Thierry Azam Alain Michon Release Previously Unheard Lolita Danse Performance Music
Thierry Azam and Alain Michon, operating as Pray-Pax, produced soundtracks for performances by the French art collective Lolita Danse throughout the 1980s. Previously unreleased material from these sessions forms ‘The Lolita Years’, due October 25 via Zel Zele.
Artist: Pray-Pax
Release Date: 2025-10-25
Genres: Art Rock, Avant-garde, Experimental Music, No Wave, Noise Rock
Label: Zel Zele
Description: Pray-Pax compilation The Lolita Years archives French collective's experimental soundtracks. Zel Zele releases October 25, featuring Thierry Azam and Alain Michon's 1980s work.
The compilation spans sixteen tracks of experimental music created between 1981 and 1989. Opening track ‘Domani non c’e sarà più’ combines concrete collage with spoken word elements and percussion. ‘Can’t’ incorporates broadcast signals and traffic sounds alongside jazz instrumentation. Other pieces include ‘Down In The North’, which features organ programming, and ‘Disparus’, built around bell sounds.
Lolita Danse formed in 1981 as a multidisciplinary collective incorporating dancers, set designers, and musicians. The group staged performances across France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Brazil until 1989. Members developed individual work within the collective framework without adhering to unified aesthetic principles.
The compilation’s final track, ‘Gabriel pleut’, consists of atmospheric tones and rain recordings. Two digital bonus tracks, ‘Illes’ and ‘Wouwaapje’, appear on the digital release.
Thierry Azam worked as a composer and sound artist in France during the 1980s experimental music scene. Alain Michon collaborated with various artists in the French underground music networks of the same period. The duo’s work as Pray-Pax remained largely unreleased until this archival project.
Mestiza Estudio will publish ‘À dix, on n’est pas fous – The Lolita Years’ in December 2025. The book draws from over 10,000 archived images documenting Lolita Danse’s activities, including performance documentation, personal materials, travel journals, and press coverage. Studio member Mónica Urquijo Zobel describes the material as having remained dormant in archives marked “Lolita Group Archives”.
The vinyl release includes poster inserts and liner notes. Zel Zele will distribute both vinyl and digital formats.
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