INFINE - Forced Exposure

$13.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/26/2022

UTO are a duo from Paris who sound like they might be from outer space. Chic and alien, rhythm-centric yet diaphanous and ghostly, they are a group that thrive on contrasts and embrace paradoxes. Described variously as witch pop, dream pop and trip hop, they mine a rich seam of '90s British music from the peripheries, with added je ne sais quoi. Debut album Touch The Lock sees them present to the world their singular vision for the first time. It's an album grounded in reality that communes with hyperreality, unlocking the box where hard-to-reach emotions and thoughts often lay dormant and untapped.

$28.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 8/26/2022

LP version. UTO are a duo from Paris who sound like they might be from outer space. Chic and alien, rhythm-centric yet diaphanous and ghostly, they are a group that thrive on contrasts and embrace paradoxes. Described variously as witch pop, dream pop and trip hop, they mine a rich seam of '90s British music from the peripheries, with added je ne sais quoi. Debut album Touch The Lock sees them present to the world their singular vision for the first time. It's an album grounded in reality that communes with hyperreality, unlocking the box where hard-to-reach emotions and thoughts often lay dormant and untapped.

$28.00 IN STOCK

LP version. New York-based duo Bottler, Pat Butler and Phil Shore, are the vanguard of their own distinctly eclectic sound. Raw, emotive, bold, and highly creative, the duo has successfully carved out their own path with a series of EPs that represent the broad scope of their production prowess. Over the last five years Bottler have been working on their debut album, Journey Work, a milestone achievement that marks a pivotal moment in their music career. The album is a distillation of the duo's multifaceted upbringing, blending a variety of styles together bound together by an overarching attitude and approach that embraces creative freedom and self-acceptance. The duo blends a myriad of styles to create songs that emanate warmth, joy, sorrow, pain, and the full spectrum of human emotion. Across 11 cuts Bottler illustrate their distinct take on electronic music, weaving in elements of indie, pop, rock, house, and techno with confidence and panache. Journey Work starts at "Home", a song that is fizzing with positive energy, Pat's vocals welcoming the listener to the start of this meandering audio adventure. "Chrysalis" opens with delicate piano keys that guide us into a bombastic bassline and energizing drum beats. As it progresses, scintillating layers of synth and strings are added, creating a highly affecting, uplifting atmosphere. "Melatonin" follows up next, merging heartfelt vocal delivery with a somber instrumental, and a stirring guitar riff. A glorious demonstration of Bottler's songwriting capabilities, which are also evident on "Vinyl", an up-tempo dance number with an unbelievably catchy chorus. On "Tacoma", Pat and Phil channel their appreciation of house and techno into a haunting cut that utilizes reverse strings and extended vocal refrains to chilling effect. "Meds" incorporates muted singing, mystical pad work and a mesmerizing riff to produce a captivating slice of uncomplicated dance music. This is followed by "Hot Water", which feels like a trip to a Californian beach, circa 1965. "Mako" features Samurai Velvet singing about fireflies and afterlife in a wonderfully heartrending manner, Bottler's instrumental keeping things simple, yet highly effective. "Weed" is a dense, gloomy cut with inspired use of chopped up vocal clips, stuttered throughout, alongside a mean bassline. "You're Old" is an anthemic song that transposes Bottler's idiosyncratic style onto the pop blueprint. Finally, "Cicada Rhythm" closes the album with a pensive, yet joyful feeling. A chunky bassline is juxtaposed with Pat's angelic vocals cascading over the top.

$13.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

New York-based duo Bottler, Pat Butler and Phil Shore, are the vanguard of their own distinctly eclectic sound. Raw, emotive, bold, and highly creative, the duo has successfully carved out their own path with a series of EPs that represent the broad scope of their production prowess. Over the last five years Bottler have been working on their debut album, Journey Work, a milestone achievement that marks a pivotal moment in their music career. The album is a distillation of the duo's multifaceted upbringing, blending a variety of styles together bound together by an overarching attitude and approach that embraces creative freedom and self-acceptance. The duo blends a myriad of styles to create songs that emanate warmth, joy, sorrow, pain, and the full spectrum of human emotion. Across 11 cuts Bottler illustrate their distinct take on electronic music, weaving in elements of indie, pop, rock, house, and techno with confidence and panache. Journey Work starts at "Home", a song that is fizzing with positive energy, Pat's vocals welcoming the listener to the start of this meandering audio adventure. "Chrysalis" opens with delicate piano keys that guide us into a bombastic bassline and energizing drum beats. As it progresses, scintillating layers of synth and strings are added, creating a highly affecting, uplifting atmosphere. "Melatonin" follows up next, merging heartfelt vocal delivery with a somber instrumental, and a stirring guitar riff. A glorious demonstration of Bottler's songwriting capabilities, which are also evident on "Vinyl", an up-tempo dance number with an unbelievably catchy chorus. On "Tacoma", Pat and Phil channel their appreciation of house and techno into a haunting cut that utilizes reverse strings and extended vocal refrains to chilling effect. "Meds" incorporates muted singing, mystical pad work and a mesmerizing riff to produce a captivating slice of uncomplicated dance music. This is followed by "Hot Water", which feels like a trip to a Californian beach, circa 1965. "Mako" features Samurai Velvet singing about fireflies and afterlife in a wonderfully heartrending manner, Bottler's instrumental keeping things simple, yet highly effective. "Weed" is a dense, gloomy cut with inspired use of chopped up vocal clips, stuttered throughout, alongside a mean bassline. "You're Old" is an anthemic song that transposes Bottler's idiosyncratic style onto the pop blueprint. Finally, "Cicada Rhythm" closes the album with a pensive, yet joyful feeling. A chunky bassline is juxtaposed with Pat's angelic vocals cascading over the top.

$13.50 IN STOCK

A cosmic journey into the beating heart of the orchestra: the string quartet. The innovative composer Labelle covers themes such as language, culture, and heritage on his new record, Eclat. Sparked by a moment of revelation during the rehearsal of his previous album, the critically acclaimed Orchestre Univers (2019), Eclat is a record about the unspoken, almost telepathic language between musicians playing together onstage, a metaphysical element of sound that can elevate music into the spiritual. Even the electronic parts on the record were recorded live with the string quartet, and acted as a means of conduction on stage, thus making Labelle a part of the musical conversation. The result is a transcendental record that eschews traditional rules of composition and recording, and pushes the boundaries of what classical music can be. With strong influences of his home -- La Reunion -- and its musical culture of Maloya, Eclat is a unique and beautiful journey into unknown territory.

$34.00 IN STOCK

Double LP version. Includes three bonus tracks. French pianist Vanessa Wagner continues her exploration of the minimalist repertoire by introducing her audience to pieces, many rare or unpublished, by acclaimed composers, young pianists, and genre-bending personalities from the ambient and electronic scenes. In France or even Europe, Vanessa Wagner is practically the only "classical" pianist to tackle this contemporary and timeless repertoire. Study of The Invisible features interpretations of pieces by a spectrum of composers that includes Suzanne Ciani, Harold Budd, David Lang, Bryce Dessner, and Phillip Glass. Described by Le Monde as "the most delightfully singular pianist of her generation," and by Libération as "one of the most curious and captivating pianists on the French scene," Vanessa Wagner is able to balance parallel careers. As well as performing a classic solo, chamber and concert repertoire on stages all over the world, through her output on InFiné she is continuously exploring paths that are equally personal, but perhaps more intimate. Study of the Invisible sees her breaking new ground in a musical tradition, in a way that no other "classical" pianist in France and Europe currently does. Often described as "minimalist", it's a musical tradition that covers a multitude of singular styles and musical personalities and that spans generations. Study of the Invisible seeks out the mysterious world that lives behind the score, the imperceptible links that unite these silences and harmonies, but also the inner resources that this music can bring to light. With this record and this journey, whose apparent melancholy ultimately proves to be powerfully comforting, Vanessa Wagner continues to give a new scale to a music which proves to be above all radiant and luminous. Also features compositions by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, Moondog, Timo Andres, Peter Garland, Nico Muhly, Ezio Bosso, and Melaine Dalibert. Double-LP version includes three bonus tracks featuring compositions by Melaine Dalibert, Sylvain Chauveau, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

$13.50 IN STOCK

French pianist Vanessa Wagner continues her exploration of the minimalist repertoire by introducing her audience to pieces, many rare or unpublished, by acclaimed composers, young pianists, and genre-bending personalities from the ambient and electronic scenes. In France or even Europe, Vanessa Wagner is practically the only "classical" pianist to tackle this contemporary and timeless repertoire. Study of The Invisible features interpretations of pieces by a spectrum of composers that includes Suzanne Ciani, Harold Budd, David Lang, Bryce Dessner, and Phillip Glass. Described by Le Monde as "the most delightfully singular pianist of her generation," and by Libération as "one of the most curious and captivating pianists on the French scene," Vanessa Wagner is able to balance parallel careers. As well as performing a classic solo, chamber and concert repertoire on stages all over the world, through her output on InFiné she is continuously exploring paths that are equally personal, but perhaps more intimate. Study of the Invisible sees her breaking new ground in a musical tradition, in a way that no other "classical" pianist in France and Europe currently does. Often described as "minimalist", it's a musical tradition that covers a multitude of singular styles and musical personalities and that spans generations. Study of the Invisible seeks out the mysterious world that lives behind the score, the imperceptible links that unite these silences and harmonies, but also the inner resources that this music can bring to light. With this record and this journey, whose apparent melancholy ultimately proves to be powerfully comforting, Vanessa Wagner continues to give a new scale to a music which proves to be above all radiant and luminous. Also features compositions by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, Moondog, Timo Andres, Peter Garland, Nico Muhly, Ezio Bosso, and Melaine Dalibert.

$13.50 IN STOCK

Sixteen musical vignettes of electrifying emotion at the crossroads of ambient, modern synthesizer productions and organic orchestral music experimentation, which tint French director Jacques Audiard's new feature film with the illuminated glow of a whole new generation. When Jacques Audiard contacted him, Rone was just a few weeks away from receiving the Cesar award for best film score for his very first soundtrack Night Ride, the highest honor in French film for a composer. Throughout his career, the French director has been able to surprise his audience by playing on the codes of "genre films", while remaining faithful to the aesthetics of "art film". His cinema is both profound and entertaining, sophisticated and accessible, dark and dreamlike. His new feature film deals with youth in general and their sexuality in particular in a way no one may have done before. The story is based on four young characters and their existential questionings, whose destinies intertwined against the backdrop of the Parisian "Olympiades" high rises in the 13th arrondissement. But time was already running out, as the film was set to be nominated for Cannes' Palm D'or at the rescheduled edition of the festival in July 2021. Between the releases of Rone & Friends (IF 1060CD/LP, 2021) and recent remixes, the producer decided to lock himself away in in his brand-new Isola Studio in Cancale, French Brittany. He also invested in a large screen on which he projected loops of the film and started manipulating his gear. "I had Miles Davis in mind and the way he composed 'Ascenseur pour l'échafaud' by improvising with his band while watching excerpts from the film." After a first conclusive test on three scenes of the film which allowed Rone to showcase the skills he had developed in composition in various musical fields, a relationship of trust developed between the musician and the director, which resulted in over 45 minutes of Rone's music used for the final cut. If the black-and-white aesthetic recalls the great hours of the "Nouvelle Vague", Rone's music gives a new layer to the film which fits resolutely with 2020's zeitgeist.

$28.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Sixteen musical vignettes of electrifying emotion at the crossroads of ambient, modern synthesizer productions and organic orchestral music experimentation, which tint French director Jacques Audiard's new feature film with the illuminated glow of a whole new generation. When Jacques Audiard contacted him, Rone was just a few weeks away from receiving the Cesar award for best film score for his very first soundtrack Night Ride, the highest honor in French film for a composer. Throughout his career, the French director has been able to surprise his audience by playing on the codes of "genre films", while remaining faithful to the aesthetics of "art film". His cinema is both profound and entertaining, sophisticated and accessible, dark and dreamlike. His new feature film deals with youth in general and their sexuality in particular in a way no one may have done before. The story is based on four young characters and their existential questionings, whose destinies intertwined against the backdrop of the Parisian "Olympiades" high rises in the 13th arrondissement. But time was already running out, as the film was set to be nominated for Cannes' Palm D'or at the rescheduled edition of the festival in July 2021. Between the releases of Rone & Friends (IF 1060CD/LP, 2021) and recent remixes, the producer decided to lock himself away in in his brand-new Isola Studio in Cancale, French Brittany. He also invested in a large screen on which he projected loops of the film and started manipulating his gear. "I had Miles Davis in mind and the way he composed 'Ascenseur pour l'échafaud' by improvising with his band while watching excerpts from the film." After a first conclusive test on three scenes of the film which allowed Rone to showcase the skills he had developed in composition in various musical fields, a relationship of trust developed between the musician and the director, which resulted in over 45 minutes of Rone's music used for the final cut. If the black-and-white aesthetic recalls the great hours of the "Nouvelle Vague", Rone's music gives a new layer to the film which fits resolutely with 2020's zeitgeist.

$13.50 IN STOCK

Léonie Pernet's second album Le Cirque de Consolation, to be on InFiné and CryBaby, inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music, neo-classical music or the role of voice, whether human or synthetic. Sophomore albums can be a painful process for an artist. The sought-after whirlwind of French pop that exploded onto the scene with her debut Crave, Leonie Pernet returns with her second album, Le Circque de Consolation, a sort of double negative of her first. While the yearning that sat at the center of Crave might not have been resolved, the young multi-instrumentalist and singer has found a new perspective -- a more open and positive outlook on her own life and work. Perhaps telling, then, that the title was the first element of the album to exist: as it is and has always been a journey of personal (and collective) consolation first, a musical confrontation with the self. In line with her new-found "openness", Leonie invites another musician into her creative process for the first time on Le Cirque de Consolation: Jean Sylvain le Gouic, who lent his coproduction and perspective to her, while Leonie still plays almost all instruments herself with an astounding prowess. Leonie's voice oozes with a new-found self-confidence and takes center stage amidst eclectic, distinctively fun and open-minded production. Surrounding her astounding, intoxicating voice are forays into any direction imaginable: from harsh, experimental electronics to the more somber, organic and quiet moments -- and everywhere, there is the vision of Africa, (also Middle East) it's many sonic gifts and cultures. The French novelist and philosopher Édouard Glissant -- whose work and writing had a big influence on Pernet -- coined the term "Creolization". From "Hard Billy", a techno-influenced rebellious anthem, to "Les Chants de Maldoror", a club and dance song propelled forward by feverish derboukas, to the deeply moving "A Rebours" and its Afro-electronic rock. Léonie Pernet inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music ("Intérieur Négro"), neo-classical music ("Le Cirque de consolation", "Dandelion"), or the place of the voice, whether human or synthetic as in the atmospheric "Vowel".

$13.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

Renowned as an exhilarating solo live performer, Mischa Blanos makes the piano his own on his second album City Jungle, using it as rhythmic element, organic groove or drowned in noise, perfectly interplaying with free flowing, polyrhythmic percussion and morphing synths, to create his own unique musical force. From his early education through the release of two EPs, Second Nature (2018) and Indoors (2019), to the creation of City Jungle, Blanos has lived in various cities around the world and travelled through many others. Each city held "a unique atmosphere and pressure" as Blanos describes it, "each of them with new rules to follow and different rhythms to attune to." Sometimes traveling alone, Mischa Blanos was able to dissolve into the crowd -- to be an outsider exploring the depths of the huge, pulsing city organism. Often, he was traveling with fellow countrymen Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia, performing as one third of the influential "Ro-minimal" techno outfit Amorf, bringing his unique groove and musicality to their live shows at the world's most famous clubs. Taking in new musical and social influences, a new part of the artist within Blanos was growing: the need not just to perform on the piano, but to finally make it his own. In 2020, the global pandemic meant that Mischa Blanos found himself stuck in Bucharest, no longer able to travel. With a curfew in place between 9pm and 9am, he would spend long, solemn nights in his studio making music, letting the memories, the different rhythms and pressures of the cities and spaces that he used to explore, flow through him. You travel with Blanos from interconnectivity, globalism, humanity -- all the way to isolation, reflection, emptiness and bliss. City Jungle is an extensive exploration of all aspects of the modern age, but it is also a very personal one, born because Blanos was forced to stand still, to come face to face with himself. The result is, as always with Blanos, truly unique.

$28.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/10/2021

LP version. Renowned as an exhilarating solo live performer, Mischa Blanos makes the piano his own on his second album City Jungle, using it as rhythmic element, organic groove or drowned in noise, perfectly interplaying with free flowing, polyrhythmic percussion and morphing synths, to create his own unique musical force. From his early education through the release of two EPs, Second Nature (2018) and Indoors (2019), to the creation of City Jungle, Blanos has lived in various cities around the world and travelled through many others. Each city held "a unique atmosphere and pressure" as Blanos describes it, "each of them with new rules to follow and different rhythms to attune to." Sometimes traveling alone, Mischa Blanos was able to dissolve into the crowd -- to be an outsider exploring the depths of the huge, pulsing city organism. Often, he was traveling with fellow countrymen Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia, performing as one third of the influential "Ro-minimal" techno outfit Amorf, bringing his unique groove and musicality to their live shows at the world's most famous clubs. Taking in new musical and social influences, a new part of the artist within Blanos was growing: the need not just to perform on the piano, but to finally make it his own. In 2020, the global pandemic meant that Mischa Blanos found himself stuck in Bucharest, no longer able to travel. With a curfew in place between 9pm and 9am, he would spend long, solemn nights in his studio making music, letting the memories, the different rhythms and pressures of the cities and spaces that he used to explore, flow through him. You travel with Blanos from interconnectivity, globalism, humanity -- all the way to isolation, reflection, emptiness and bliss. City Jungle is an extensive exploration of all aspects of the modern age, but it is also a very personal one, born because Blanos was forced to stand still, to come face to face with himself. The result is, as always with Blanos, truly unique.

$13.50 IN STOCK

Sharing his InBach album with the world in 2020 (IF 1056CD/LP) set events into motion that ultimately led to Arandel making second edition in the critically acclaimed, borderless project that unites rare instruments, musical re-imagination. Arandel unites once again behind the musical phrases of the Leipzig composer specialists of ancient and modern instruments (Thomas Bloch), modern synthesizers and Moogs, strings experts (Gaspar Claus), and the poetic spoken word of Myra Davies and Bridget St. John. The second InBach grew like a garden from the seeds of the first one -- an eclectic journey through melodic fantasies, intricate sound design and a certain pop silver lining. Some tracks were born out of Arandel's band performing on stage, experimenting with the songs live and composing them anew, like "Nos Contour", a new, French-lyrics version of "Bodyline" with Ornette, Arandel's stage partner. InBach Vol. 2 is a logical consequence then, of someone diving into a pool of music and history so large that it is being chronicled to this day. A substantial part of the instruments used on the lofty, eclectic album were recorded at the Musée de la Musique Paris: rare instruments like the Erard square piano, Ondioline, Zach's cello, Stroh violins. In the vein of rare instruments, the first guest musician Arandel approached for InBach was Thomas Bloch, who lends his gift to four tracks over the two albums, playing the Ondes Martenot, one of the first electronic musical instruments ever invented. Thomas has worked with many major artists in his career, like Radiohead, Gorillaz, Daft Punk. Freeing himself from the weighty shackles of expectation surrounding the classical maestro, Arandel goes for the core of every Bach piece he tackles, making them his own on "Octobre", based on "Air On G-String", from Orchestral Suite No. 3 D-dur, BWV 1068, his nephew tells a dreamlike story of an ominous gang of children, literally blossoming in the mud. "Fabula" -- featuring the French singer Scalde -- based on the melancholic, Christian lament "Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn", becomes a grandiose, auto-tuned pop ballad featuring the virtuoso cello of fellow InFiné associate Gaspar Claus. The use of spoken word is another new layer to InBach, and acts a lyrical thread carrying the listener through In Bach Vol. 2: the closing track features Bridget St. John, John Peel-associated folk legend from the UK to offer to collaborate on a poem for this second volume.

$28.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Sharing his InBach album with the world in 2020 (IF 1056CD/LP) set events into motion that ultimately led to Arandel making second edition in the critically acclaimed, borderless project that unites rare instruments, musical re-imagination. Arandel unites once again behind the musical phrases of the Leipzig composer specialists of ancient and modern instruments (Thomas Bloch), modern synthesizers and Moogs, strings experts (Gaspar Claus), and the poetic spoken word of Myra Davies and Bridget St. John. The second InBach grew like a garden from the seeds of the first one -- an eclectic journey through melodic fantasies, intricate sound design and a certain pop silver lining. Some tracks were born out of Arandel's band performing on stage, experimenting with the songs live and composing them anew, like "Nos Contour", a new, French-lyrics version of "Bodyline" with Ornette, Arandel's stage partner. InBach Vol. 2 is a logical consequence then, of someone diving into a pool of music and history so large that it is being chronicled to this day. A substantial part of the instruments used on the lofty, eclectic album were recorded at the Musée de la Musique Paris: rare instruments like the Erard square piano, Ondioline, Zach's cello, Stroh violins. In the vein of rare instruments, the first guest musician Arandel approached for InBach was Thomas Bloch, who lends his gift to four tracks over the two albums, playing the Ondes Martenot, one of the first electronic musical instruments ever invented. Thomas has worked with many major artists in his career, like Radiohead, Gorillaz, Daft Punk. Freeing himself from the weighty shackles of expectation surrounding the classical maestro, Arandel goes for the core of every Bach piece he tackles, making them his own on "Octobre", based on "Air On G-String", from Orchestral Suite No. 3 D-dur, BWV 1068, his nephew tells a dreamlike story of an ominous gang of children, literally blossoming in the mud. "Fabula" -- featuring the French singer Scalde -- based on the melancholic, Christian lament "Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn", becomes a grandiose, auto-tuned pop ballad featuring the virtuoso cello of fellow InFiné associate Gaspar Claus. The use of spoken word is another new layer to InBach, and acts a lyrical thread carrying the listener through In Bach Vol. 2: the closing track features Bridget St. John, John Peel-associated folk legend from the UK to offer to collaborate on a poem for this second volume.

$28.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Léonie Pernet's second album Le Cirque de Consolation, to be on InFiné and CryBaby, inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music, neo-classical music or the role of voice, whether human or synthetic. Sophomore albums can be a painful process for an artist. The sought-after whirlwind of French pop that exploded onto the scene with her debut Crave, Leonie Pernet returns with her second album, Le Circque de Consolation, a sort of double negative of her first. While the yearning that sat at the center of Crave might not have been resolved, the young multi-instrumentalist and singer has found a new perspective -- a more open and positive outlook on her own life and work. Perhaps telling, then, that the title was the first element of the album to exist: as it is and has always been a journey of personal (and collective) consolation first, a musical confrontation with the self. In line with her new-found "openness", Leonie invites another musician into her creative process for the first time on Le Cirque de Consolation: Jean Sylvain le Gouic, who lent his coproduction and perspective to her, while Leonie still plays almost all instruments herself with an astounding prowess. Leonie's voice oozes with a new-found self-confidence and takes center stage amidst eclectic, distinctively fun and open-minded production. Surrounding her astounding, intoxicating voice are forays into any direction imaginable: from harsh, experimental electronics to the more somber, organic and quiet moments -- and everywhere, there is the vision of Africa, (also Middle East) it's many sonic gifts and cultures. The French novelist and philosopher Édouard Glissant -- whose work and writing had a big influence on Pernet -- coined the term "Creolization". From "Hard Billy", a techno-influenced rebellious anthem, to "Les Chants de Maldoror", a club and dance song propelled forward by feverish derboukas, to the deeply moving "A Rebours" and its Afro-electronic rock. Léonie Pernet inhabits a world where borders dissolve and everyone makes their own unique and singular utopia. Hereby, the record questions the links between pop music, African cultures and electronic music ("Intérieur Négro"), neo-classical music ("Le Cirque de consolation", "Dandelion"), or the place of the voice, whether human or synthetic as in the atmospheric "Vowel".

$29.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. On his debut solo album, French cellist Gaspar Claus takes you on an imaginary journey to a remote beach, lost between the rocks and the sea, the earth and the sky, where a group of like-minded individuals retreat to find themselves. Film soundtracks, post-classical, ambient, neo-flamenco, pop, electro, contemporary jazz,: his field of investigation expands ever wider. Claus has made collaboration his teacher, developing his sound and musical storytelling by working with artists from diverse backgrounds, including such luminaries as The National, Jim O'Rourke, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Rubbed with a bow, plucked, brushed, bumped, caressed, jostled, transfigured, the cello is the only musical instrument used on the album. The album is the result of a long creative process that began in 2017, when Gaspar Claus spent a few days alone near a small village in the Luberon, Barlande. Fully experiencing the anguish of creative solitude, he warded off his fear of emptiness by retrieving memories that resulted in the recording of sketches for a dozen pieces. The Covid-19 pandemic curtailed Gaspar's globetrotting habits, paradoxically enabling him to refocus on his own music, and to mould his pieces into a fascinating collection of impressionist compositions. Entirely (or almost entirely) instrumental, Tancade contains a total of eleven tracks. The result of slow, painstaking and sometimes painfully elaborate work, the album nevertheless has a remarkable fluidity and drive. From the opening track, "Une île" (an island), enveloped in a powerful auroral glow, one is carried far away from the everyday by a music that is both majestic and adventurous. The album evokes chamber music suspended in the fourth dimension, the soundtrack of an experimental film or the strange folk music of an undiscovered tribe. Gaspar aims to zoom into our mind's eye like the director of a movie: arriving on the mainland, your eyes turn to the shoreline ("Un Rivage") before recognizing the presence of a group of individuals. "Une Foule" starts by tiptoeing, shuffling timidly on a plucked beat. Then, at the halfway mark, it swells into something more precise and energetic. On "2359" (one minute before midnight) the cello, used as a hypnotic, percussive arpeggio, is then joined by another, played through a distortion pedal like a lead guitar. The album then begins a progressive movement towards the sky and extra-terrestrial landscapes with "Au Confins", before summoning cosmic entities on "Ô Sélénites". Fiery, eventful and underpinned by an unfathomable melancholy, the journey ends with "Mer des Mystères Amoureux".

$15.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 9/10/2021

On his debut solo album, French cellist Gaspar Claus takes you on an imaginary journey to a remote beach, lost between the rocks and the sea, the earth and the sky, where a group of like-minded individuals retreat to find themselves. Film soundtracks, post-classical, ambient, neo-flamenco, pop, electro, contemporary jazz,: his field of investigation expands ever wider. Claus has made collaboration his teacher, developing his sound and musical storytelling by working with artists from diverse backgrounds, including such luminaries as The National, Jim O'Rourke, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Rubbed with a bow, plucked, brushed, bumped, caressed, jostled, transfigured, the cello is the only musical instrument used on the album. The album is the result of a long creative process that began in 2017, when Gaspar Claus spent a few days alone near a small village in the Luberon, Barlande. Fully experiencing the anguish of creative solitude, he warded off his fear of emptiness by retrieving memories that resulted in the recording of sketches for a dozen pieces. The Covid-19 pandemic curtailed Gaspar's globetrotting habits, paradoxically enabling him to refocus on his own music, and to mould his pieces into a fascinating collection of impressionist compositions. Entirely (or almost entirely) instrumental, Tancade contains a total of eleven tracks. The result of slow, painstaking and sometimes painfully elaborate work, the album nevertheless has a remarkable fluidity and drive. From the opening track, "Une île" (an island), enveloped in a powerful auroral glow, one is carried far away from the everyday by a music that is both majestic and adventurous. The album evokes chamber music suspended in the fourth dimension, the soundtrack of an experimental film or the strange folk music of an undiscovered tribe. Gaspar aims to zoom into our mind's eye like the director of a movie: arriving on the mainland, your eyes turn to the shoreline ("Un Rivage") before recognizing the presence of a group of individuals. "Une Foule" starts by tiptoeing, shuffling timidly on a plucked beat. Then, at the halfway mark, it swells into something more precise and energetic. On "2359" (one minute before midnight) the cello, used as a hypnotic, percussive arpeggio, is then joined by another, played through a distortion pedal like a lead guitar. The album then begins a progressive movement towards the sky and extra-terrestrial landscapes with "Au Confins", before summoning cosmic entities on "Ô Sélénites". Fiery, eventful and underpinned by an unfathomable melancholy, the journey ends with "Mer des Mystères Amoureux".

$28.00 IN STOCK

2021 repress, originally released in 2017. Stepping into Rone's music is like sleepwalking through a vividly colorful dream, eventually stumbling across a strange, scintillating Megapolis of saturated light and colors: Mirapolis. It's twelve tracks/districts, each with their own specific planning, pulsate as though animated by their musical mastermind. You snorkel through Mirapolis' musical depths. A city that generates constant wonderment, a desire for emancipation, a gathering of citizens connected to the collective's vital energy. The project was an opportunity for Rone to get reacquainted with long-time stage and studio partners John Stanier, Gaspar Claus and the Vacarme band, and Bryce Dessner (guitarist for The National), while bringing in new collaborators (and thus, new interpretation of Rone's dreams). You find American slam-poet Saul Williams, who happened to be in Paris for a moment and contributes a searing anti-trump screed; Baxter Dury, who brings an irresistible East London touch to "Switches", a kind of fan fic that reimagines the Beatles' Sgt Pepper lounging pensive in a club chair; Israeli electronic music muse Noga Erez, who inspired "Waves", which, despite being recorded remotely, betrays a euphoric partnership; and finally, Kazu Makino, Blonde Redhead's bewitching singer and multi-instrumentalist, who contributes to the album's closer, the gauzy "Down For The Cause".

$28.00 IN STOCK

2021 repress, originally released in 2009. At sunrise, stuck in the last floor of his apartment in Paris, with his elbow on the breakfast table, Rone sinks into his dream and ventures into a wonderland alternately fairy-tale and nightmarish. Hard to find a better illustration than the videoclip of "Spanish Breakfast" to introduce the melting relationship sustained by Rone's music with imaginary realms. This first collaboration with French short-film boy wonder, Vladimir Mavounia-Kouka could only give birth to a fantastic piece of work and a relevant visual metaphor for the daydreaming nature of this first album. After a first cut with Lucy on Curle, Rone signed a proper 12" on Agoria's imprint InFiné. Ranking among his best supporters Massive Attack 3D, English superstar DJs of the likes of Sasha, Lee Burridge and Dial's or Border Community's champions, his gliding Bora EP was a first tour-de-force, which reconciled electronic with indie amateurs. In everyday life, Erwan Castex is making soundscapes for exhibitions, adverts or short-films, but when he starts working on his own compositions, Rone becomes the guide of an enchanted world. But what makes Rone run: Some Spanish Breakfast entertainments; a catapult throwing juicy electronica towards orange-suns; a mound of strawberries, as pop and tasty allegory for Belleville, one of the most colorful and animated district of Paris; the progressive rocking of a coffee bath in the Nigerian highnesses of Aya Ama or the misty coziness of the lunar in"tea"rlude; Not quite so. Rather the pranks of a blind and kleptomaniac white rabbit! Compelled in a breathless race, Rone drives his listeners toward more dynamic and refined productions. In this underground of Mass-production, performance and conformity, the sarcasms of a French SF writer on "Bora" appears as a necessary release to the survival of creativity. From this sanitized and mechanical fast-food city emerge nonetheless the exulted and minimalist "Tasty City" and the hypnotic copper of "La Dame Blanche" in a three-colored and pornographic Pigalle-like district. A last breath of fresh air as "Outro" -- the music stops -- and the listener is eventually back to reality. Features Alain Damasio.

$23.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

The first two EPs of rising French-Algerian singer-producer-songwriter Sabrina Bellaouel on InFiné are presented here on a single 12" vinyl edition for the first time. At the crossroads of modern electronic production, alternative RnB and North African beats, Sabrina Bellaouel offers her listeners an unprecedented mix of grand emotion of the pop stage and the cutting-edge underground flair of buzzing nightclubs. 2020 saw Sabrina Bellaouel step out of her cocoon a fully formed artist. First, there was "We Don't Need To Be Enemies", a powerful and brave record -- directing the limelight away from her talent as a singer and focusing on her honed, meticulous production skill and ingenuity in making demanding, forward thinking music. Bellaouel managed to tell stories of her identity and place in the world almost without a single vocal. Then, there was "Libra" -- fusing her own production with that gorgeous voice -- showcasing a fully formed, trailblazing, independent artist. Sabrina jumps effortlessly between empowering trap on "Arab Liquor" to luscious RnB on "Float" and ends the record with "She Don't Care", a peak time house curveball that you can picture heating up the festival dance floors around Europe. The diverse and powerful EP united different sides of the press in its critical acclaim, receiving accolades from Resident Advisor, Mixmag, The Quietus, Metal Magazine and Pan African Music, just to name a few. Both of these records then, represent a side of the coin. "Solar Return" features Gracy Hopkins.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Rone & Friends has the musical color of Rone's friendships, of his crushes for a few additional less expected guest voices, but also inevitably of his own personality. The new collaborative album includes voices by Georgia, Yael Naim, Casper Clausen (Efterklang), Flavien Berger, Jenny Beth, Dominique A, and many others. In the social isolation of 2020, Rone felt the need to come closer to his artist friends and to reshuffle his creations with their voices as the new beating heart. This collection, entitled Rone & Friends, has the musical color of Rone's friendships, of his crushes for a few additional less expected guest voices, but also inevitably of his own personality. The collaborative album is based on an electronic backdrop of previously unreleased titles, alternative versions of Room With A View or his first feature film soundtrack La Nuit Venue. First of all, there's this title from his "buddy", the science-fiction author Alain Damasio, which Rone has had on his hard drive for a while: a slightly erotic pastiche to Serge Gainsbourg entitled "un". Rone unearthed a deep and pastoral version of "Human" where the voice of Efterklang singer Casper Clausen seems to take on the accents of Matt Berninger of The National. The artist reactivated the aborted collaboration projects with his close circle and spontaneously collected a big handful of titles. To these first "kind-hearted" reactions, came three female collaborations with the English singer and multi-instrumentalist Georgia, the Iranian Roya Arab (seminal voice of the "Londinium" of the group Archive) and a rising figure of the ambient scene, Malibu, with whom Rone had always hoped to work. It is a kind of pressure cooker of spicy and very diverse musical personalities that gives a fresh and offbeat appeal to Rone's music. Dominique A's lyrical skills rubs shoulders with the surrealist and psychedelic poetry of Flavien Berger. The vitamin-packed pop of Georgia is followed by the ethereal contemplations of Yael Naim. Jenny Beth from Savages even turns her post-punk attitude into French desireless-ness. Nods to American rock merge with '90s trip-hop in a mix of genres that is bubbling, fun, but never disconcerting. The visual identity of the project was created by the illustrator and cartoonist Coco and continues, in its own way, the work initiated by Michel Gondry on the imaginary city of Mirapolis. Also features Odezenne, Laura Etchegoyhen, Mood, Camélia Jordana, and Mélissa Laveaux.

$25.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Rone & Friends has the musical color of Rone's friendships, of his crushes for a few additional less expected guest voices, but also inevitably of his own personality. The new collaborative album includes voices by Georgia, Yael Naim, Casper Clausen (Efterklang), Flavien Berger, Jenny Beth, Dominique A, and many others. In the social isolation of 2020, Rone felt the need to come closer to his artist friends and to reshuffle his creations with their voices as the new beating heart. This collection, entitled Rone & Friends, has the musical color of Rone's friendships, of his crushes for a few additional less expected guest voices, but also inevitably of his own personality. The collaborative album is based on an electronic backdrop of previously unreleased titles, alternative versions of Room With A View or his first feature film soundtrack La Nuit Venue. First of all, there's this title from his "buddy", the science-fiction author Alain Damasio, which Rone has had on his hard drive for a while: a slightly erotic pastiche to Serge Gainsbourg entitled "un". Rone unearthed a deep and pastoral version of "Human" where the voice of Efterklang singer Casper Clausen seems to take on the accents of Matt Berninger of The National. The artist reactivated the aborted collaboration projects with his close circle and spontaneously collected a big handful of titles. To these first "kind-hearted" reactions, came three female collaborations with the English singer and multi-instrumentalist Georgia, the Iranian Roya Arab (seminal voice of the "Londinium" of the group Archive) and a rising figure of the ambient scene, Malibu, with whom Rone had always hoped to work. It is a kind of pressure cooker of spicy and very diverse musical personalities that gives a fresh and offbeat appeal to Rone's music. Dominique A's lyrical skills rubs shoulders with the surrealist and psychedelic poetry of Flavien Berger. The vitamin-packed pop of Georgia is followed by the ethereal contemplations of Yael Naim. Jenny Beth from Savages even turns her post-punk attitude into French desireless-ness. Nods to American rock merge with '90s trip-hop in a mix of genres that is bubbling, fun, but never disconcerting. The visual identity of the project was created by the illustrator and cartoonist Coco and continues, in its own way, the work initiated by Michel Gondry on the imaginary city of Mirapolis. Also features Odezenne, Laura Etchegoyhen, Mood, Camélia Jordana, and Mélissa Laveaux.

$25.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Chronos is the new album by Rostock's composer Johann Pätzold, aka Secret of Elements. A heartfelt, richly visual journey through which the German composer channels personal struggles alongside the social upheavals to which he has dedicated himself as a "music activist". Chronos charts an eventful period during which Pätzold learned to deal with mental illness, traveled to the Mediterranean to save lives during the refugee crisis, fell in love and lost love -- ten years is a long time. The album tells of people, moments or phases from the musician's life. It opens with the ominous melodies and immersive choral ambience of "Grace", which reflects on a friend's suicide attempt, before riding the euphoria of Pätzold's wedding and the birth of his children in "A Last Waltz". Third track "Memento" narrates the epic journey of a refugee Syrian mother whom Pätzold accompanied from Greece to Germany, its emotive swells and subtle crescendo evoking simultaneously the dawning of a new world and the melancholy of what has been left behind. "Vinculum", built around an Indian mantra, also dates from the same period and was written as a last tribute to a small child who drowned in the Mediterranean. The piece combines church organ -- renown as part of Christian music, and indeed recorded in the Marienkirche in Gnoien on an original 18th century Lütkemüller organ -- with a mantra, seeking to unite various religious symbols in an attempt at reconciliation in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Propelled by mechanical percussion, "Rage" uses the Shepard scale, a musical phenomenon in which two cyclically rising octaves are played on top of each other in a staggered fashion to create the illusion of an infinitely swelling scale, perfectly mirroring the image of blind spiraling, hysterical anger. When you arrive at "Aurora", you feel Pätzold musing about the end of the world, but also the end of the self. What remains when humanity is wiped out by a pandemic or something similar? In Johann Pätzold's case, what remains is, among other things, a monumental album, a musical chronicle of his life: Chronos. Features Mischa Blanos and Laure Brisa.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Chronos is the new album by Rostock's composer Johann Pätzold, aka Secret of Elements. A heartfelt, richly visual journey through which the German composer channels personal struggles alongside the social upheavals to which he has dedicated himself as a "music activist". Chronos charts an eventful period during which Pätzold learned to deal with mental illness, traveled to the Mediterranean to save lives during the refugee crisis, fell in love and lost love -- ten years is a long time. The album tells of people, moments or phases from the musician's life. It opens with the ominous melodies and immersive choral ambience of "Grace", which reflects on a friend's suicide attempt, before riding the euphoria of Pätzold's wedding and the birth of his children in "A Last Waltz". Third track "Memento" narrates the epic journey of a refugee Syrian mother whom Pätzold accompanied from Greece to Germany, its emotive swells and subtle crescendo evoking simultaneously the dawning of a new world and the melancholy of what has been left behind. "Vinculum", built around an Indian mantra, also dates from the same period and was written as a last tribute to a small child who drowned in the Mediterranean. The piece combines church organ -- renown as part of Christian music, and indeed recorded in the Marienkirche in Gnoien on an original 18th century Lütkemüller organ -- with a mantra, seeking to unite various religious symbols in an attempt at reconciliation in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Propelled by mechanical percussion, "Rage" uses the Shepard scale, a musical phenomenon in which two cyclically rising octaves are played on top of each other in a staggered fashion to create the illusion of an infinitely swelling scale, perfectly mirroring the image of blind spiraling, hysterical anger. When you arrive at "Aurora", you feel Pätzold musing about the end of the world, but also the end of the self. What remains when humanity is wiped out by a pandemic or something similar? In Johann Pätzold's case, what remains is, among other things, a monumental album, a musical chronicle of his life: Chronos. Features Mischa Blanos and Laure Brisa.

$20.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

Laurel Halo, Donato Dozzy, and Teheran sound artist Tegh offer their Glassforms Versions alongside a new edit by Max Cooper. The works of Philip Glass are reflected and refracted in a myriad of ways by some of the most renowned electronic artists alive, making for a blissful, multi-dimensional listening experience. With Glassforms (IF 1059CD/LP, 2020), Max Cooper and Bruce Brubaker set out on an intimate, nuanced exploration of the works of Philip Glass. When approaching his remix, Donato Dozzy tapped into an inspiration to create something new rather than just reworking it, which is one of the core motives that emanates from Glassforms. "I chose 'Two Pages' for it's hypnotic feel in the notes repetition," he says, "but I did not want to merely sample the piano, but instead ask someone I trust and admire to carve it from scratch and even go further." So he followed the lead of Brubaker and Cooper and teamed up with the renowned Italian percussionist and jazz musician Daniele Di Gregorio to completely rewire "Two Pages" into a gorgeous piece of endlessly modulating ambient electronica. Laurel Halo, the second remixer on Glassforms Versions, provides a remix of "Opening", bringing to mind the string section of an orchestra tuning their violins before the performance -- forever. They glide in-and-out of tune, sometimes individually, then together, then are accompanied by keys that are most likely a ghostly representation of Brubaker's piano, sampled and pitched down, but sound almost jazzy in the context of Halo's remix. Sound artist Tegh is the third on the remix bill -- the electronic musician from Teheran delivers his take on "Two Pages", once again showcasing how versatile, how inherently complex the works of Philip Glass are. Tegh's version is a bounding, brooding piece filled with raw energy that feels like it is performed live, just for you, every single time you listen. His version is, at first, much more focused on the underlying moods, electronic undercurrents of the original than Dozzy's version, and yet, when the piano finally does break through, it becomes clear that you are listening to Philip Glass, reflected manifold. Concluding Glassforms Versions is a previously unheard edit of "Two Pages". It's difficult to edit a piece of minimalistic beauty without losing it's essence, but Max Cooper managed to bring these shorter edit into a satisfying, conclusive form.