Sortilège

Background

Sortilège formed in 1981 in Épinay-sur-Seine, near Paris, when drummer Jean-Philippe “Bob Snake” Dumont regrouped with guitarists Stéphane Dumont and Didier “Dem” Demajean from Blood Wave.

Stéphane founded Blood Wave in 1980 with Demajean, a schoolmate. Jean-Philippe, the younger brother of Stéphane, tackled drums in 1978 and joined Blood Wave. The musicians played covers of Deep Purple, Judas Priest, and Trust.

The trio recruited bassist Daniel “Lapin” Lapp in October 1981 from Flagrant Délit, a band they saw in concert. Singer Christian “Zouille” Augustin joined in December 1981 through an advertisement in the French music magazine Best. Augustin started as a drummer and subsequently sang with the rock group Correspondance. He auditioned with Deep Purple covers in the Sortilège rehearsal room.

Stéphane Dumont composed the original repertoire. Augustin recorded wordless vocal phrases over guitar chords and fitted French texts to the vocal patterns. Bob Snake collaborated with Lapp on early lyric drafts for Augustin. Sortilège rehearsed through 1982 and recorded a four-song demo with “Sortilège,” “Civilisation perdue,” “Métamorphose,” and “Délire d’un fou.” The band circulated the cassette in January 1983 to radio stations and record companies.

Sortilège played youth and cultural centers and appeared in February 1983 at the Forum des Halles with French metal band Blasphème. The quintet opened for Def Leppard on March 8 and 9, 1983, at the Bataclan in Paris. The musicians recorded “Sortilège” and “Cyclope de l’étang” in March 1983 in England for the independent label Ebony Records, which selected “Cyclope de l’étang” for the compilation Metal Warriors.

Sortilège performed “Sortilège” in the Paris Métro for a video that TF1 aired in April 1983 on De la friture dans les lunettes. The group selected the Dutch label Rave-On Records through a manager who approached overseas record companies. The musicians entered a Dutch studio in July 1983 for the five-song debut EP, Sortilège.