Fanfan la Tulipe (Version Compléte)

Limited copies available 3pm (BST) Friday 1st September

As one of the best obscure unreleased master tapes to ever come through the Finders Keepers gate this disobedient little gem has remained elusive until way beyond the proverbial eleventh hour. Confusingly not included on the long-awaited album that finally liberates the mythical early 70s proto-COS Classroom master tapes, this extra-unedited reel was found in a box of old photos in Daniel Schell’s Brussels archive while looking for artwork and photos after the LP was finally cut. Recorded during a formative Classroom demo session inaugurating solo vocalist Pascale Son, this duel-purpose track lead to label request for the singer’s potential solo album throwing the group into an instant identity crisis, and eventual regrouping under the COS formation which we now know and love. Highlighting all the essential futurist-funk watermarks of Placebo, Marc Moulin, Marc Hollander and Kiosk, this very private pre-edited full version of Fanfan la Tulipe conjures comparisons to Panpan Cucul (by Gainsbourg) with instant similarities to the Yé-yé records of singers like Léonie Lousseau, France Gall or even Stella Vander for those who could foresee the bands imminent Zeuhl school graduation which began their next chapter. This candid document provides us with the fifth instalment of Finders Keepers’ very special and strictly limited run of totally unreleased master tapes cut directly to real-time lathe editions complete with silkscreened and stitched artwork. Leaving no stone unturned, sometimes you need to dig that little bit deeper.

Available via the Finders Keepers website and Bandcamp at 3pm (BST) Friday 1st September. Strictly limited to one per person.