Black Strobe’s Going Back Home May 27th

photo by Quentin Caffier

“Going Back Home” is Q Magazine “Track of the Day”
“The House of Good Lovin’” is Clash Magazine “Track of the Day”
Both Available Now to Post and Share

“…shadowy Americana and a low, growling delivery, it recalls Nick Cave’s vision of stateside violence or even The Cramps more intense moments.” Clash (May 2014)

Black Strobe, and its leader, French musician Arnaud Rebotini, have had quite a trajectory over the years. Founded in 1997, the group was at the forefront of the electronic rock (aka “electroclash”) zeitgeist sweeping the indie music scene in the early 2000s, making a name for themselves with their breakthrough single “Me and Madonna” (Output; 2002) and “Italian Fireflies” (Kitsuné; 2003), releasing more than a dozen singles over the next few years. But they released only one album, 2007’s Burn Your Own Church, by which time Rebotini had begun flaunting his fascination with the American cowboy, the Blues, and the great American songwriting tradition.

The contemporary western feel Black Strobe captured on Burn Your Own Church, both melancholic and polished, eventually came to the notice of Quentin Tarantino, who used Black Strobe’s cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man” for the trailer of Django Unchained.

(Watch Black Strobe’s live version of “I’m a Man” here, or their music video for the songhere)

Through it all, Black Strobe has straddled both worlds, melding a sound that at once embraces the sonic legacy of American rock ‘n’ roll, while maintaining the Parisian artist’s electronic sensibility. As Black Strobe, Rebotini has done more than forty remixes for bands such as Depeche Mode, Rammstein, The Rapture, Bloc Party, Fischerspooner, The Hacker and Dave Clarke, as well as recording numerous solo projects under his own name. Finally, in 2012 he re-launched Black Strobe with two new singles: “Boogie In Zero Gravity “and “The Girl From The Bayou”.

Now comes the new EP Going Back Home, featuring two new songs, a remix of the title track (replete with electronic loops and dancefloor beats) and a cover of Rufus Thomas’ Tiger Man, made popular by Elvis Presley. The EP is the first taste of Godforsaken Roads, Black Strobe’s upcoming second album, set to be released in September 2014. The record confirms Rebotini’s rock sensibility with ten new tracks, including a cover of the Johnny Cash classic Folsom Prison Blues, once again with the aim of keeping the blues/country ‘n’ western flame alive.