ASK

Borrowing its name from The Smiths' repertoire, ASK was formed in 1990 in Besançon (France) and appeared on stage for the first time in April 1991, opening three times for France's leading rock band Noir Désir.Other highlights include opening for Hipsway (then renamed Witness) and The House Of Love - a concert which gave the band the pleasure of seeing singer Guy Chadwick dance to ASK's cover version of 'A Forest'. The five members of ASK have been strongly influenced by American, Australian, and British pop and punk rock; it led them to create music that is at the same time forceful and melodic.For Martin (lead vocals), those influences are R.E.M. and The Clash, for Sybille (Violin) classical music and New Model Army, for Gilles (lead guitar) Echo & The Bunnymen and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, for Alex (bass) The Smiths and Leonard Cohen, and for Thierry (drums), New Model Army and Midnight Oil.The band's aim is to combine those different sources of inspiration with what makes ASK's style special: the rhythm section's energy, original harmonies and strong melodies.The members of the band haven't grown apart during singer Martin's two-year stint in the U.S. and, on his return, ASK became more and more active. A more sophisticated sound, more powerful compositions, as well as collaborations with guest musicians seem to have opened new horizons for ASK. In the summer of 2006, violin player Sybille joined the band. She also plays keyboards and sings vocal harmonies. Her invaluable contribution to the songs can be heard on ASK's latest record, "Void Management", released on December 22nd, 2007. On August 8, 2008, singer Martin officially leaves the band who will perform a last couple of shows before changing its name to a new one in November.