NeBeLNeST - NeBeLNeST (1999/2024)

NeBeLNeST were one of the most adventurous and energetic young bands to emerge on the international post-rock / avant-progressive scene in the late 90s. The young French band was noted for its dark symphonic rock music influenced by King Crimson, Shylock and Univers Zero/Present, laced with psychedelia and improvisation, and played with a riveting level of energy and intensity derived from the hardcore and noise scenes. In the words of the Chicago Tribune: “these French sound sculptors chisel out large-scale instrumentals that pair up the weird sonics and improvisational bent of mid-period King Crimson with a Gong-like space fusion ambience…[They] borrow bits and pieces of old school art rock and arrange them into a singular sound awash in dissonance and strangely mutated guitar/keyboard tones.”

NeBeLNeST was formed in May 1997 as an instrumental quartet consisting of brothers Olivier and Gregory Tejedor (keyboards and bass); Cyril Malderez (guitar); and Michäel Anselmi (drums). Three of the members – the Tejedors and Malderez – had formerly played together in the hardcore band Chemistry, while the fourth, Anselmi, came from a background in the noise/rave band Ventrilock.

Recorded in 1998, the band’s first album, the self-titled NeBeLNeST, was released in 1999 by the American label Laser’s Edge. The band released two further albums, both on Cuneiform Records, in 2002 (NoVa eXPReSS) and 2006 (ZePTO). The group continued to work on recordings but released nothing further and their cessation came in 2013.

In June 2020, Cuneiform contacted them about the idea of reissuing their first album digitally. The idea was met with great enthusiasm and also with a litany of problems, as reported by Nico Puchot, the band’s long-time friend and manager:

2020: Search for tapes in Nico's very humid cellar….my fault… One of the 6 tapes is missing!

2021: The tape is found…rotten!

2021: Professional restoration to get rid of mold.

2021: After a few weeks of research, a used ADAT tape recorder is bought. A test tape is eaten during the first transfer attempt! We are very anxious about the result of the digital transfer of the six ADATs! I hope we have not spent 1000 € for some crappy unusable moldy tapes lost in a cellar since last century!

2021: The band tasked Gecko, an expert company, to digitize the tapes. The tapes are transferred at the same time as the private tapes collection of Pierre Henry.

2021: Damned! The second part of the "Absinthe" tracks is damaged…10 seconds of the drum part are lost. Olivier Tejedor digitally restores the missing part.

2022: The album is remixed and mastered by Olivier Tejedor.

2022: New artworks are designed by JH with the digitized drawings of Fred Avignon and the photos of Robert Levy
(Chicago 1999).

2023: NeBeLNeST is born again and released on Cuneiform Records via BandCamp.