Meaning Of Tales is a French duo composed of Carl Egger and Théophile Huau Armani. They met during an evening with mutual friends. Carl struck a virtuoso chord shape that only he knows and the ears of Théophile stand to attention. The call of harmony is too strong for this fan of the Fleet Foxes and those groups of the 70s. Spontaneously Théo joins the guitarist to put his voice on a melody that seems destined for him only. They didn’t know it yet but this musical infatuation, this instant complicity had just given birth to Meaning of Tales, the first French group signed by the Anglo-French label Violette Records, home to Studio Electrophonique and Tigers and Flies and a haven of seasoned songwriters like Michael Head and Jim McCulloch. Carl followed classical music study from an early age and jazz training, while Théo is a English indie rock fan. Driven by an urgency, two days after that fateful evening the two accomplices meet again to share their desire for discovering new musical paths around their mutual influences (Beach Boys, Andy Shauf, Nick Drake, Glenn Hansard, etc.). From prolific writing sessions in a former painter’s studio to inspired Normandy rural residences, evenings by firesides and improvisations without forethought, Carl and Théo quickly get caught up in the game and record six songs that are passed around among close friends and immediately seduce Matt Lockett and Pascal Blua at Violette Records. Their debut elp, Where There’s Life, There’s a Dream was released on October 21st on Violette Records.

What They Say: “It’s the first song we wrote together. This is a very important track for us. It shows the universe of Sens des contes, the refined side, the simple and harmonious side of our music. We hope you enjoy.
For this film we worked with our friends Côme Le Maignan and Matthieu Leniau. We really wanted to create a short film that would gently introduce the viewer to the world of Meaning of Tales. We love watching Kings of Convenience videos, the fact that they feature in them and that they show very simple scenes of life, scenes of themselves playing music, talking and walking. Kings Of Convenience are a great inspiration to us beyond the music too, it’s the humanity and you can feel it. We also wanted to introduce some of our special places: where Carl and I met musically in the countryside of Giverny and Barbizon. These places are where we wrote most of our songs. The vintage car is a kind of metaphor that shows that we are in motion, that this is an adventure and that we are perhaps out of step with the modern world. We wanted the film to be a little bit surreal. We imagined a road trip from Normandy to the coast which shows places where nature is beautiful. This notion of contemplation was important to us and speaks of the atmosphere in our music. The film is a kind of ‘mise en abyme’ of us in Meaning of Tales, It shows the beginning of an adventure, of a crossing where we play our music, in a magic place, like a living dream.” (Théophile Armani)

“We’re doing this live session with the whole band, we think it’s pretty cool to show how Meaning of Tales sounds with a different orchestration than the record. We wrote these songs in the French countryside in Giverny. And we think you can feel the softness and the color of this countryside.“

Their Mixtape:

Andy Shauf – The Magician

We love all the universe of Andy Shauf, He inspires us enormously. His sound it’s so great, so smooth, so close, so beautiful.

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

The Fleet Foxes are for us the most harmonious group on vocals. We love all the voices and composition of the fleet.

Kings Of Convenience – Misread

The must for us, the Kings of Convenience. Love it! Simplicity, the duo, their voices, the marriage of their guitar, their refined and colorful universe.

Nick Drake – Pink Moon 

We love Nick Drake so much. His sad, uncluttered side. His love for folk music, and his compositions touch us enormously

Jonathan Wilson – Magic Everywhere

New discovery this year for us, and it brings us new inspiration. Americana sound and song. Love it!

Elliot Smith – Angeles 

Elliot Smith is a Folk song magician. We let you enjoy.

Grizzly Bear – Aquarian 

For the vocal melody, Grizzly Bear inspires us a lot. We love the color of this group, the abstract universe and the hard sound of certain songs. This pushes us to look at times for another color in our sound as well.

Where There’s Life, There’s a Dream is out now on Violette Records. Look HERE for more information on Meaning Of Tales.