Le Chat Noir

Le Chat Noir are hard-rockin' Transatlantic duo Teddy Hesper and Eileen Spruce. During the past 2 years the band have gigged solidly all over Europe, their full throttle live performances leaving stages soaked in sweat and blood and littered with broken drumsticks. Along the way Le Chat Noir sold out their self-funded debut release Tales From Silver City and released a follow up, Deadwood. Tales From Silver City was voted Playmusic Magazine’s Best Unsigned Recording of 2006.

The band fuse together influences both old and new - from 50s rock and roll to modern alternative rock, via 60s garage rock and 70s punk - to create something unique. They have a powerful, edgy, dirty, raw lo fi sound.

Teddy Hesper was born in London, England in 1982, but moved to the Devonshire countryside aged 4. Though he is an experienced musician, being in Le Chat Noir has marked a change in Hesper's musical direction - since picking up a bass guitar at the age of 15, he has played in numerous bands, but it was not until late 2006, when he began his musical correspondence with Spruce, that he switched from bass to guitar and vocals. Hesper is a keen reader and writer and has a degree in English Literature. His guitar style is unusual and certainly influenced by his years as a bassist - he often plays in open D, using an ABY box to split the signal to a bass amplifier and guitar amplifier to flesh out the band's sound - whilst his untrained, exorcism-in-progress vocal delivery has led to comparisons to Kurt Cobain, Frank Black and even Jim Morrison. A mild-mannered character in person, Hesper undergoes a remarkable change upon taking to the
stage - he often seems to be wrestling with inner demons, charging Le Chat Noir's live shows with excitement and unpredictability.

Los Angeles native Spruce was born in 1983, moving to England in 2006 to be in Le Chat Noir. Anyone who has witnessed one of Le Chat Noir's live shows will testify that her aggressive style blows any comparisons to other well-known girl drummers out of the water. When on stage, Spruce becomes a woman possessed. She is an irresistible presence behind the drums, thrashing out solid, powerful rhythms as though her life depended on it. People have made comparisons to John Bonham and Keith Moon. She is one of the most animated and hardest-hitting drummers you are ever likely to see, attested to by a trail of broken double butt-ended drumsticks and smashed cymbals!

Tales From Silver City, Le Chat Noir's debut album, was available in a limited run of 500 on Garage Sale Records, individually signed and numbered with exclusive artwork by New Zealand-based artist Daniel Alexander. The album was recorded between September and October 2006 at The Cat's Cradle, the band's studio deep in the Devonshire countryside. It has now sold out, but there are plans for a rerecorded release in 2008. Deadwood, released through Bath-based label Patchogue Records, is the band's hotly-anticipated second album, which sees the band developing the visceral garage rock of their debut album and taking it to a new level, with tracks exhibiting a new maturity and confidence whilst still staying true to the stripped-down aesthetic which has earned them a cult following. Exclusive artwork by Tim Zastera and 8 page concertina fold booklet. The album was recorded between January and July 2007.
http://www.lechatnoir.org.uk