Lazuli were founded in 1998 by the brothers Claude and Dominique Leonetti. After several personnel changes they seem to be a consolidated unit since their album "Tant Que L'herbe Est Grasse" (2014), released two years ago. Singer and guitarist Dominique Leonetti explains how her new recording "No Âmes Saoules" came into being and what lies behind the lyrics.
eclipsed: "No Âmes Saoules" is very sensual, sometimes even a little claustrophobic. What inspired and influenced the record before and during its creation?
Dominique Leonetti: If you look at the world situation today, it can't leave you cold. As musicians we have the opportunity to process our feelings and thoughts in lyrics and hopefully open people's eyes in this way and draw their attention to the grievances. I'm touched when I see the world going down the drain day after day. Of course, this is also reflected in the lyrics and the music. At the same time, we want to give people hope and above all encourage them that each individual can change something if he or she only wants to. Take for example the piece "Chaussures à nos pieds", here I want to encourage people who have lost a person close to them. I want to bring them the message that life is too short to live only in grief.
eclipsed: Can you hear your musical journey over the years on "No Âmes Saoules"?
Leonetti: Since we have always had our finger on the pulse of the times with our topics, not much has changed in the text. Musically we have developed enormously. We are no longer afraid of experiments, for example include folk, chanson or ethno in our music. Of course Prog still plays a big role on our albums, but we don't like to be put in a drawer. We are far too open and keen to experiment. Over the years your blinkers fall down, and the more you open up musically, the more mature you become.
eclipsed: Does this mean that you will be even more stylistically diverse in the future?
Leonetti: Of course there are always new ideas buzzing around in our heads. Nobody can predict which new elements we will add to our music in the future. This happens spontaneously during the writing process. In any case, we want to surprise our listeners again and again, but we certainly do not proceed according to a fixed plan.
