ALEXANDRE VARLET
Soleil Noir

Critical acclaim and lack of sales success: it is both a blessing and a curse. Had singer-songwriter Alexandre Varlet not been dropped by two record labels at the start of his career, he would have probably never come up with an album as uncompromising and extraordinary as Soleil Noir.

Before home studio recording became the norm, no more financial support from a label meant very little professional studio time and no money to splash out on a string section and additional musicians.

Then again, why should good songs written on an acoustic guitar need fancy arrangements to make them stand up? Sparse instrumentation also means that Varlet's singular lyrics have never shined as brightly as on Soleil Noir.

One has to be particularly confident to release such a bare-bones, French language record. Varlet has every reason under the sun to be so.

''Lacking sun, know how to ripen in ice.'' – Henri Michaux –

The deleted LP is available now as a digital download.

Tracklist
1 Soleil Noir
2 La Fêlure
3 Tunnel I
4 De L'Indulgence Avec Toi
5 Andalousia
6 Ressusciter
7 Want Me To Dance
8 Feu Follet
9 Lune
10 Mont Ventoux
11 St Tropez