Listen Outside The Box

 ~Blog Post By Alisa ~

I grew up with very different parents who listened to very different styles of music. My mother listened to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis,  and Diana Ross. My father had a preference for the Big Band sound, the incomparable jazz/blues musician, Leon Redbone, and the blues singer, Phoebe Snow. Still, no matter how much I could appreciate those different musicians, nothing fired up my little synapses like rock and roll. It was a blessing for me that, amongst my dad's other aforementioned favorites, there was also the likes of Elton John, Billy Joel, and The Allman Brothers. I carefully picked up the turntable's needle and replayed 'Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' endlessly while sitting on the floor with the headphones cranked up; annihilating my hearing at the earliest possible age I could manage.

Since those days, I have grown attached to all sorts of rock and roll acts. If it's good, I will listen. If it's creative, I will listen closer. These days, though, it's tough to find creative acts on the radio. Doesn't mean they aren't out there, but they're getting harder to find.  It's wearisome to differentiate one band from the next because the music industry seems to only sign bands that sound like other bands. So, for me, another musical blessing is the Internet; any type of music you can imagine is here, just waiting to be discovered. My favorite discoveries are the bands which allow the members' unique personalities to shine through, blending into a homogeneous piece of auditory pleasure. Today, I want to share one such band that I have found: De:laQ.

De:laQ is: Eric Senet, Julian Orzabal, Pierre Leveille, and Lionel Boisselet

The name De:laQ is derived from  Julian Orzabal's Argentine surname, De la Quintana. Julian is the lead singer and songwriter for the band. After being on the fringes of the music world for years, he stepped into the spotlight with their debut album, The Butterfly. Drawing much of his inspiration from a fertile imagination, Julian decided on fifteen distinctive songs for the album. The songs range from folk, to pop, to rock styles, and Orzabal's strong vocals are up to the challenging variety. Fans believe that Orzabal has the rare gift of capturing glimpses of ordinary life and elevating them to a place where one wants to pull up a chair and see how it all works out. Not one to allow the creative juices to run dry, Julian has woven together ideas for novellas, a screenplay, and seems to always be hip-deep in new songs for the band's second effort.

Assisting Orzabal with the creation of the songs is music composer, Eric Senet. Although capable of playing a wide array of instruments, Senet is first and foremost a guitarist. And he sure does play a mean guitar. It is easy to hear how he has been inspired by the likes of Neil Young and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, but Eric's playing is definitely all his own. Fans often remark that they can recognize his guitar playing without being told that it's him; the mark of a true individual. If you go to their YouTube band page and listen to 'Standing at the Crossroads,' you will understand. The searing guitar licks are nothing short of haunting. Having once been highly competitive in sports, Senet now turns that level of perfectionism into distinctive arrangements that make the listener sit up and take notice.

Rounding out the band are Lionel Boisselet on bass guitar, and Pierre Leveille on drums. Both Boisselet and Leveille are school teachers to young children. Boisselet is heavily influenced by the band Extreme, Nuno Bettoncourt especially, and also crafts his own compositions. Leveille has an eclectic and wide-ranging taste in music, which translates into an effortless ability to bring his own creativity into the songs, rather than simply keeping the beat. His talent is surpassed only by his humility, which is at once refreshing and endearing.

Asking fans which tracks are the best, you'd eventually get a list comprised of every track on the album. That's the beauty of this gem; there's something for everyone. I pay attention to who likes what when it comes to this album, and the tracks I hear about the most are the upbeat songs, 'Find My Way Home,' 'Remember Me,' and 'City Girl,' and the darker, more brooding tracks, 'The Butterfly,' and 'Standing at the Crossroads'. My personal favorites change regularly. At the moment, they are the good-love-gone-cold song, 'Love Is,' the acoustic version of the uptempo *'Make Me Wait,' and 'She Said,' which is a pop tune that jumps out of the gate and rocks all the way to the finish line. In a recent interview, Orzabal was asked what their expectations are when they craft songs, and his response was that they simply hope listeners will, "just enjoy the music." I think it's safe to say their fans would agree that De:laQ is hitting that mark.

Distance is a factor in how frequently these guys can get together and jam up a storm. Orzabal resides near Bath, England, whereas the others live relatively close in the Burgundy region of France. In the meantime, Senet, Boisselet, and Leveille perform together, along with Benoit Renevret and Olivier Dupuy, in the French rock band, Delilah June. (Check them out at www.delilahjune.com and on Facebook.) But distance will not stop De:laQ from completing their sophomore effort, which is due in 2011. Many of the songs have already been written ,the music has been arranged, and it's only a matter of getting into the studio together to record. I am anticipating the time when I can put on the headphones, crank up the volume, and let my synapses run wild once more.

Click here to view De:laQ performing their songs 'Make Me Wait'

and 'Standing at the Crossroads'

To listen to De:laQ for yourself, check them out at www.delaq.com , on their music channel at YouTube www.youtube.com/user/TheDelaQ, and then see what their fans have to say on the Facebook Fan Page at

Enjoy the music. Appreciate the lyrics. Spread the word. Rock on.

* Swing by the band's official website and look for the free mp3 download of 'Make Me Wait'

~Alisa