ECLAIR - Cloud Drifter

A Swiss band led by the two brothers Yavor and Stefan Lilov, along with Sebastien Bui, Elie Ghersinu and Alain Sandri, L'Eclair, now on their fourth album, try to push further into experimental territory and raise the bar even higher. Their debut album, "Polydor" (2018), already contained the seeds of future developments, with its instrumental jazz funk touched by hints of retrowave. The following works, "Saurodopa" and "Confusion", moved along that same path, the first more handcrafted, the second more experimental and restless. With "Cloud Drifter" the band enters a new phase, thanks to a much more pervasive electronic presence than before, and also to the vocal and sung parts (previously the music was essentially instrumental).

The foundation remains jazz funk, but now synths and drum machines take centre stage, venturing into territory bordering on dance and IDM. "Cloud Drifter", however, is not a record that sounds cold and detached: overall the sound is warm, summery, evocative of sunsets on the beach and slow living.

The album opens with "Memphis", which immediately sets things straight: prominent synthesizers and a long funk coda. A sort of general intro to the album, which anticipates one of its strongest tracks, "Run", featuring Gelli Hana on vocals over a bed of synths and slap bass. An alternative approach comes with "Replica M001", where the vocal parts turn to rap and spoken word over music that becomes base and backdrop. "Vertigo", one of the singles that preceded the album's release, returns to instrumental territory and pushes into trance territory.

More relaxed is the following "Cloud Drifter", another sung track with a hypnotic flow, one of the album's high points and a manifesto of its distinctive sound, as is "The Glitch". "Odessos" links back to "Run" in terms of grit and energy.

Closing the album is “Humanopolis M001,” which recalls some of the group's earlier work in terms of length and internal variety: after a long intro, the track turns melancholic and dreamy, quite different from the rest of the tracklist.

“Cloud Drifter” is a remarkable record, crafted with great production skill and particular attention to arrangements and sound. It's also a highly interesting work for its blend of jazz, funk and dance music, with warm, summery, lounge tones, and a strong vocal component that's far from a given in this kind of music.

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10/08/2025