Saturday, February 8, 2014

Adopted Haitian son inspires French duo The Limiñanas to make music

French duo The Limiñanas speak with Jeremy Allen about latest album Costa Blanca, and how a trip to Haiti to adopt their son inspired them to make music

"It was the earthquake that was the start of everything".

I'm sat in a cafe in Pigalle opposite Lionel and Marie Limiñana, who released their excellent psych rock opus and third long player as the Limiñanas, Costa Blanca, late last year. It was hard to predict quite what they'd look like on entering the Parisian coffeehouse, given that the album cover depicts the pair in grainy black and white, half obscured in silhouette, though on arrival it's clear enough - they're the couple that look most like renegades from the Baader-Meinhof gang. Both adorned in black, Marie has striking red hair with beret atop, while Lionel has a magnificent bomber's beard and chunky jumper.

The duo hail from Perpignan near the Spanish border, and they have a great story to tell - though today it will only be Lionel doing the talking, as Marie doesn't speak English (or would prefer not to conduct an interview in an unfamiliar language). Lio is relaying to me the dramas of adopting their son Clawensky from Haiti, an undertaking you imagine would be difficult enough, before you threw January 2010's devastating earthquake into the equation. "We went to Haiti before the... how do you say... tremblement de terre," he recalls. "We were there the day before and we met our son, and we came back to our hotel in the afternoon and the ground began to shake."

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