HELIOGABALE est un groupe parisien dont la route a croisée celles de Steve Albini, d’Al Sutton, ou du regretté Iain Burgess. Elle s’est cette fois-ci arrêtée aux portes de Patrick Müller (Mami Chan, Dragibus) et d’Antoine Gaillet (M83, BB Brunes) qui ont respectivement enregistré et mixé « Blood », leur 6ème album à sortir le 15 septembre 2010.

Dès les débuts du projet en 1992, l’idée d’évo-lution, de progression est présente; chaque album a été en rupture par rapport à son prédécesseur, soulignant le style original du groupe.


HELIOGABALE is a Paris band whose road met Steve Albini’s, Al Sutton’s or the late Iain Burgess (rip). This time they stopped by the doorstep of French sound engineers Patrick Müller and Antoine Gaillet who respectively recorded and mixed down « Blood », the band’s sixth album to be released on September 15, 2010.
Since its beginning in 1992 HELIOGABALE has been using change and evolution as keywords of its music; each album was a break with the previous one, highlighting a unique style.


1995
premier album, «Yolk» (Agony) mixé par Iain Burgess @ Black Box; s’ensuivra un changement de line up suite au décès de Klaus Sélosse (batterie). Sortie l’année suivante du ep «To Pee» sur le même label, enregistré et mixé par Iain Burgess @ Black Box.

1997
enregistrement à Chicago avec Steve Albini de l’album autoproduit «The Full Mind Is Alone The Clear» suivi de tournées française et italienne.

1999
enregistrement avec Al Sutton (Don Caballero, Today Is The Day) et signature sur Prohibited Records pour l’album «Mobile Home».

2003-2005
Sasha Andrès tourne «Elle Est Des Nôtres», film de Siegrid Alnoy, et Philippe Thiphaine rejoint le projet M83 pour une tournée internationale. Sortie entre-temps de l’album «Diving Rooms» en autoproduction.

2008-2009
Heliogabale enregistre dix nouvelles chansons (prise de son : Patrick Müller / mixage : Antoine Gaillet).

2010
Heliogabale sort «Blood» sur Les Disques du Hangar 221 et A Tant Rêver du Roi. Brice Pirotais remplace Vivian Morisson à la basse.

HELIOGABALE :
Sasha Andrès : chant
Brice Pirotais : basse
Marcel Perrin : batterie
Philippe Thiphaine : guitare

After their jaw-dropping tours of Italy and England, Heliogabale signed with their first label (Agony) in 1995 and released the full-length, "Yolk", followed by the EP "To Pee", as well as drawing the attention of and working with other folks (Sasha sang on "My dancing days are gone" by Cornershop (split with Prohibition)).

In 1996, Heliogabale appeared as a key member in the PUSH collective (Heliogabale, Sister Iodine, Prohibition, Purr, Port Radium, Dragibus…), the rehearsal/recording studio where they still currently reside.

Around the same time, Sasha Andres participated in the project "Morceaux Choisis", singing renditions of songs by Brigitte Fontaine and Serge Gainsbourg accompanied by Steve Argueles, Benoit Delbecq and Noël Akchoté's Recyclers.

In 1997, Heliogabale met Steve Albini (producer of Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Breeders...), who's support of the band led to the recording of their LP, "The full mind is alone the clear", recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio Studio (Chicago) in August 1997. This album received great reviews in both France and abroad: "Incendiary flood, venomous counting rhymes or mutant blues,'The full mind is alone the clear' spins its web. Constantly changing its skin, it submerges us in a tactile world with feedback, breaths, buzz and throbs going through its vibrating universe".
(Roland Slapolemick).

After a long tour in Europe supporting the album, the band returned to Paris to compose new music. In November of '98, an Italian tour with Purr brought the band to Sicily where they received a hearty welcome after Steve Albini had presented them as an important musical reference. Sasha Andres also joined Prohibition on their American tour for a few shows where they 'opened up for themselves' playing covers of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Fontaine. During this period Sasha also recorded an album with Stephen Prina (Red Crayola) and David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol) for the French label Rectangle and participated in " Au bordel " released in Winter & Winter (1998).

From the end of '98 till June '99, Heliogabale holed-up at PUSH to finish the songs for their new album, "MOBILE HOME", which was produced and engineered by Al Sutton (Don Caballero, Today's The Day, etc.) in August '99 in Paris. It reveals a new orientation for the band, with more minimalist and atmospheric constructions. Sasha Andres revealed an amazing melodic approach that hadn't been seen before, and for one peice, Heliogabale, joined with musicians Eugene Rodinson from Oxbow and Lorichonberg from Purr.