“Le Risque” (French for “the risk”) is a blues rock song from Flight b741 which argues against mundanity and safety for a more dangerous and perilous life. One can live their life without risk but it'll be a repetitive existence (“no fire, no flame, “i’m always feelin’ the same”). The more entertaining option is to take chances and get an adrenaline rush, to follow the great thrillseekers of the world like stunt artist Evel Knievel and tightrope walker Phillipe Petit. The message is simple. You have one life and you choose how to live it. You can be comfortable in a slow-moving world without excitement and be forgotten, or you can make your mark by taking chances and living everyday like it's your last.
The song takes heavily from blues rock with Joey comparing it to ZZ Top on 2024-08-27. The vocals are sung by the entire band, including Cavs who got his debut lead vocal part (though he had previously provided backing vocals, such as during the final three songs of Infest the Rats’ Nest).
An early version of “Le Risque” is briefly heard in the behind the scenes video ”Oink Oink” Flight b741: The Making Of… alongside an instrumental version of the song.
The studio version of “Le Risque” was played by all members of the band: Ambrose (harmonica/saxophone/vocals), Cavs (drums/percussion/vocals), Cook (organ/vocals), Joey (guitar/vocals), Lucas (vocals) and Stu (bass/guitar/vocals). The ASCAP ACE Repertory shows that everyone but Lucas received a songwriting credit.
Following a quote from Ambrose during “The Dripping Tap” on 2024-03-17, the song made its live debut on 2024-05-19 at the Arena Wien in Vienna. The band put a heavy spotlight on Cavs’ debut vocals: Cook introduced it by saying “it’s Cavs’ turn” and the band shushed the audience so that everyone could hear Cavs say “okay let’s ride.” The break initially caused fans to wonder if they were going into a second debut, but this wasn’t the case. The song’s title was confirmed via setlist after the show. “Le Risque” was played one more time on the EU tour during the band’s marathon set on 2024-05-22.
The story of the music video starts on October 27th, 2023. That day the band released their twenty-fifth album The Silver Cord. In an Instagram post promoting the album, Stu teased a new album that was in the works and included a photo. It shows Stu in a pilot jumpsuit seen in the reflection of an airplane propeller. Six months later actor David Macrae (who previously appeared as one of the wizards in the music video for “Gamma Knife” as well as the music video for “Black Hot Soup") would begin to share photos taken at the Tyabb Private Airport. The first post was on April 21st, 2024 and showed an airplane hangar with what appears to be Joey and Stu in frame. The second post was made on the 23rd and had a photo of Macrae with a microphone, the caption reading “Here I am all ready to shoot one of my scenes in this music video with the amazingly talented @kinggizzardandthelizardwizard with the incomparable director @guytyzack here at Tyabb Private Aerodrome. Let’s rock and roll!!” This confirmed not only that it was a King Gizzard shoot but that Guy Tyzack was directing, making it his first since the “Black Hot Soup” video. The third and final post came on the 26th and had a photo of Macrae alongside the rest of the band, all adorned in the pilot jumpsuits like the October 27th post. A few months later on July 1st, King Gizzard formally announced Flight b741 and gave the release date alongside pre-order info and a date for the first single and music video. A few days later on the 6th, the band would officially show photos taken in the hangar, reminding fans that it was dropping in a few days.
The Tyzack produced/directed/edited music video for “Le Risque” dropped on July 9th. It starts with the band walking into an airplane hangar with Joey taking a microphone from an old man (later named The Mystery Man in the description of ”Oink Oink”). He sings the song while dancing around as each band member walks off. We then cut to Cavs drinking before he sings his section while walking around. After being watched by the old pilot, Ambrose sings his section while riding in a plane pushed by Lucas and Cook. The video then transitions to Stu (holding a Guyatone LG-350T Deluxe Sharp 5) as the band plays the song. The camera spins around them as Stu dances and sings before running out of the hangar.
Tyzack said of the video’s filming “We were super lucky to have been granted access to this amazing air hanger. The song was chosen because most of the Gizz guys had a singing part and I was excited for the mic to be passed around at a fun, never-stopping pace. We were so tight for time that I didn’t pee all day.” David Macrae’s character returns in ”Oink Oink” Flight b741: The Making Of… where he is seen eerily turning on amps in the band’s studio with ominous lighting and backwards audio.
The video features a number of different aircraft. They are listed in order of appearance below.
Following the release of the music video, “Le Risque” was included on the digital single for “Hog Calling Contest” as well as the single for “Field of Vision.” It saw a final release on Flight b741 on August 9th, 2024.