Chef Menteur

Drone, post-rock and minimalism synthesized into a heavy, psychedelic, spaced-out, and sometimes profoundly disturbing concoction... New Orleans' neo-psychedelic band Chef Menteur formed as an outlet for exploring electronica, noise, dub, improvisations, and multi-track experimenting. Using analog keyboards and vintage gear with lo-fi effects, they composed pieces improvisationally and texturally on top of custom beats and obscure voice-samples. Often working with multiple collaborators among their many talented musician friends, they added to their sound and were able to feature more instruments live, including traditional rock sounds like drums and guitar. Heavy drones and multilayered textures lay beneath melodic bass grooves, eastern guitar sounds, and spacey Moogs. The critically-acclaimed We Await Silent Tristero's Empire was releases in 2005, receiving positive reviews in the international independent press, including the prestigious UK magazine THE WIRE. After Hurricane Katrina, the band returned to New Orleans, they spent the following year rebuilding their own recording studio. They began composing and tracking their next album The Answer's in Forgetting in 2007 and releasing it Nov 27, 2007. Although Chef Menteur has received many accolades for their live improvisational style that falls somewhere between raga and ambient rock, the focus is usually perfecting the sound in the studio, saving the more subtle and complex ideas for tape, where can be tricked out every rabbit in the psychedelic hat, combined with an aresenal of exotic instrumentation including stand-up bass, traditional and electric sitars, harmonium, tanpura, hammered & Appalachian dulcimers, banjo, xylophones, a Quintronics Drum Buddy, and many many others, including some inventions by the band members.