Lovesongs & Psychedelic Tones
Artist: Bhopal's Flowers
"It started in 2012 in France after a long sitar trip in Calcutta," begins Lionel Pezzano, the multi instrumentalist behind his recording project Bhopal's Flowers (named after the chemical disaster that happened in Bhopal, India in 1984). "I felt the urge to play rock music again. I used to play New Wave with a strong psychedelic touch but I recently bought a 12-string Rickenbacker and everything has changed." Indeed! "Lovesongs & Psychedelic Tones" has very all the hallmarks of 60's Godheads like The Byrds and Love. It is a blend of hope and sadness beauty and gloomy landscapes that manage to imbue their music with a characteristically modern metropolitan vibe befitting Pezzano's Euro-Indian journey. He lists his influences as Hindustani classical music and old time country music. He practices the sitar (Indian luth), the tar (Persian luth), and Bluegrass guitar daily. Those musical languages feed the skeletons of his compositions. Recently (and fortunately for us), Lionel has had an obsession for The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, and Kula Shaker to whom he feels very familiar. The album sounds like an enormous leap of faith. Despite his complex soundscapes and crisp production it didn't take long to come together. "I did it on my own, written, composed and recorded in two months in my studio last winter. I then went to a studio in Montreal to record the drums with my mate Jeremy Thom and went home to mix everything. I can't work with producers. I'm too directive for that and I have a very precise of idea of what I want I'm pretty happy with the results but I can't wait to record the next one." – he explains. If it's going to be like this one, neither can we! GREAT!!