Paris' WE INSIST ! are finally set to release their long awaited follow-up to 2007's critically acclaimed album “OH ! Things Are So Corruptible” on Exile On Mainstream Records. "It's about time!" we say, as we have been awaiting this next step eagerly for more than two years. Since their initiation to the Exile On Mainstream roster of dedicated and like-minded artists, interest has been growing massively for this band which displays such an amazing amount of talent, freshness, creativity and ambition seen in others few and far between. “The Babel Inside Was Terrible” is an album electric and sharp, encompassing more grief and darkness than ever before and proclaimed in an even more clear and powerful sound. Impossible to pigeonhole, they have seen comparisons to the likes of Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, At The Drive-In, Primus, King Crimson and bands of legendary label Dischord. To be completely honest, the new material makes it as easy as nailing a pudding to the wall to file and categorise their sonic power. “The Babel Inside Was Terrible” tells it right from the get-go: categories are for losers. We Insist ! again manage to draw influences from a vast ocean of musical styles including Rock, Noise, Free Jazz, Avant-garde, Psychedelic, Math-Rock, Punk and Metal.

As a band existing almost 14 years together they've found their own path through rock music and have developed their own style and "We Insist !" category, always with the intention to surprise themselves first when song-writing. All this is blended on a sheerly overwhelming level of musical craftsmanship which leaves you breathless and questioning how the hell a band could be so tight. However, it doesn’t end here - once you dig deeper into the arrangements you will figure out how well structured yet unfashionable their song-writing is: the usual partnership of bass and drums creating the foundation is broken, giving room for new interpretation. The bass leans and plays against every other instrument while each guitar riff, arpeggio, melodic lines, becomes entangled in your ears. Absolutely nothing is laid down without a purpose: when riffs and lines are not melting together they're broken by rhythmic accidents. Complementary layers come one after another to create a pulsating and melodic dizziness for the listener, without forgetting the main goal that is to write unusual but catchy songs. Since 2008, only one saxaphonist remains and his sax has been incorporated within the sound by playing through a guitar amp using a wide range of effects pedals, while keyboards have also been added to the range of weird guitar sounds. A treat that is their 5th album, "The Babel Inside Was Terrible" is the result of just over one years' intense hard work and heavy concentration on song-writing and rehearsals. After recording 2007's “OH ! Things Are So Corruptible”, at Black Box Studio with Peter Deimel (Chokebore, The Kills, etc.), this incredibly talented producer was once again enthusiastic to work with We Insist ! on a more involved level. This time around, Deimel recorded, mixed and produced “The Babel Inside Was Terrible” working with the band from beginning to end. OH ! what a job he did! A crystal-clear production, as powerful and challenging as you can hope for.

Now let it speak for itself. Put the CD on, lean back and prepare yourself for a musical journey like none before. (close)

Here we are with some news again : the new album is to be recorded and released next year. We'll return to Black Box studio with the great P eter Deimel in mid-February '09. The album will also be mixed by Peter in the same studio shortly after recording. We plan to finish everything including mastering before the 6th of March. The album is going to be released by our beloved label : Exile on Mainstream Records in late Spring '09 and distributed in throughout Europe by Southern Records. We'll be more precise about the dates later this winter.

We have all of January to finish writing stuff before leaving for the second Blisstrain tour straight after mixing the album. Five bands from the Exile On Mainstream family will be on the road : The Antikaroshi (GER), Beehoover (GER), Bulbul (AUST), and Ostinato (USA), + We Insist! between the 6th-15th of March 09, driving though Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands.
Of course we know Beehoover very intimately having shared the same van last year for 2 weeks, and we've met briefly the other bands at South of Mainstream Festival in August '07 and '08.
There will be French gigs in Spring '09, and a small tour of some German festivals in August '09 including Zappanale and South of Mainstream. We also plan on a tour in late October '09 throughout Germany.
Stay tuned for nore mews noos... (close)

Here we are with some news again : the new album is to be recorded and released next year. We'll return to Black Box studio with the great P eter Deimel in mid-February '09. The album will also be mixed by Peter in the same studio shortly after recording. We plan to finish everything including mastering before the 6th of March. The album is going to be released by our beloved label : Exile on Mainstream Records in late Spring '09 and distributed in throughout Europe by Southern Records. We'll be more precise about the dates later this winter.

We have all of January to finish writing stuff before leaving for the second Blisstrain tour straight after mixing the album. Five bands from the Exile On Mainstream family will be on the road : The Antikaroshi (GER), Beehoover (GER), Bulbul (AUST), and Ostinato (USA), + We Insist! between the 6th-15th of March 09, driving though Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands.
Of course we know Beehoover very intimately having shared the same van last year for 2 weeks, and we've met briefly the other bands at South of Mainstream Festival in August '07 and '08.
There will be French gigs in Spring '09, and a small tour of some German festivals in August '09 including Zappanale and South of Mainstream. We also plan on a tour in late October '09 throughout Germany.
Stay tuned for nore mews noos... (close)

Summer finishes, during which a lot of good things happened.
We came back a few weeks ago from our second German Tour that lasted 10 days. Everything was sorted by the great Kanzler Andreas from Exile On Mainstream. We'll remember our gig in Beatpol (Dresden) and of course Cammer (South of Mainstream festival). Great crowds and good gigs ! Everything went great !
We'll drive back to Germany in March 09 for the second Blisstrain edition, with Beehoover, the Antikaroshi, Bul Bul, and Ostinato, and we'll probably be touring again there in automn 09.
We've been working and rehearsing a lot in the beginning of July to prepare our next album. Some of our new stuff has been tested live in August. We'll be mainly working on this new step the whole winter, and enter the Black Box Studio on the 14th of February 09. The recording and the mix will be done in a row by Peter Deimel. The record will be released in June 09 by Exile on Mainstream and distributed by Southern Records all over Europe and the US (Ipecac, Constellation, Dischord, Touch and Go, Southern Lord, among other great labels part of Southern Records).
Before then we'll be playing a few last gigs : Besançon and Mains d'Oeuvres (F) with our good friends 31 Knots, and Lapéniche in Châlon sur Saône (F) with our label mates Dÿse for a special Exile on Mainstream evening.
See you there and stay tuned. (close)

It took some time to recover from this German Tour.
First week, first day in Esslingen, our first meeting with label mates Ingmar and Claus of Beehoover. First gig with the incredible home-made backline of Andreas' " Shine amplifiers ". Our Label boss Andreas " Kanzler ", took the time to bring the whole backline from Borkheide with a broken knee. Ingmar required 2 bass and 2 guitar cabinets to compete sonically with his incredibly heavy drummer Claus.

First long rides (5/6/7 hours) with our new German friends. Second gig in Prague: An empty club, a salad for dinner and some chairs to sleep on. Next day, and the incredible charms of Dresden, Puschkin Club and everyone who welcomed us. Also our first meeting with the excellent Johannes from Discorporate records (c.f. Zappa Absolutely free). Day four: the KV in Nürnberg is outstanding for many reasons and Beehoover did an awesome and powerful gig that night. Next up was Potsdam and the first meeting between the whole band and our great labelboss the Kanzler. We finally ended the first week at Erebos in Spremburg near the Polish border, where just a few people seemed to get our music. The end of the night was somehow decadent. We had a day off before the BLISSTRAIN began rolling. It took place at " Castle Kohl " in Borkheide, home of Exile on Mainstream Records. We tried to find sleep to recover but we all stayed awake in bed through the night.
We had our first meeting with all the bands after a long drive from Berlin, at the Vera club in Groningen (which is quite familiar to us now thanks to Bidi). " A Whisper In The Noise " arrived early, having played Münster the day before. They were starting their tour with the Blisstrain and still had 4 more weeks to go. " End of Level Boss " had landed from the UK the day before, and the " Terror Twins " Dÿse looked as tireless as always.

Monday night in Hamburg and we had a great crowd. The stage was split into two, so sets mixed seamlessly together, while we tried the first collaborations between bands. End Of Level Boss / Beehoover / A Whisper in the Noise / Dÿse / We Insist ! was the order that remained the same for almost every show to come.

Day 3 was a frantic Tuesday on the road to Jena and also an amazing night: Dÿse was playing in Jari's hometown, the beautiful venue (Kassablanca) was bursting with people, and the crowd was going crazy. Probably one the best shows on the Blisstrain tour. On that third day the Roadshow had already found its balance and power with two big collaborations happening on stage. There were arrangements and/or collective improvisations at the beginning of Dÿse's set on " Wolke ", and at the end of ours on " Early Recollections " with Elenajane on saxophone, André on guitar and many others improvising with random instruments. Beehoover and our blowing men had already achieved a collaboration on " Spirit & Crown " during the first week, Julien Allanic found a great bass sound to add to A Whisper In The Noise's " Armament ". Etienne and Andre worked in the van on a vocal duet for " Beaten Black And Blue ", while all the drummers joined End of Level Boss onstage with cowbells for " Connortations ".

Berlin show will also remain a highlight of the tour with a two stage set-up as in Hamburg. The sold-out Magnet club was rammed and sweaty as hell. We'll all remember getting ready on stage during the crazy Dÿse show as Jari stage dived [although there was no stage... ] and their two burning encores. Then we had to play... after that... It turned out to be very exciting... We'll always remember Beate and how she was moved to tears by the achievements of the bands and musicians involved as well as her husband, The Kanzler. We drank more then we expected with some local drag queens before we left Berlin to drive through the night to Dortmund just to reach Brussels in time for the next gig. All the collaborations between the bands were getting better and tighter still.

Finally, it was the last gig at the W2 in Den Bosch and it was a mad show. Kanzler came on stage to scream on " Gravity ", and Cyrille performed a moving last sax solo as he had already made his decision to leave the band for personal reasons before the tour began. We had to loudly declare to him onstage during the last " Den Bosch Party " that we loved him. He's doing well now and we hope that he's got some regrets, 'cause we miss him... From now on, François will play on an amplifier with effects. For the final song of the evening and the tour, ALL of us [18 people?!?] came together onstage for the last performance of " Early Recollections ". To quote Neil from End of Level Boss: Beyond The Hilt !!!!! Thankfully, every show on the tour was recorded by the great Claus of Beehoover.

Everyone was inside out after this crazy week, but before Blisstrain MKII happens next year we'll all meet this summer on the Baltic Sea for a musical-vacation-rehearsal-recording-session. Beyond musical achievements, Andreas has managed to create a family out of his bands while taking care of us as he would his own family, and we acknowledge him for everything he's done.

Now's the time for new songs and a new album. Don't be too impatient, it'll take some time, we're already working on this next step... (close)

The release of the album Oh! things are so corruptible by Exile On Mainstream is approaching. Lauching dates : 25th of January in Germany and 28th in the rest of Europe, distribution by Southern Records.
In France the album will still be distributed by Anticraft, and will have one more push for the promotion of its "second" release. We would like to thank everybody at Anticraft for believing in our music and for distributing the first CD of our new label "Corruptible records".
In march, Exile On Mainstream will organize the tour following the album release in Germany and eastern european countries. You will find all concert dates on the on tour page and you should also see the webpage designed for the Exile on Mainstream Roadshow www.blisstrain.de wherein we are announced as " living dolls from outer space ".
We have to say that we are particularly happy to have met everyone in the strong and welcoming team at Exile on Mainstream (Andreas, Dÿse, Volt, Beehoover, End of Level Boss, Ostinato, Voodooshock, Tina, Timo, Mühle, etc...).
More projects are in the making with Exile on Mainstream, will keep you posted as more information is available. Thanks for your enthusiasm, particularly to the dancers that we met at our concerts, keep dancing, we insist !... (close)

The idea is to bring some EOM bands together in the BLISSTRAIN (March 2008) and have a celebration which differs a bit from usual indoor festivals. It involves our currently most active bands, who will share a stage and play own sets as well as some collaborations since all these bands know each other well enough now.

Also there will be an exhibition involved by Daniel Secker who does most of our artworks.

All the shows will be recorded live and you fans will be offered the opportunity to take the show you attended home as a recording!

The first 50 persons through the door on each event will also receive our WORSHIP THE RIFF label compilation CD for free.

All shows will start at 08:00 pm SHARP! Doors will be at 07:30 pm. So please show up early!

Now is this something? All your favourite bands on one stage and a celebration of and for like-minded people.

BE THERE! (close)

Andreas came up a few weeks with this idea : some bands from Exile on Maintream (all of them except A Whisper in the Noise, we've already met at the Festival "South Of Mainstream" in septembrer near Berlin), will go on the road all together for a festival-like show all in one night. This Roadshow will go on for a week in Germany and Benelux in march 2008. Dÿse, A Whisper in the Noise, End of Level Boss, Beehoover & We Insist! together...

We're looking forward to meeting again all those crazy motherfuckers and play music together. The week before that (1st of march to the 8th) we'll be on tour on our own in Germany the promote the release of our album. Stay tuned for some more news... (close)

We are particularly glad to announce that our latest album, Oh! Things Are so Corruptible, will be released in January 2008 by Exile on Mainstream, the Berlin-based label.

The release will be under the license of Southern Records, the n°1 independent American label (Ipecac, Anticon, Dischord, Constellation...). In other words, the album will be released on a "worldwide" basis (at the very least in Europe, and the US) as soon as the beginning of next year, with a lot of additional tour dates to come. To be continued… (close)

Oh! Things Are So Corruptible was released two months ago. Undoubtedly, these last few weeks have been most enthralling for us.
This record must constitute a new step. Releasing it under the best possible conditions was a prerequisite. Our partnership with Anticraft, our distributor, gave us the comfort that we needed. We also needed to ensure the best possible exposure, although this is mostly out of our hands. Lots of things remain to be achieved in that respect. However, live performances are one of the most efficient ways to reach that goal.
What about our tour?
Well, touring gave us the opportunity to discover new places, and therefore a new audience that did not necessarily knew us before. We were also fortunate enough to share the stage with 31 Knots…We plaid a part in this, as we suggested this combined line-up to Jerkov, our booker. Suffice it to say, this suggestion paid back, if not money-wise, at least music-wise, and most certainly…friendship-wise. Amongst a zillion other things, 31 Knots do know a thing or two about achieving and relinquishing control. We learned a lot from them.
Oh! Things Are So Corruptible already gave us the opportunity to play alongside Doppler, 31 Knots, United Colors of Sodom and maybe soon Zu and Joe Lally (from Fugazi). Being able to listen and discover, if only once, the music and sound of a profoundly interesting band is a very strong experience. Being able to go through such an experience more than ten times in a row - which was the case with 31 Knots - is beyond belief.
These past two months have also been particularly reassuring and soothing. Instead of becoming distant and jaded (as we could have very easily decided to be), those who manage and run concert venues (most of them acting on a benevolent basis, not surprisingly enough) did welcome us in a professional manner. They were also genuinely warm, caring and friendly. And that is always the first step towards a successful concert. The most memorable one is by far the one at La Péniche (Chalon-sur-Saône, France), the last performance of an incredibly intense tour.
During more than one hour, we were under the distinct impression that we were making people happy, and repeatedly so.
People were generally keen on hanging around with us after the concert and discuss for a rather long time thereafter, which was something we could easily deal with. All such testimonies, during and after each and every concert, are of key importance to us. They gave us the willingness and the desire to move forward and keep on playing together. (close)