*200 copies limited edition. 5 different cover designs—all outer and inner sleeves are unique // Two 30x30 cm inserts + 4-page lyric sheet + A4 "History of Ashburn County"* Ashburn County is a French-American project that emerged in Louisiana in 2011. Coming out of the mind of Leroy Delbert Quebedeaux, these songs and soundscapes have been telling the stories of the inhabitants of this imaginary county set in the remote rural parts of the Deep South. Inspired by literature and cinema, this music is like the offspring of B-movies horror soundtracks and the incandescent prose of William Faulkner, mixing analog electronics and cheap rhythm boxes with traditional and orchestral instruments. Some have said that it sounds like a surreal meeting between Ennio Morricone’s experiments, Coil’s mystical use of samples, haunted houses film soundtracks in the way of Lalo Schifrin’s Amityville and cajun folklore. 

This project allowed Leroy Delbert Quebedeaux—the alter ego of French writer, filmmaker, journalist, and musician Maxime Lachaud to give form to his obsessions through sound rather than words, following the deaths of close friends and a lingering sense of being haunted by ghosts. At the time, the only way he could express what he was going through was by creating noise and playing instruments that had belonged to the deceased. He then met Sadie Bee Palace (aka Thierry Müller of the renowned experimental and synth-pop bands Ilitch and Ruth), Sebastian Boyce (aka Le Moine, a major collector of analog synthesizers), and Odette Mayeaux (real name Martine Lataste, a painter and accordionist), all of whom helped him refine his vision.

Over the years, numerous Texan artists lent their voices to the project, such as Ernestina Forbis of the experimental duo How I Quit Crack and Grady Roper of Attic Ted (a post-punk/country-gothic project from San Marcos). They were joined by Australian singer, composer, and saxophonist Jack Tinapple; Stéphanie Commenay of the French indie-rock band My Imaginary Loves; and the mysterious Télémaque Hache (aka Isi Toro), who sang in the avant-garde group La Mort de l'Hippocampe. Also contributing to shaping the world of Ashburn County were drummer Gabriel Hibert (Garett Heber), multi-instrumentalist Philippe Dubernet (Ulysses Granville), pianist Marc Sarrazy, singers Alice Imbert and Helena Patricio, saxophonist Quentin Rollet (Rogatien Quenneville), ethnomusicologist Romain Mascagni, publisher Nils Bouaziz, double bassist Nicolas Decoster (Willie Mae Carthoris), guitarist Fred Jagu (Amy Sue Flower), and many others.