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General Information

ΑΛΓ alias Arnaud Le Grand.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a CC by-nc-sa 2.0 license. This means you are free to download, share or adapt this work, as long as you don't use it for commercial purposes. Moreover, any adaptation must be distributed under the same or similar license to this one, with clear credit to me.

If you want to use my work outside of the above conditions, or in case of doubt, please contact me (link at the bottom of this page).

If you like this project, you can give financial support by buying my music on Bandcamp, or just moral support by leaving a review on one of my profiles (see "Links" section).


Credits:

Music, lyrics and artwork by Arnaud Le Grand (unless otherwise specified).


FAQ

Here are the answers to the questions no one ever asked me (except for sometimes) :

Personal information ?

What are you, a cop ?

Why the unpronounceable artist name ?

First of all, my real name doesn't sound very rock'n'roll, nor do my initials (ALG sounds like « algue » which means « seaweed » in french…). An english name would have been like denying my own identity, while a french name seemed unsuitable as I sing mainly in english. I wanted something universal to circumvent this dilemma.

When I started this project, I had just got back from a one and a half year stay in Greece. This is how my initials looked like on the local administrative paperwork. I always found greek alphabet esthetically appealing, and the fact that greek artists had to latinize their name in order to exist on the internet kind of upset me. I wanted to do the opposite, as a way to protest against this cultural standardization imposed by the system.

Also, a big concern for me was opting for a name unlikely to be used by anyone else, to avoid as much as possible any contingent conflict with members of the music industry, whose abuses of copyright laws are well known.

Besides, this project being purely virtual in that it only exists on the internet – I don't give concerts, I have nothing to sell and I make no effort to promote my work – I didn't really feel the need for a catchy name.

Why do you sing in english rather than in your mother tongue ?

First, because I'm not a poet, and I have no poetic ambition. I only write lyrics because I need something to sing (which doesn't mean I'm doing it flippantly). When listening to a song in your native language, you tend to give more attention to the words than to the music, all the more so in french with our tradition of “singer-poet”. I avoid singing in french to give prominence to the music.

Next, because it's easier. Let me explain: I (almost) always write the lyrics after the music. The work consists of putting some words onto an existing melody. In english, one can tell a lot using only short words easy to fit in. It's much more complicated in french, in my opinion.

Also, it's a matter of reserve, because you won't express the same things in a foreign language and in your mother tongue.

Why releasing the same songs under both EP and LP formats ?

When trying to make your music known, it makes more sense to release short albums. Listeners are more likely go through a 4/5 tracks EP than a one hour album.

On the other hand, if you expect money (as donation or PWYW sale in my case) it's only normal to offer a full-length album in return.

On the top of that, the second release is an opportunity for me to rework the songs with a little hindsight. I often remix them on this occasion, and even sometimes partially rerecord them.

Why no gigs ?

My music is not exactly cut out for live performance, nor am I.


Contact

aarno@alphalambdagamma.net