NCY MILKY BAND
Video: Edouard Jattiot & Laurent Tempels
NCY Milky Band is a French quartet based in Nancy and lead by BMM Records co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Louis Treffel aka Le Serveur. It originally featured David Sireyjol on the Rhodes, Hung Ton on the guitar and piano, and Adrien Legay (The Storm Watchers) on the drums.
They reformed in 2019 with saxophonist Quentin Thomas, bassist Antoine Léonardon and drummer Paul Lefèvre. A few jam sessions at the BMM Land studio went by and they started shooting a series of studio videos titled Our Gurus, in which they covered common influences such as Boards of Canada, Jean-Claude Vannier, Madlib, or in the second volume that followed in 2023: Aphex Twin, Pierre Henry, Galt MacDermot…
Their debut album Burn’IN came out in 2021, oscillating between funky mood enhancers and nostalgic saxophone-driven slow jams, topped by Louis’ undeniable need for experimentation.
As the album gained recognition within the French jazz scene, the backing band making cover videos and grooving behind local artists such as Cotchei and Léon Evangelion started evolving into a fully independent act that offers unique hybrids between French groove, jazz, funk, hip-hop and electronica.
Composed and recorded while touring, their second album titled 100 Ans explores new horizons in a melting pot of references from French soundtrack and 70’s psychedelia to contemporary hip-hop and acid house. Working with collaborators such as Quelle Chris and FLUPKE helped them expand their field of action. Their compositions are thought of as sonic photographs of everyday life, aiming to reflect real situations which, expressed in music, become distorted, blurred and dreamlike.
RELEASES
VIDEOS
OUR GURUS 2
The Nancy-based quartet made a name for themselves in 2020 with the release of their mini-album Our Gurus, a veritable training ground in terms of group playing, sound and production. It featured revisited versions of tracks by their “gurus” such as Boards of Canada, Luther Ingram, Madlib and Serge Gainsbourg. The mini-album was also released on YouTube as a video series, featuring NCY Milky Band’s very first recording sessions, filmed at the BMM studio in Nancy about a week after their first encounter.
Louis Treffel (keyboards), Quentin Thomas (saxophone), Antoine Léonardon (bass) and Paul Lefèvre (drums) now return to where they first met, and present 9 new gurus that they reinterpret with their colorful, psychedelic sound paste. They include tracks by Aphex Twin, Karriem Riggins, Giles, Giles & Fripp (ex-King Crimson), Laurent Petitgirard and Galt MacDermot. To achieve this, NCY Milky Band has surrounded themselves with musicians from Nancy familiar with the label, such as Achille Landois (vecteur0) on guitar, Samy Abboud (Ghost In The Tapes, M.A BEAT!) and his intense MS-20 solo on Pierre Henry, Adrien Legay (The Storm Watchers, vecteur0, M.A BEAT!) who plays additional drums on Aphex Twin, and a brass trio.
100 ANS
Recorded during the tour following their debut LP Burn’IN, prolific French quartet NCY Milky Band present their second album of hybrid jazz, inviting us in a cinematic, melodic and poignant universe. These 14 tracks, including two collaborations with Detroit rapper Quelle Chris and French producer FLUPKE, reflect sonic photographs of everyday moments with a psychedelic sound that pushes jazz out of its comfort zone.
BURN’IN
This is the debut album from the Nancy-based quartet NCY Milky Band. The four musicians deliver unique jazz experiments at the crossroads of 70’s french groove and modern electronica. The album covers a wide range of moods, switching from cheerful anthems with goofy synths to slow jams in which the saxophone breezes a deep feeling of nostalgia. With Burn’IN, NCY Milky Band are bringing a refreshing and original touch to the upcoming french jazz scene.
LIVE AT 111M EP
To celebrate 10 years of music in their hometown, BMM Records’ backing band is back with a crazy performance project. Live at 111m is a short film and EP that consists of three songs recorded live on top of Nancy’s highest building. These new songs, captured 111 meters above the ground, transcribe a strong adrenaline rush. On the production side, the intention was to return to a minimalist process: record a limited number of takes at the top of the tower, then mix, without any additional tweaks.
OUR GURUS
This release compiles audio tracks from the video series titled “Our Gurus”, which consists of studio sessions with the NCY Milky Band covering songs from artists and musicians who inspired them the most. When you listen to the NCY Milky Band, you get caught up by their warm sound skillfully composed of soulful melodies, hip hop rhythms, jazz flights and some well-felt electronic incursions. A sound, in which percussion scratches and bass notes bite, sublimated by the mythical Fender Rhodes keyboard, reawakening that sweet sound from the past.