Guitar, Keys & Noise Maker with Alex Henry Foster & The Long Shadows, 1/6 at Your Favorite Enemies, Sef Lemelin started playing music in the early ‘90s, almost by accident. Even if he was coming from a highly musical family, he never really envisioned playing any instrument, since home wasn’t a very empowering environment. Until his brother lent him a cheap tape of Metallica’ bootleg songs. That moment has been a game changer. With music, he found a place where he could exist without the limitations of the reality.

He was later on introduced to post-punk, noise rock, experimental rock and shoegaze music, which led him to craft his own music, up till dropping “Deconstruction” in 2019. The idea behind his second album “Modulation” came following his 600 Times Digital Tour at the end of 2020. He said:

“It was a way to express my thoughts and feelings about everything that happened last year through sounds and noises. Those 30-minute live streams on my own were my reaction to all of it. I kind of felt like the hatred we were being exposed to, whether it came from racism, sexism, religion, had taken roots very deeply, especially with our isolated reality, where each and every one of us is facing our own self and where our humanity is slowly being diluted and foggy, leading some into serious distress. I didn’t expect those live sessions would be so significant for me, but they truly have been, so I decided to go back to the recording board and explore.

I will always remember a specific moment during one of those live performances that I believe translates the heart of this musical project. Sounds and noises were raging all around me, like a violent storm and I could have stopped it at any moment. But I let it go for a brief moment when this thought came to my mind… The relief is not about stopping the storm, but deciding to let go, so that I can hear something different than what my senses perceived first. I believe this is what I could share with you all through this musical journey: hope and love. Despite everything raging all around us, we can imagine something different in our present!”

Influential guitar players:
Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Nels Cline (Wilco), The Edge (U2), Warren Ellis (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ed O’Brien and Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)

Partners in Crime:
BOSS, Orange Amps, EarthQuaker Devices, Death By Audio, Chase Bliss Audio, D’Addario Strings, Vox Amps, Taylor Guitars and Eastwood Guitars.