Cyann & Ben

Paris-based purveyors of dream-pop and glittering soundscapes

Website: HERE

Bio from PR:

The seeds for the enigmatically, altruistically named Cyann & Ben were sown in the cold, grey, rainy city of Charleville-Mezieres. A small provincial French town on the border with Belgium, it was the birthplace of the legendary French poet Arthur Rimbaud. But even he, locals are forced to concede, tried to run away four times by the time he was 17. Now it is due to be the site for the trial of Michel Fourniret, a self-confessed serial killer who claims to have murdered up to 20 people in France and Belgium between 1987 and 2001. Three of Cyann & Ben’s four members – Cyann (keyboards, vocals), Ben (vocals, guitars), and Charlie (drums, samplers, synth) – grew up there, experimenting with music in various configurations before finally making good their escape to Paris.

Cyann & Ben as an entity, however, was formed in spring 2001, soon after the two started working together, and they were joined by Charlie and Loïc (guitars, keyboards) for their first studio recordings. The chemistry that developed, especially when the four of them left the studio and took to the stage, was such that they soon started working and writing together regularly. Within a year they were signed to the currently dormant Gooom Records – former home to M83 – and not long afterwards released their debut album, Spring, to wide acclaim in their homeland. A second album, Happy Like A Tree, followed in late 2004, consolidating their reputation and, despite limited distribution, won a small army of fans across Europe. Both albums were also released in the US by Locust Music, home to – amongst others – releases by Espers, Matmos, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary.

The band's third album, Sweet Beliefs, is released in the UK through Ever Records in 2006, preceded by the Sunny Morning EP.