Loïc Lantoine
Gravelly, whiskey-soaked storytelling that feels like a late-night confession in a dim French bistro. Raw, poetic, and deeply human chanson for the quiet hours.
Gravelly, whiskey-soaked storytelling that feels like a late-night confession in a dim French bistro. Raw, poetic, and deeply human chanson for the quiet hours.
Loïc Lantoine creates music that feels like it was born in the back of a smoky bar at three in the morning. His voice is a weathered instrument, a raspy growl that prioritizes the weight of a word over the perfection of a note. It is the sound of 'chanson pas chantée' (un-sung song), where the boundary between poetry and melody dissolves into a rhythmic, spoken-word flow that is both abrasive and incredibly tender.
What sets him apart is the stark, muscular minimalism of his arrangements. Often anchored by a driving, woody upright bass, the music provides a rhythmic skeleton for his narratives. It is working-class poetry that doesn't feel academic; it feels lived-in, dusty, and occasionally desperate. He captures the beauty in the mundane and the dignity in the struggle, delivered with a punk-adjacent spirit that rejects polish in favor of emotional truth.
Start with the album 'Badaboum' to hear the foundational duo sound that defined his early career. It is the perfect entry point for anyone who appreciates the grit of Tom Waits or the lyrical depth of classic French chanson but wants something that feels more immediate, raw, and rhythmically grounded.
Loïc Lantoine is a French singer and songwriter born in Armentières, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. He wrote songs for Jehan in Les ailes de Jehan and for Allain Leprest and in 2000 for the show Ne nous quittons plus. He also became part of formations La Rue Kétanou, he was a founder of Mon côté punk. He was part of a duo with François Pierron, and then a quartet by including Eric Philippon and Joseph Doherty, and finally a quintet with the addition of Thomas Fiancette all under the name Les Loïc Lantoine. In April 2013, he released his solo album J’ai changé.
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