oneweekoneband:

Casimer & Casimir - Retiree

OWOB readers and Chicago-based uncle/nephew duo Casimer & Casimir have sent in this slice of funky synth-pop for your Sunday listening pleasure.

The duo plan to release one single at a time; you can listen to and download each song at their Bandcamp page. (Check their lovely reworking of Annie Cherchait l’Amour.)

Treat your ears right. Listen to this track.

Pitchfork is featuring Casimer&Casimir’s visual aid for “In The New Year”

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Casimer&Casimir’s reimagining of “In The New Year” originally written & recorded by The Walkmen, 2008 credits

Casimer&Casimir appear via kind courtesy of 
mydearsweet {analog to digital conversions} 

Et cetera Instrumenting // Pan!c & Trevor 

Imaging // Trevor Naud c/o Parody Lion 
Mastering // Jason Kuehn c/o Blend Productions

DOWNLOAD Casimer vs. Casimir {Number One} by Casimer&Casimir 

{RUSTY ORANGE} two-tone done well. wish the tie was a tad longer, but perhaps i’m wrong.

Casimer&Casimir is a new American musical duo
Casimer&Casimir are uncle & nephew
Casimer&Casimir is Casimer Pascal & his sister’s son, VJ Casimir Caruso
Casimer&Casimir are variant spellings of the same family name
Casimer&Casimir were born in Detroit
Casimer&Casimir is now Chicago-based
Casimer&Casimir will release one song at a time
Casimer&Casimir issued the first English interpretation of “Anne Cherchait l’Amour”
Casimer&Casimir had their way with the lyrics & reworking the arrangement
Casimer&Casimir admire Elli et Jacno, the French duo who wrote “Anne…” in 1979
Casimer&Casimir recorded snare, guitar, vocals, computers, et cetera at Casimer’s
Casimer&Casimir had Trevor Naud c/o Parody Lion design the artwork
Casimer&Casimir appear courtesy of mydearsweet {analog to digital conversions}
Casimer&Casimir ask you to watch the version filmed by Olivier Assayas

{Anne Cherchait l’Amour} by Elli et Jacno

The move from uncle & nephew to Casimer&Casimir
After the final release of Casimer’s former group he moved his family to Chicagoland in order to escape the blight of their birthplace. VJ Casimir followed just after the turn into 2011 and took a room at his uncle’s home. During this period VJ asked Casimer to compile a list of must-hear music from the last 50 years. Uncle and nephew found they both enthusiastically responded to the same sort of sounds. With this as an impetus they began fiddling with knobs, strings, keys, and other noise making & noise capturing things. In the Spring of 2011 a duo was born.
 
Il buon tempo verra!

“A Boozy Creed”

Chain-smoking Frenchman—-aren’t they all?—-Denis Quilliard (1957 - 2009) was still in high school when he ditched his given name for the jagged mononym “Jacno“…the surname of the graphic designer who created the logo on his favorite pack o’ cigarettes. Unrest was a common theme of his early years as he battled middle-class mores, headmasters at the multiple schools he was expelled from, and France’s Gaullist politicians. It was at a fateful student protest in the spring of ‘73 where he met Elli Medeiros, a seventeen year old Uruguayan Trotskyist with an image of Alice Cooper emblazoned on her blazer. After a few false starts with other short-lived groups the duo founded, perhaps, France’s first bona fide punk group, Les Stinky Toys, who quickly pricked up Malcolm McLaren’s ears, got a coveted spot at London’s first punk fest billed right alongside the Sex Pistols & the Clash, got their young mugs on the cover of Melody Maker, and made a fanboy of Andy Warhol who—-as legend has it—-arrived in Paris with a Jacno button upon his lapel.

“Birthday” by Les Stinky Toys (Jacno is the gent in the white Levi’s)

“I Come From Elsewhere”

Jacno was never comfortable with the “punk” tag nor did he feel he was part of any sort of movement. In fact, throughout his entire career even when popular hits emerged he continued to feel at the fringe at best, often referring to himself as a “martian” in interviews.

After issuing only a 7” single and two LPs, by 1979 the Stinky Toys were all washed up. Throughout the remainder of that year Jacno gave his guitar a lil’ rest and began tinkering with the sort of synthesizers & machines he heard on his fave Kraftwerk records.

His dabbling with ARPs, Korgs, and Moogs accomplished three things:
{1} he recorded enough tracks for the suite of geometric-influenced instrumentals that became the basis for his first solo album
{2} he pushed a youthful contingent of the French music scene to turn their ears away from the sweaty noise of London toward the icy cool electronics emanating from Berlin
{3} by taking Elli along for the ride, having her sing on the only vocal track on his debut, he laid the foundation for their collaboration that would produce three 1ong 2laying r3cords, quirky singles that sold in the millions, and a baby girl named Calypso

“Cercle” by Jacno

 “All The Modern Young Things Love Their Mom…and Jacno”

With the release of his pioneering electronic album and the string of synth-centric hits that followed with Elli et Jacno, whether the former Mr. Quilliard liked it or not he became the godfather of the Jeunes Gens Modernes, a/k/a the modern young things of France’s burgeoning post-punk electro scene. 

“Tic Tac Toc” by Elli et Jacno

“I am not a showman”

I am not a showman. I am a Martian. It is unusual for me to go on stage. I love writing, studio, building songs. This is strictly musical.

As soon as the duo seemed cemented within France’s pop charts Jacno started to step  out of the spotlight by firmly planting himself behind the mixing console to produce an eclectic array of up - and - comers. Jacno’s other preoccupations & Elli’s desire to get back to her Latin musical roots began to hint at an end. By the time they started working on what would prove to be their final album, the soundtrack to Eric Rohmer’s film Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune, Elli and Jacno were barely holding on as a duo and were definitely no longer a couple.  Before 1984 was over their personal & professional relationship was fin. 

“So much time (Tant de temps)”

During the 20 years that followed their split Elli continued to stay on the charts as a solo artist eventually transitioning over to an active film career that is still going today, while Jacno sauntered around Paris keeping busy mostly behind the scenes releasing the occasional solo record now boasting his vocals, as well as guest appearances from the artists he produced like Romane Bohringer, Pauline LaFont, Helena Noguerra, Stereo Total, and this very Gainsbourgian duet of Cher’s “Bang Bang” with former beauty queen Mareva Galanter…

“Jacno est mort.”

2006 proved to be a productive year for Jacno that included his collaboration with Mlle. Galanter, a reunion with Elli on her album “E.M.”, and a final solo record, “Tant de Temps,” proving that he still had much to offer. Like Elli he also had a few acting roles over the years playing his final part in a small indie film that also featured his last music credit—-a rendition of Under the Roofs of Paris (Sous les toits de Paris).

On November 6, 2009 the chain-smoking caught up with Denis who losing his battle with evil fucking cancer died in a Parisian hospital. He was 52.

“Jacno lives!”

Jacno’s death kicked off a renewed interest in the man and his music which lead to a series of reprints including his work with Les Stinky Toys, Elli, and his solo outings. Most recently a lavish concert dedicated to his songs was organized in Paris in tandem with the release of a tribute album entitled, Jacno Future. The collection came out in June of 2011 featuring former collaborators like Étienne Daho, Jacques Higelin, Stereo Total, and Elli, as well as the legendary avant-garde chanteuse Brigitte Fontaine, and various new Jeunes Gens Modernes including Van Wagner, Coming Soon, Chateau Marmont, and even Elli et Jacno’s daughter, Calypso.

Jacno Future has a good sampling of the Quilliard oeuvre, but I was surprised to see one key track missing from the lot, Anne Cherchait L’amour. This was the first song I truly fell for and the one I share with everyone who will listen. It’s the track that made Elli and Jacno = Elli et Jacno! Thus & therefore, in order to right this wrong I have taken up the task personally (along with the help of my dear nephew). More details and the track—-perhaps the first English-language interpretation—-to follow shortly. For now s’il vous plaît profiter de l’original…

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