lockdown : vinyl find #32.

What a name... Lard Free. That's wordplay. Odd, but so are the titles of their tracks. Back when I found this record, in 2015, the Spanish label Wah Wah Records had been reissuing Lard Free's albums for a few years already. Having a constant eye on the reissue market, I knew the name. This is why I thank the reissues : they allow me to learn. 

I found it filed in my library music section. Which I can explain but which is nonetheless extremely inaccurate. April Orchestra was a series dedicated to library music published by April Music. 

But Lard Free was a experimental/avantgarde band. Meaning strange music. Of course, sometimes library music is challenging for the listener, and rightfully so, as it was used by musicians to explore undiscovered fields. But still, this one sounds like proper tracks, instrumental obviously, but the intent of illustrating motion pictures, TV shows or documentaries sounds highly unlikely.

As I was visiting the good shop Le Laboratoire in Toulouse, France, I engaged into a conversation with the owner, who he told me about a massive collection of library music which had just landed in another store, Bullit. When I got there, the employee was actually sorting out the library music records that they'd just received. There were beauties among them, rarities from Themes, April, KPM... That's what happened when you're connected to a former radio DJ, a library archivist or an ex-TV channel employee I guess. 

My eye caught the generic yet distinctive April Orchestra cover, and quickly connected the name Lard Free with those relatively recent reissues. Plus, despite a steep price, I could afford it. I was allowed to listen to it, actually using the loudspeakers of the store so that everyone (there were only the employee and myself) could enjoy it. The listening session was glorious. That was it. 

Among the experimentations, which invite synthetic sounds to the mixing board, this record is also made of soft jazzy organic parts. In the end, it's a lovely blend of organic and electronic sounds. Not an album per se, not a commissioned nor curated work either, this is indeed a compilation of songs from Lard Free's pre-1976 albums. 

Lard Free - April Orchestra Vol. 15.

Here are a few tracks.