance
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Memento Mori
play lo-fi play hi-fi  The Reformation
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Cardiac Thanatosis
play lo-fi play hi-fi  The Wicked One


À Rebours (pronounced AH reu BOOR) is French for "against the grain."

À Rebours is a musical dream-machine fueled by a combination of several different genres--goth, shoegaze, darkwave, electro, and hard rock--all colliding under a dark, melancholy umbrella. Aiming to extend beyond the borders of genre, this pastiche of many elements creates something familiar, but creatively unique for the listener. À Rebours is a message from outer space, a Victorian Romance, a walk through 20's Berlin, a haunting, a dark rock epic, a Tesla experiment, and an overcast day all in one.

The creative mind behind À Rebours is Ian Stone, a lifelong artist and musician. Having bounced from one band to another throughout the nineties, all populated with flaky musicians, aimless ideas and nonexistent goals, Ian struck out on his own in 2003 and formed À Rebours (French for "Against the Grain"). Signed to Final Joy Records out of Phoenix, AZ in 2006, À Rebours' debut album, "Vanish" was released in Sept. of 2007 and has received critical acclaim in both goth and rock circles for its mix of spooky, dreamlike ambience, progressive songwriting, creative lyrics and fresh guitar playing. Songs from Vanish have received airplay all over the world. Have you "Vanished" yet?

À Rebours has recently joined forces with Ryan Holmes, an accomplished jazz/prog rock bassist. His techincal dexterity, musical training and tasteful technique has brought the music up to another level altogether. À Rebours simply MUST be seen live...hope to see you there!

"...a seriously interesting artist worth keeping tabs on, with a constantly piquant guitar style, which is never boring or heavy-handed, and there's an exquisitely ghostly spirit ever-present."
~Mick Mercer.
Why this name?
À Rebours is the name of a very important text from the French Decadence of the late 1800's. In it the author, J.-K. Huysmans, extolls the depth and breadth of the aesthete/decadent experience of art, hedonism, and a fascination with all things beautiful and grotesque. This seemed to be an apropos atmosphere to anchor the music in. Additionally, the literal translation of "À Rebours" is "against the grain," and that also seems to be a fitting label for what we've tried to achieve not only musically and artistically, but in all areas of life as well.
Do you play live?
Yes, we play live. Anywhere that will have us, though generally at goth and/or alternative clubs.
And yes, we love it.
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
Probably not. I'm happy with my small, indie label and I think most corporate labels are bloody fascists.
Band History:
À Rebours originally started in 1998 as "Maxwell's Demon." It was mainly Ian, feeling bored with the bands he was in, trying to enlist the aid of other like-minded individuals to build something better. Eventually, people always dropped out for something else, or simply just flaked out, so after he moved to Arizona Ian changed the name to À Rebours to more accurately depict the vibe of the music and image. At this point it was just a solo studio project.

In time, Ian began to enter the live scene, at first with austere solo-acoustic shows and finally using backing tracks to more accurately portray the music. Eventually these animated one-man shows caught the attention of Final Joy Records and À Rebours was signed in October of 2006.

À Rebours' debut album, "VANISH" was subsequently released in Sept. 2007 and received favorable reviews in alternative press.

Ian relocated to upstate New York in late 2007 and enlisted the aid of Ryan Holmes, practically a YouTube star in his own right with spot-on renditions of Rush songs among other bass excursions. A university music major, Ryan brings his dedication to technical excellence and his experienced ear to the mix. A new electricity ripples through the music now and live shows are certainly a spectacle.

Ian and Ryan are committed to playing live as much as possible and are currently putting together a second album for a 2009 release.
Your influences?
Abney Park, The Blackheart Procession, Bethany Curve, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Clan of Xymox, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Diabolique, Dream Theater, The Dresden Dolls, Duran Duran, The Faint, Fates Warning, Gazpacho, Johnny Hollow, Joy Division, Queen, Queensrÿche, Rosetta Stone, The Sisters of Mercy, The 69 Eyes, Slowdive, the Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths, Switchblade Symphony, Steve Vai, Voltaire, The Wake, and anything else we've ever heard and liked.
Favorite spot?
Toss up: York (Yorhshire, England), Venice or NYC.
Equipment used:

  • Ibanez 7-string electric guitar

  • Washburn Chicago series 6-string electric w/Seymour Duncan JB

  • Ovation 1778T Elite Acoustic/Electric

  • Ovation Celebrity Deluxe Acoustic/Electric w/Nashville tuning

  • Ibanez 5-string electric bass

  • Conklin Groove-Tools 7-string electric bass

  • Line 6 POD Pro w/Floorboard controller

  • T.C. Electronic M300 Dual Engine Processor

  • BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer

  • BBE 882i Sonic Maximizer

  • Effector 13 Disaster Fuzz Plus

  • Effector 13 Punch Love Plus

  • Electro-Harmonix Small Stone

  • Electro-Harmonix Small Clone

  • Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

  • Loop-Master A/B/C Switching box

  • EBow Plus

  • Line 6 Spider 2x12 Combo amp

  • Cakewalk SONAR 4 Producer ed.

  • Reason 3.0

  • Sonic Foundry Acid 4 and Sound Forge 6

  • Two Fujitsu N Series Laptops

  • Dunlop Crybaby

  • Shure SM58 and SM57

  • Behringer Mic2200 Ultragain Pro

  • Behringer Eurodesk UB1202 and 802 Mixing Consoles

  • Apple iPod

  • Tascam US-122 Digital interface

  • A million odds and ends

Join The Mailing List
We will not store or use this email address other than for this newsletter.