Etron Fou Leloublan (French for "Crazy Shit, The White Wolf" or "Mad Shit, the White Wolf"), also known as EFL, were a French

avant-garde rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

founded in 1973 by

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Chris Chanet. They recorded five studio albums between 1976 and 1985, and released a live album, ''En Public Aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique'' recorded during a tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1979. Etron Fou Leloublan were best known as one of the five original

Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group Hen ...

(RIO) bands that performed at the first RIO festival in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in March 1978. Etron Fou Leloublan's music has been described as a blend of punk rock, jazz, French music hall, comedy satire and "avant-garde mayhem".

History

Etron Fou Leloublan were originally called Etron Fou, a trio comprising vocalist and saxophonist Eulalie Ruynat (real name Chris Chanet), Ferdinand Richard (bass guitar) and

Guigou Chenevier Guigou is a surname, and may refer to: * Élisabeth Guigou (born 1946), French politician * Gianni Guigou Gianni Bismark Guigou Martínez (born 22 February 1975 in Nueva Palmira) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a midfielder. Car ...

(drums, percussion). Their first concert was on 27 December 1973, when they opened for the French

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band,

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

.Jones 1995, p.44 Etron Fou then went on to produce a "viable, musical alternative to both French rock'n'roll and French free jazz", which had stagnated at the time. In November 1976, they changed their name to Etron Fou Leloublan and recorded their first album, ''Batelages'' (1977). Chanet left the band before the album was released. Towards the end of 1977

Francis Grand Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

replaced Chanet on saxophone and the trio recorded their second album, ''Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au Pays Des...)''. In March 1978, at the invitation of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

, Etron Fou Leloublan joined

(RIO) and performed at the first RIO festival in

with four other groups. They also played at the second RIO festival in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in April 1979, organised by RIO's

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

representative,

Stormy Six Stormy Six were an Italian progressive and folk rock band founded in Milan in 1966. They performed and recorded until 1983, mostly as a sextet but occasionally as a quartet, a quintet and a septet. Although their line-up changed considerably o ...

. In November 1979, Etron Fou Leloublan toured the

, and performances at the Squat Club in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

were recorded and released on a live album, ''En Public aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique''. Etron Fou Leloublan became a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

in 1980 with

Bernard Mathieu Bernard Mathieu (born 11 January 1959) is a French Egyptologist who was director of the Institut français d'archéologie orientale The Institut français d'archéologie orientale (or IFAO), also known as the French Institute for Oriental Archae ...

replacing Grand on saxophone, and the addition of multi-instrumentalist and singer

Jo Thirion Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger'' * Jo a ficti ...

. In mid-1980, the band recorded with former Henry Cow guitarist

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

in France and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and appeared on one side of Frith's 1981 solo LP, '' Speechless''. Frith produced Etron Fou Leloublan's next album, ''Les Poumons Gonflés'' (1982), on which he also guested on two of the tracks, playing violin and guitar. For their fifth album, ''Les Sillons de la Terre'' (1984) the saxophonist changed again with Bruno Meillier replacing Mathieu. Etron Fou Leloublan recorded their last album, ''Face Aux Éléments Déchaînés'' in August 1985 as a trio of Richard, Thirion, and Chenevier, not bothering to fill the recurring vacant saxophone position. Frith produced the album and guested on four of the tracks. The band broke up in 1986.

Members

* Ferdinand Richard – bass guitar, vocals *

– drums, percussion * Chris Chanet (Eulalie Ruynat) (1973–1976) – vocals, saxophone *

(1976–1978) – saxophone * Gérard Bole Du Chaumont (1978) – saxophone *

(1979–1982) – saxophone *

(1980–1986) – organ, piano, trumpet * Bruno Meillier (1982–1983) – saxophone

Discography

Studio albums

*''Batelages'' (1977, LP, Gratte-Ciel) *''Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au Pays Des...)'' (1978, LP, Tapioca) *''Les Poumons Gonflés'' (1982, LP, Turbo) *''Les Sillons de la Terre'' (1984, LP, Le Chant du Monde) *''Face Aux Éléments Déchaînés'' (1985, LP,

RecRec Music RecRec Music was a Swiss independent record label created in 1983 by Daniel Waldner. The label was modeled on, and affiliated to, the British independent record label Recommended Records, but remained financially independent. The label went ba ...

)

Live albums

*''En Public aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique'' (1979, LP,

Celluloid Records Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos (sometimes shortened to Jean Karakos) operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the ...

) *''À Prague'' (2010, CD, Gazul) *''Live at the Rock in Opposition Festival 1978'' (2015, Replica Records)

Compilations

*'' 43 Songs'' (1991, 3xCD box set, Baillemont) – comprises all the studio albums

Appears on

*'' Miniatures - a sequence of fifty-one tiny masterpieces'' edited by Morgan-Fisher (1980, LP,

Pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...

) *'' Speechless'' by

(1981, LP,

Ralph Records Ralph Records was an independent record label active between 1972 and 1989, best known for being initially run by avant-garde art collective, ''The Residents''. The name coming from the slang phrase for vomiting, "calling Ralph on the porcelain tele ...

)

Footnotes

References

External links

*.
Etron Fou Leloublan
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

.
Etron Fou Leloublan
at ''New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock''.
Etron Fou Leloublan
at ''ProgArchives''.

at ''Gnosis''.

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Rock in Opposition French experimental music groups Experimental rock groups French progressive rock groups French art rock groups