The Arkitekts are a French independent rock/pop trio who formed in the middle of November 2003.

But their musical roots go back to the 1990s when front man on guitar and vocals David Law and drummer Vortex shared the stage in the group Flyshoes, who played about 300 concerts in France.

With the addition of Tom Bass on bass guitar and keyboard (often played at the same time!) to complete the trio, The Arkitekts play an interesting mix of slightly goth, slightly grunge, slightly psychadelic, slightly epic guitar rock ... maybe think The Doors meet Bauhaus downstairs at an avante-blues jam in a prog rock squat.

I caught The Arkitekts playing at La Fête de la Musique and enjoyed their set thoroughly, probably spending an hour of the evening enjoying their tunes ... I even bought the CD, Parfums du Silence.

One of the things I enjoyed about their live set was the utilisation of two microphones by David Law, one was connected directly into their PA, but the other microphone was first passed through a delay (or reverb?) effect pedal which enabled the vocalist to create some unique and cavernous vocal sounds. It is certainly a nice little trick I will be experimenting with when I get back home to my collection of musical toys.



Also Tom Bass’ uncanny ability to play both bass guitar and keyboards at the same time helped to add several layers of sound to the mix

The band were entertaining and really tight and created a huge sound for a three piece, with a mix of soft and hard rock sounds, often used to build tension within the songs. There was also a regular group of onlookers enjoying their set at La Fête de la Musique.