Track by track

The 11 songs of Stave

Recorded and mixed at home between December 2012 and February 2013, Stave runs about 35 minutes across eleven songs in French and Basque. Here's the story behind each one — with the original handwritten lyric pages further down.

  1. 01
    Peio 3:52 French & Basque

    The opening track, and the very first song recorded for Stave, on 31 December 2012. A tender tribute to Pello Mikel Laboa, the beloved Basque singer, moving from French into Basque ("Ongi etorri gure etxean" — welcome to our home).

  2. 02
    L.3:44

    An early highlight — hazy, guitar-led and bathed in the warm tape hiss that runs across the whole album.

  3. 03
    Être honnête3:07feat. bugle

    Started at the end of a tour with François & The Atlas Mountains, carried by Mathieu Haupais's lonely bugle.

  4. 04
    Le passage3:36Dichroïsme

    Built on a beat by Jean Théremin, with a nod to the cottony hip-hop of Clams Casino — an influence petit fantôme has cited himself.

  5. 05
    Teahupoo3:54Te Ahu Poo

    Named after Teahupo'o, the legendary Tahitian wave — a title that fits the record's surf-and-saltwater imagery.

  6. 06
    Redevenir1:26

    A brief, minute-and-a-half passage that resets the mood before the album's second half.

  7. 07
    Aitatxi3:02Basque

    Aitatxi means grandfather in Basque — a nod to the family and Basque roots that run through the whole album.

  8. 08
    Dans le vent4:33feat. bass & bugle

    The album's biggest arrangement: Vincent Bestaven on bass and lead guitar, and Mathieu Haupais back on bugle.

  9. 09
    Une mélodie sans eau0:43

    At barely 43 seconds, the shortest piece on Stave — a fragile little melody used as an interlude.

  10. 10
    Un garçon sans courage4:07

    A melancholy self-portrait. petit fantôme cites Hubert Mounier of L'Affaire Louis Trio as an influence. Its handwritten page is among those shown below.

  11. 11
    Couvre moi3:20

    Like Être honnête, it was started at the end of the tour with François & The Atlas Mountains, and closes the record on a whisper.

Listen to the album

Peio, word for word

The opening song, transcribed from petit fantôme's handwritten page.

Handwritten lyrics of Peio by petit fantôme, in French and Basque

Peio

French & Basque · a tribute to Pello Mikel Laboa

Peio, Peio, Peio
Bienvenue chez nous
Peio, Peio, Peio
Ongi etorri gure etxean

Bai, on fait la paix
Bai, ici c'est chez toi
Peio, Peio, Peio
Hemen itzuli

Tes amours sont ici
Aucun amour sans toi
    je commence à mourir
Peio, Peio, Peio
Hemen itzuli

Transcribed faithfully from the manuscript; the Basque spelling follows the page as written.

From the notebook

The original handwritten lyric pages — tap a page to read it large.