The album is called WHEN THE VOWELS FALL

LP, CD, download, streaming…

Release-date September the 23rd, 2022
on Sérotine Records (F) and Tractor Notown (NL)
SR001 / NOT12

L&S is Anthony Laguerre, G.W. Sok, Jean-Michel Pires, Eric Thomas, together with L’Orchestre du GAM from Nancy, France.

Music by Anthony Laguerre (Myotis, Praag, Filiamotsa, …)
Words by G.W. Sok (Oiseaux-Tempête, ex-The Ex, Filiamotsa, …)

Guitars, drums, strings, horns and vocals.
Powerful and poetic things of beauty.

Distributed by:
Konkurrent – Netherlands
L’Autre Distribution – France
Code 7 – United Kingdom

Available via https://exmailorder.nl/shop/sok
and https://gwsok.bandcamp.com/

So now it is September 2021, and somehow the world is slowly getting back to some kind of normal… Some kind of new normal, though. This virus thing has done some seriously strange things to people’s minds. Then again, happy to be able to play a series of shows again, in front of real people not screens.

The album of G.W. Sok and Ignacio Córdoba… we are waiting with its release till we are sure we can really do a tour, so that won’t be any sooner than 2022.

The album of L&S… Basically it is ready, but like with the album above, we are waiting with releasing it till next year.

The album of King Champion Sounds… What can I say? The sleeve is okay? “Asking for a friend”…

Meanwhile, also working with Arnold (Zea, The Ex) on a small writing challenge called “Duel:Duet”, initiated by Petrichor publishers.

Hard to tell, right? This year, all shows so far have been either cancelled or postponed or redirected to other uncertain dates. Concerts with Oiseaux-Tempête, L&S, King Champion Sounds, OMA, Zoikle, GW Sok & Nacho Córdoba, solo stuff… they’re all waiting in the wings, and quite a lot of wings there are.
Meanwhile, OMA‘s album Under The World was released after all. The album of L&S (together with the GAM orchestra), When The Vowels Fall has been mixed and mastered and we’re looking for a label to release it. The album of G.W. Sok & Nacho Córdoba, Is This A House, is also almost ready, we’re working on the sleeve and stuff. King Champion Sounds, too, are working on their next, 5th album, and I guess right now it’s somewhere around mixing time.
Concertwise I am focusing on September as the earliest month that Something Audible might be Happening Again. Hard to tell, though, everything is bound to change before you know it. In the meantime, maybe I should start to write another book?
Hm… I don’t know.
But then again?
Anyway…
Fingers crossed.

ANYWAY… is the title, of a series of 45 daily reports about 45 record-sleeves that were important to me. Basically all the records I was involved in during my time (and life) with The Ex.

Originally the narratives appeared on Facebook, challenged by Mice Elf, a.k.a. Uno Hoo. The positive feedback that came with it, made me decide to turn it into a book. I thank you all for the encouragement.

The book contains all 45 narratives, no more and no less. Well, okay, true, I took out some typos, and added a little epilogue. 100 pages in total, full-colour, size 18 by 18 cm, comes in a special package. Published by Druxat on October the 5th, 2020…

Available via the webshop of The Ex.
Each copy costs 12 euros plus postage.
Ordering ANYWAY… can be done… here.

Released on March 6th, by À Tant Rêver Du Roi, the first album by CODDIWOMPLE (Olivier Mellano, Nicolas Lafourest, G.W. Sok): THE WALK & Other Stories.
Available from atrdr.net (http://atrdr.net/shop/) and, of course, from Sok’s Shop at the Ex’s Mailorder.

Yep, March already, and kinda quiet on the concert front. Nevertheless busy with various things. Writing new stuff for King Champion Sounds, working on the L&S work-in-progress project, finishing details for the long-awaited Zoikle album, and celebrating the release of the first Coddiwomple album on March the 6th.

On the 12th, Oiseaux-Tempête plays in Tunis, then heads back to Europe to play in Liège on the 12th. Next to that, plenty of writing to do… for the above-mentioned KCS, for L&S, and for the long-term project with Nacho Córdoba.

Meanwhile… trying to focus on a comic-book project with Wilf Plum (ex-Dog Faced Hermans, Two Pin Din, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, amongst other things). Luckily, Wilf is busy too, so he won’t mind the wait. (Well, he probably does, slightly.)

Apart from the regular slur of concerts in the next three months (it’s indeed that time of year again) there’s more to come…

Coddiwomple (Olivier Mellano, Nicolas Lafourest, me) goes to Marseille on September 21 for a concert at Data. On the 22-24th the trio will record their first album at Nicolas Dick’s studio.

October 18th sees the release of From Somewhere Invisible (on Sub Rosa), the new album of Oiseaux-Tempête with guests Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart), Jessica Moss (Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra), Mondkopf and me. The band will have a 7 day residency at L’Atabal in Biarritz (F) where the tour also starts, on the 25th. Last show will be at the Le Guess Who Festival in Utrecht (NL) on Friday 8th November.

Meanwhile I am working on the various lyrics for the Laguerre & Sok project (scheduled for 2020).

I will perform solo on November 16th in Wormerveer (NL) at a Sea Shepherd benefit show.

Special concert with King Champion Sounds in Amsterdam (NL) on December 15th, during an event of new Dutch publishing house De Kaneelfabriek.

And Zoikle (Lukas Simonis, Nina Hitz, me) is preparing their first full vinyl album. To be released in January.