1. Infin… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least four artists performing under this name:
1. Infinite's member Kim Myungsoo (김명수)
2. The solo project of Hiroyuki Usui (臼井弘行)
3. The French artist L (Raphaële Lannadère)
4. Los Angeles based darkwave/ebm/industrial project
1. 엘/L is Infinite's Kim Myungsoo (김명수; born March 13, 1992) stage name, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a vocalist of boy band Infinite in 2010 and its sub-group Infinite F in 2014. He left Woollim Entertainment in August 2019 but will continue to be a member of the group. Debuted as a soloist in February 3rd of 2021.
2. L is the solo project of Hiroyuki Usui (臼井弘行) (guitar, vocals, vibes, harmonium, bass, drums, cello, field recordings, didgeridoo). His only album "Holy letters" was recorded in 1989-1990. On it, he blends delicate folk, psychedelia, and experimental sounds into a mostly subdued but undeniably glowing suite. The layered but careful instrumentation on tracks like the epic "Holy Letters" and "Troll" backs the alternately plain-spoken and crooning vocals perfectly. Odd touches like snatches of throat singing and bowed vibraphone leap out of the mix at just the right time. There are overt references to the blues (the first track is an oblique cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "Cold Was The Ground") - but other than the occassional slide guitar touch, the connection is overwhelmingly in the timeless feeling and atmosphere.
"Holy Letters" was self-released by Hiro in 1994 (in an oversized package including the CD and a 7", on Holy Castle), primarily to be given away to friends. A handful of copies were sold via Tokyo's Modern Music/PSF operation in Japan and by Forced Exposure in the US, but other than that, it disappeared completely. Hiroyuki Usui's name pops up in several intriguing places in the apparently still underdocumented Japanese underground lexicon. While he now concentrates mostly on didgeridoo (and his profession of garden design), he once played drums in Fushitsusha (late 70's/early 80's), A-Musik (with the legendary vocalist Phew), Marble Sheep, and several other true-underground outfits.
In 2003-2004, the American VHF label stumbled upon a box of leftover copies of this album and sold them on their website. The response was great, and led to a digipack CD reissue in 2004 including both CD and 7" from the original package, plus an alternate version of "Troll" from the original sessions.
3. The French L (Raphaële Lannadère) is a singer-songwriter who released her first ep "Première Lettres" in 2008. She is currently touring France. More information on her MySpace (www.myspace.com/lmusique)
4. Los Angeles based darkwave/ebm/industrial project first releasing music in 2020: https://lmusicofficial.bandcamp.com/
les hurleurs
L Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ne sait plus s'écouler
Et qu'il me fait exprès
Des mois comme des années
J'attends une heure précise
La même tous les jours
Celle des cris qui s'enlisent
Et lancent des cailloux
Les murs ont tout à coup
Des lèvres immobiles
Et leurs baisers grésillent
On dirait des mots doux
Mais sans un brin d'azur
Je n'comprends rien aux rimes
Au creux des commissures
Les mots sont anonymes
A cette heure curieuse
Parfois pourtant je rêve
J'profite des mots en pleurs
Qui montent et puis qui crèvent
Ca monte et ça racole
Y a pas de chef de choeur
Pourtant même les pierres
S'mettent à faire des prières
Dans la cacophonie
Des serments échangés
Les murmures se crient
Et j'les garde en secret
Pour après, pour que dure
Ce que j'en imagine
Au creux de mes blessures
Les mots sont synonymes
Quand les pierres susurrent
J'vous jure, j'vois des lueurs
Et même si c'est les murs
Qui nous parlent d'ailleurs
Moi je change de décor
J'me fais même un pays
Où des nuits colorées
Maquilleraient mes regrets
Quand les baisers grésillent
J'oublie le bruit des grilles
J'écoute la rumeur
Déclamer ses amours
Les lettres des hurleurs
Mon coeur les passe au crible
Et j'oublie que mes murs
Ont des yeux invisibles
In L's song "Les Hurleurs," the singer—who seems to be in prison—reflects on time and the passage of it. The singer notes that time seems to have stopped since it feels like months go by like years. However, the singer has a specific time of day they look forward to—the hour of the screams that echo and throw stones. During this time, the walls seem to come alive, and their kisses sound like sweet nothings even though the singer cannot understand them. The singer also notes that the words spoken at this time are anonymous, lost in a cacophony of sounds.
Despite the chaos of the hour, sometimes the singer dreams during this time, enjoying the words of those in tears. Though there is no leader in this chorus of voices, even the stones seem to join in the prayers. The whispers are yelled, and the singer keeps them secret for later, imagining them as synonyms for their wounds.
When the stones whisper, the singer sees glimmers of hope, even if they know it is only the walls who speak to them. They change the scenery by creating a colorful night where their regret is masked by makeup. During the stones' kisses, the singer forgets the noise of the bars and instead listens to the murmurs of the declaimed love letters. The singer examines each word's meaning, forgetting that the walls have invisible eyes.
The lyrics of "Les Hurleurs" paint a clear picture of a person sitting alone in their cell, waiting for the moment when the energy of the world outside reaches through to them. The song's overall meaning is one of hope—that even in the most challenging moments, people can find inspiration in unexpected places.
Line by Line Meaning
Depuis qu'pour moi le temps
Ne sait plus s'écouler
Et qu'il me fait exprès
Des mois comme des années
Since time stopped flowing for me and intentionally makes each month feel like a year
J'attends une heure précise
La même tous les jours
Celle des cris qui s'enlisent
Et lancent des cailloux
I wait at the same hour every day for the screams that get stuck in my head, like rocks thrown against a wall
Les murs ont tout à coup
Des lèvres immobiles
Et leurs baisers grésillent
On dirait des mots doux
The walls suddenly have lips that crackle with a sound like sweet words, but there's no hint of blue in the rhymes they form and the words at the corners of their mouths are anonymous
Mais sans un brin d'azur
Je n'comprends rien aux rimes
Au creux des commissures
Les mots sont anonymes
But without even a hint of blue, I can't grasp what the rhymes mean, and the words at the corners of their lips are unrecognizable
A cette heure curieuse
Parfois pourtant je rêve
J'profite des mots en pleurs
Qui montent et puis qui crèvent
At this strange hour, sometimes I dream and take advantage of the weeping words that rise and then fall apart
Ca monte et ça racole
Y a pas de chef de choeur
Pourtant même les pierres
S'mettent à faire des prières
It builds and clamors without a conductor, yet even the stones begin to pray
Dans la cacophonie
Des serments échangés
Les murmures se crient
Et j'les garde en secret
Amidst the cacophony of exchanged vows, whispers turn into screams, and I keep them to myself
Pour après, pour que dure
Ce que j'en imagine
Au creux de mes blessures
Les mots sont synonymes
For later, so that what I imagine endures in my wounds, where the words are synonyms
Quand les pierres susurrent
J'vous jure, j'vois des lueurs
Et même si c'est les murs
Qui nous parlent d'ailleurs
When the stones whisper, I swear I see lights, and even though it's the walls that speak to us from beyond
Moi je change de décor
J'me fais même un pays
Où des nuits colorées
Maquilleraient mes regrets
I change the scene and create a land where colorful nights cover up my regrets
Quand les baisers grésillent
J'oublie le bruit des grilles
J'écoute la rumeur
Déclamer ses amours
When the crackle of lips distracts me, I forget the sound of bars and listen to the rumble that declares its love
Les lettres des hurleurs
Mon coeur les passe au crible
Et j'oublie que mes murs
Ont des yeux invisibles
My heart scrutinizes the letters of the howlers, and I forget that my walls have invisible eyes
Contributed by Penelope H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.