Paris Spleen

ATARAXIA SPEAKS: “- Helas!... The CircuZ KumP drama company has managed to convince (and corrupt) us to collaborate with them in order to transform a turbid and tormented reality, the one of the freaks of the beginning of the XXth century into a concept album! Two years ago (yes, with a gun pointed straight to our temple), we started exploring an historical period and environment that have always appealed to us: the 'cabarets macabres' and fun fairs of the beginning of last century in Paris. We felt the urge to turn into music the universe of Atget, an anomalous artist who, unlike his contemporaries, felt the wish, through his photographic objective, to capture the state of grace of some places, persons and situations that had always been considered of scarce interest. And who, better than Baudelaire, has managed to portray a similar universe within his verses? "The spleen of Paris" has been our guide and some of its poems have become the lyrics of our songs. Exploring the 'ghost cabarets' that animated the nights of Boulevard de Clichy, we disappeared into a nocturnal environment both gloomy and sparkling of unnatural colours, a distorted dimension where each mask, drama, jest and tear turned into a grotesque and amplified representation of life.” Men, dogs, exotic perfumes, acrobats in decay, green-eyed enchantresses, cloud sellers and stranglers in love come into existence behind the threadbare fabric of a torn curtain rather than on the un-nailed planks of a worm-eaten stage. Identifying with the artists of that time, CircuZ KumP and Ataraxia have written a collection of songs that could have been played at the beginning of the xxth century in the Cabaret of Heaven rather than in the Tavern of Crooks. Is it folk? Yes it is...accordeon, trombones big drums and cymbals are at the menu! Is it crazy? I suppose it is if Ataraxia have managed to demolish their reputation after quite a serious and long career . First 2000 copies comes in Digipak with 12 pages booklet.