LIBERTINES DIALEKTIK FRENCH SESSION 7" VINYL *VERY RARE* *LTD ED*

	£		65
	$		86

THE LIBERTINES (PETE DOHERTY / CARL BARAT)
DIALEKTIK FRENCH SESSIONS
7" VINYL
RECORDED IN NANTES, FRANCE, IN 2003 
LIMITED EDITION AND VERY RARE
300 COPIES RELEASED 2007
THIS IS No. 226 / 300
TWO TRACKS:
1. NARCISSIST
2. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
WITH EXCLUSIVE PHOTO POSTCARD
NEVER PLAYED
STORY OF THE RECORDING IS HERE: Libération March 05 2003

The Libertines on the run
During 4 days of madness, The Libertines have recorded a clandestine record inNantes.


The Libertines
Mini-CD: «Narcissist»
(Dialektik Records)


At the beginning of December, at the Chabada venue in Angers, The Libertinesclearly gave their best concert in France. Excited, fast, nihilistic, arrogant,but concentrated enough to play the fifteen or so titles of their repertoire.With The Libertines, it has always been fast: first gig in London in February2002, a tape given to a member of Suede who immediately released an energeticsingle, What a Waster. And then Mick Jones, founder member of The Clash, whoproduces them for the Rough Trade label, with the album Up the Bracket, at theend of October. Then, a tour in America, Japan and Europe.
“They have the speed of electricity”, comments Colin Wallace, their mainmanager. After the Chabada gig, it was beer and wine until the end of thenight. Peter Doherty and Carl Barât, the two tall singer-guitarists, meet anunshaven guy who is able to hold his drinks, Stéphane Moreau, 29 years-old,from Nantes. Since 1995, he has been at the head of the label Dialektik Recordsin Nantes, which was created to release the records of the local punk bandZabriskie Point. With nearly 65 records to his credit, Moreau is adventurous,and, “like a joke”, offers a recording session to the Libertines, who agree:“Ok, a record for the French people..”. The 3 men, drunk, go and knock on thetourbus door where Bannie, the band manager, is sleeping. No answer. So theyagree for an appointment on the 4th of January, in East London, in Doherty’shome...
Moreau will go to London, with a van and a mate, decided to bring the band backto Nantes to record the session promised during this famous binge evening inAngers. He believes in it: “I arrived at his place, with my camera. It wasVelvet Goldmine, in an awful suburb, the door could not be closed. Pete has auniverse of his own, in that really Franco-romantic mess, there are piles of books,poetry, tapes of French films, Godard, Truffaut, old records of Françoise Hardyor Django Reinhardt. He listens to whatever comes to hand.” Peter Doherty didnot organise anything: the Libertines drummer, Gary Powell, is on holidays inCyprus; the bass player, John Hassal, does not want to come; the English labeldoes not know anything about it. But Doherty and Barât are ready. “We spent theday singing and chatting, with 4 girls completely pissed out of their brainswho looked at us strangely. We made a decision that evening: we are going toNantes with Pete and Carl in the van, with a young guy, Alan, to play thedrums. I said to myself at this moment that I suddenly entered the history ofrock.”
Doherty and Barât leave for a trip of 4 days, during which they won’t sleep,kept awaken by excitation, alcohol and drugs, recording their French session atthe same speed as they fritter away their lives of juvenile rock stars. On theferryboat, they write the songs, and arriving in Nantes, they are led to the GarageHermétique, an improvised studio, “where they rush on the equipment” and beginto play immediately. They asked for old amps à la Beatles, an electronic organand, even if “the drummer was not really good”, record 4 songs in 2 days,interrupted with all the old titles played with rage. “It was only chaos,improvisation”, says Stéphane Moreau. “They compose and play at full tilt. Allthe takes are live, we let the hard disk on non-stop, risking to blow it. Theygave everything they could give.”
In London, at Rough Trade, after a few hours of incredulity, it is panic. Themobile keeps on ringing: “What the hell are you doing in France, and only twoof you! You have an interview with The Guardian on the 6th and a gig on the 7thin Holland. Come back immediately!”
Doherty and Barât don’t care, they throw the mobile into the bin and keep onplaying more than ever. It is the journalist of the Guardian who will travel toNantes for the interview. “The English label was afraid, says Moreau. They knewthat The Libertines were uncontrollable, so they let them do it. With only onerequest: “Bring them back alive for the gig in Holland..””
Once the recording finished and the mixing quickly done “in half a day”, thevan of Dialektik drives to Groningen, Holland, where the 3 managers, ColinWallace, James Andycott and the mum Banny, are waiting resolutely for therunaways. There is money and the record company’s reputation at stake; theLibertines are reaching 100, 000 copies of Up the Bracket, and the second albumis eagerly awaited. “They gave Doherty and Barât a tremendous dressing-down.One of them was kissing them (Banny), the others were bawling them out likedogs. Peter and Carl were like little boys. They knew that they had done adamned stupid thing, but they liked it.” Then, the Rough Trade managers leadMoreau in a room of the local Hotel Mercure for some closely argueddiscussions. There was no question of letting 4 songs disappear like that: “Itis serious: we asked the lawyers to be cool with you, but your stuff must notexist, it is not possible”, says Colin Wallace. Finally, Dialektik will dragthe right to exploit 2 songs in 2,000 copies of a 7”, and the other 2 titleswill certainly be (they have been bought) on the second album of the band,prepared in Paris in January, and to be recorded in London those next fewweeks. There are also 10 hours of video, exploitable without any problem: “Avideo for the single and a real film which will tell how the history of rockcan still be written in present tense, like an accident”, says an excitedStéphane Moreau.
It is half-botched. The two titles, Narcissist and Through the Looking Glass,summarise the Libertines: a wild song, home-made punky half-botching title(sorry for this impossible translation!!) with Kinks riffs; followed by aballad. It gives you an idea of their future, in the form of a more crooner popreorientation. This is confirmed by the two extra laments, put on embargo forthe moment (except for our editorial staff). A bit mellow and unpolished, thoseare songs with fine guitar sounds and little secrets. Stéphane Moreau, wakingup from his day-dream, tries to find a moral to this adventure: “Those guys aregood-looking, are going fast, are young. They are going to make a second album,then to burn out. There is rage in it, rage to create, rage toself-destruction. What will remain for me is that desperate energy. It has beena wild recording. Among their discography, we will always see a bizarre thing:“Dialektik French Sessions”, as they say, “Made in 4 days in Nantes.” When theydecide the day when they’ll let band die, I am sure Peter and Carl will thinkof me.”