About À Rebours
À Rebours (pronounced: AH reu-BOOR). From the French meaning: “against the grain,” or “against nature.”
A Manifesto
À Rebours: deliciously melancholy rock. Diverse, emotional and trans-genre. Decidedly alternative, artsy-fartsy, pretentious, dark...and sometimes even fun.
À Rebours is a musical conspiracy conceived and executed by Ian Stone. The project is intended for full band performances and the sound is a combination of several different genres colliding under a dark, overcast sky. The band and sound began in 1998 with the moniker “Maxwell's Demon” but, many frustrations and flaky band mates later, a name change and a fresh slate all around revitalized the music and sent it in the current, and correct, direction. Ian currently plays all the instruments and writes all the music.
À Rebours' music has been played in numerous clubs in the US and Europe, on assorted college and online radio stations, and live in several assorted venues.
The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez said, “If they give you ruled paper, turn it the other way.” In other words, break away from the norm; go against the grain!
Marching to the beat of a different drummer and thus always being the odd one out seems to be the process by which those among us turn their alienation with the world into a path towards truth, love and beauty. Herd mentality is perhaps the largest malady afflicting human beings today. Too many people in the world are like lemmings ready to plunge off the first cliff that's placed before them. The standard norm for society, for the family, for being a man or a woman…most of it is utter bullshit and one must rage against it with a hard, gem-like flame.
It is this sentiment through which À Rebours finds its voice.
À Rebours was signed to Final Joy Records in October of 2006; À Rebours' debut CD, “VANISH,” was released in September of 2007. À Rebours' goals at this point are to build up a sizeable fan base, release numerous CD's and add to the quality of unique people's lives with music and art. À Rebours is currently based in upstate New York.
THE NAME: AESTHETICISM, DECADENCE and UNIQUITY
À Rebours is also the name of a landmark novel from the French Decadence of the later 1800's. Written by Joris-Karl Huysmans in 1884, it is the definitive novel of the aesthete, the dandy, and the ardent seeker of delicious experience. The novel has no plot to speak of and in fact, very little happens; its narrative concentrates almost entirely on the principal character, and is mostly a catalogue of the tastes and inner life of Des Esseintes, an eccentric, reclusive aesthete and antihero who has estranged himself from society due to extreme sensitivity to the absurd and grotesque in human affairs and savors the most bizarre aspects of human existence in his quest for novelty. Despite this simplistic premise, À Rebours contained many themes that became associated with the Symbolist aesthetic.
Ultimately, by touting the extremes of said ethic it broke from naturalism and became the ultimate example of "decadent" literature. À Rebours was imitated by Oscar Wilde in several passages of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and is widely believed to be the unnamed "poisonous French novel" that so influences Dorian. Additionally, À Rebours gained further notoriety as an exhibit during Wilde's trial in 1895, during which the prosecutor referred to the novel as a “sodomitical” book. Nevertheless, it is often regarded as one of the most profound works in the history of decadent literature, especially because it successfully transcended the definition of Romanticism into Decadence.
In any event, though, À Rebours was a field book for the sensual explorer looking to plumb the nether regions of experience, whether natural or artificial, and seemed to be a perfect name for this musical and artistic endeavor.
THE ARCHITECT: IAN STONE
(Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and synth programming)
Growing up in southern Oregon, Ian had few exposures to the hidden, distinctive elements of life, while contact with the boorish, brainless and asinine was truly in surplus. And yet, a thirst for life beyond the mundane, bourgeois obsessions with pretense and power, with the false respectability and hypocrisy of general society drove him to seek more and learn more, and he was thus always a bit of an odd duck. He has a natural attraction to eccentricty and cultural rebellion.
Ian has been a musician and artist for practically his whole life. He's played guitar for nearly twentyyears, taking pride in a style that ranges from dense beds of atmospheric, dreampop and shoegaze noises, to jangly alternative rhythms, to prog-metal dynamics and blistering solos. He also plays mandolin, keyboards, and at odd times even didgeridoo. He is the primary vocalist for À Rebours.
Some additional useless tidbits include:
- Ian is also a successful graphic designer and fine artist.
- He collects Absinthe paraphernalia and (far too many) spooky toys.
- He drinks more coffee than is probably healthy.
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS:
Ryan Holmes: Live Bass
His formal music training began at age 9 when he started playing the clarinet. At age 11 he acquired his first electric bass at the suggestion of his broter who had been playing guitar. He developed an intense interest in the bass and didn't want to be like everyone else playing the guitar. By age 12, he was playing in the jazz ensemble, studying under a very encouraging and supportive teacher, a percussionist himself who taught Ryan how to increase his skill by watching and listening to other great performers. Much of his technique is derived from studying players he enjoys and simply asking himself "What techniques do I need work on to play like that?" Taking his teacher's advice, he practiced countless hours everyday. He got his first "pro" gig at age 16, and was honored to receive the "Louis Armstrong Jazz Award" in his senior year.
In addition to playing live for À Rebours, Ryan will also be playing on the second album, The Parliament of Rooks. He continues to pursue his music career full-time, receiving peer recognition and several performance opportunities. He also continues to play in jazz ensembles, as well as participate in session work and professional collaboration.
Check out Ryan's killer MySpace HERE.
John
Cole: Live Drums
Instrumental Music teacher by day—rocker by night…… well actually, he is always a rocker. John is the newest member of À Rebours. At an early age, John was interested in music, specifically drumming, on his mother's pots and pans before his parents splurged on his first snare drum (thanks mom and dad!). His formal music training began in an upstate New York public school north of Syracuse. While in high school, he decided to focus on a career in music education. He now holds Associate, Bachelor and Masters degrees in music, and he has been sharing his affinity for music with many students over his almost 20 year career (Ryan included).
He enjoys a variety of music (with the exception of "twangy" country) and is as comfortable playing in a jazz band as he is with a progressive rock band. John has performed and recorded in varied musical idioms throughout his career: jazz ensembles, concert bands, symphony orchestras, musical theater pit orchestras (both as a player and director), a marimba orchestra, and in various rock bands. John is also an accomplished guitarist and plays all woodwind and brass instruments (thanks to the teaching gig).
John's drumming influences, concurrent with his musical taste, span drummers from all types of musical genres. Some of his biggest influences include: Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, John Bonham, Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy.
For the curious...
…is a compendium of all À Rebours' musical instruments
& gear, for those interested in the methods of this aural spectacle.
Click the LAB plaque to visit.
Contact Resources
Yahoo! Messenger: maurautius
