Ephemerals

Ephemerals are a London-based group active since 2013. They are associated with funk, jazz and soul, and release material on Jalapeno Records. The group features Thierry Lemaître.

Background and line-up

Ephemerals are described as a soul-oriented band built from musicians connected with Keke Mokoro, Gene Dudley Group, Dakhla, Kalakuta Millionaires, Marvelous and Bombs. Their frontman is Wolf, a Franglo-American singer who is born and raised in New York and later moves to Paris at the age of 14. He begins singing in public only shortly before joining the project.

Formation and recording

The band comes together when Wolf meets writer and producer Hillman Mondegreen, who wants a singer for a soul album he is completing. Mondegreen assembles a line-up from his previous collaborators and other players from the UK soul scene. The first full-band rehearsal takes place on the first day of recording, and the album is then recorded live to analogue tape at The Cowshed in North London over three days, during a July heatwave and with a broken air conditioning unit.

Album details

The recording includes heavy grooves and polished production, with Wolf’s vocals on top. Its lyrics deal with love, social justice, environmental damage and self-determination. Additional recording sessions add strings from the Cordicella’s, who also play on Hillman Mondegreen’s tracks “Tell Me Something” and “Work It Out”, and backing vocals from Hannah Curtain, the lead singer of HWTastemakers.

Release approach

The release is handled through Mondegreen Records using a free-to-download model. A vinyl edition is also planned, with bonus downloads that include an instrumental version of the album, a remix of “Life Is Good” by Jimi Needles and an extended seven-minute version of the opening track “Things”.