Parade Ground, the most unique duo of coldwave/electronic body music finally has a book that covers the band’s entire career. Words Sword Words is presented in a very neat hardcover edition with 340 pages in which we immerse ourselves in the particular universe of Parade Ground. It is published by Vuz Records and you can order it here.
The first part of the book is an autobiography of Parade Ground in which the two brothers merge into a single narrator to talk about their humble childhood, their friendship with Front 242 (with an intimate portrait of the relationships in the band), the recording of their albums (and also Front 242′s 06:21:03:11 Up Evil ), the years spent as part of a strict Catholic community (the albums Rosary and Sanctuary were recorded at that time), their relationship with the member of Wire Colin Newman… all told in the band’s unmistakable prose. They also add lists of favorite records and songs and tell us about silent films, literature and what EBM means to them. The book continues with all the lyrics in chronological order, a good read to understand the poetic world of the brothers. Their artistic side is covered by a series of drawings by Jean-Marc Pauly and photos and letters by Pierre Pauly.
The graphic part begins with posters and flyers of their first concerts and album releases. It follows with a selection of photos, starting with the first promotional photographs and including a real time travel through their live performances with, among others, snapshots of our great friend Patrice Hoerner who is also in charge of the cover.
Finally, we have testimonials from musicians, journalists and people in the business. We start, of course, with the members of Front 242, followed by JΔ3 SEUQCAJ, the sadly disappeared Hapax, the omnipresent Peter Mastbooms (responsible for their comeback, like so many other bands) and Dirk Ivens. We also have texts from communicators like our friend JL Marchal, Vanesa from All Waves, and three very important characters during the second life of the band: Béa Leblanc, the brothers’ true guardian angel and, closing the book, Holger and Ursula, the bosses of Vuz Records, Parade Ground ‘s record label, two people as charming and kind as the musicians themselves .
For our part we want to thank them for counting on us to collaborate, and of course, for remembering us in the acknowledgements. When they offered me to write something, it was clear to me that their live performances were what had impacted me most about the band and I wanted to reflect that in my words. To my surprise, most of the guests say the same thing: seeing Parade Ground is an incredible experience. An experience that you will understand better by reading this book.
