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IF 1089LP
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$35.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 5/31/2024
43°C, the debut LP by French electronic producer Basile3, is the result of a decade of cultivating a musical identity that focuses on hybridization, sonic recycling, and playfulness. The enigmatic title 43°C signifies a haze of bliss (4+3=7, the producer's lucky number) backdropped by the ecological state of a world that's grown slightly but surely warmer. In this anticipation fiction, Basile3 offers a soundtrack that is an exploration of club music, electronica infused with R&B and ambient synths. The French producer warmly invites listeners to his state of mind, blooming with genre-bending floating soundscapes. Featuring Telma Cappelo, Daisy Ray, Loydfears, Lucy Sissi Miller, and Minor Science.
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IF 1091LP
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LP version. UTO presents When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire. Anyone familiar with UTO's lauded 2022 debut Touch The Lock (IF 1067CD), which Pitchfork praised for its "prismatic synth pop," will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colorful, with Neysa's vocal work sparking similarities to Kim Gordon's off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jet through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with '90s breakbeats. While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day's work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that's reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single "Zombie," which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter's dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void. From fire, early man's discovery, to AI, humanity's next great adventure -- with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between -- When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth. Featuring HSRS.
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IF 1085CD
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L(oo)ping is a story that began with great trepidation and an initial polite refusal and may have never have been told. Even for Rone, who's used to making bold moves, the orchestra had always seemed a step too far. Motion laid the groundwork for L(oo)ping, a journey in which Romain Allender (who worked The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson and The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro amongst others) acted as a creative translator for Rone. Leafing through Rone's repertoire he selected the tracks that would better lend themselves for symphonic reinterpretations. The eleven pieces chosen each mark a different stage in Rone's trajectory, from one of his first-ever productions, "Bora," born in a studio flat in Paris in 2008 when he was still a student, all the way to the soundtrack composed for the 2022 short-film, Ghosts, written by Spike Jonze, directed and performed by (LA)HORDE. L(oo)ping isn't just an orchestral retelling of Rone's work, however. New life has been breathed into the music through Allender's arrangements as well as Rone's own interaction with the Orchestre National de Lyon and conductor Dirk Brossé. There's a rich dramaturgy to the music, but not once does the acoustic trample on the electronic nor vice-versa. Rather, L(oo)ping manages to achieve an elegant and playful tightrope balance between both voices that keeps listeners hooked on suspense and surprise.
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IF 1091CD
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UTO presents When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire. Anyone familiar with UTO's lauded 2022 debut Touch The Lock (IF 1067CD), which Pitchfork praised for its "prismatic synth pop," will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colorful, with Neysa's vocal work sparking similarities to Kim Gordon's off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jet through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with '90s breakbeats. While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day's work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that's reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single "Zombie," which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter's dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void. From fire, early man's discovery, to AI, humanity's next great adventure -- with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between -- When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth. Featuring HSRS.
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IF 1085LP
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LP version. L(oo)ping is a story that began with great trepidation and an initial polite refusal and may have never have been told. Even for Rone, who's used to making bold moves, the orchestra had always seemed a step too far. Motion laid the groundwork for L(oo)ping, a journey in which Romain Allender (who worked The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson and The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro amongst others) acted as a creative translator for Rone. Leafing through Rone's repertoire he selected the tracks that would better lend themselves for symphonic reinterpretations. The eleven pieces chosen each mark a different stage in Rone's trajectory, from one of his first-ever productions, "Bora," born in a studio flat in Paris in 2008 when he was still a student, all the way to the soundtrack composed for the 2022 short-film, Ghosts, written by Spike Jonze, directed and performed by (LA)HORDE. L(oo)ping isn't just an orchestral retelling of Rone's work, however. New life has been breathed into the music through Allender's arrangements as well as Rone's own interaction with the Orchestre National de Lyon and conductor Dirk Brossé. There's a rich dramaturgy to the music, but not once does the acoustic trample on the electronic nor vice-versa. Rather, L(oo)ping manages to achieve an elegant and playful tightrope balance between both voices that keeps listeners hooked on suspense and surprise.
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IF 1090CD
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A mesmerizing journey of electronic and classical elements for this year most awaited series D'Argent & De Sang is the latest creation from French producer Erwan Castex, known as Rone, famous for acclaimed albums such as Room with a View (IF 1057LP, 2020) and Tohu Bohu (IF 1020LP, 2020), who won a César for his first soundtrack for Frédéric Farrucci's film La Nuit Venue in 2021 and the award for best soundtrack at the Cannes Film Festival for Jacques Audiard's Les Olympiades. Initially entitled Tikkoun, the next CANAL+ original series D'Argent & De Sang is produced by Curiosa Films and directed by multi-César winner Xavier Giannoli, with whom the composer worked closely to develop a subtle blend of electronic and classical sounds, a field in which Rone's reputation is well established. "By mixing classical orchestral textures with modern electronic elements, I wanted to symbolize the heterogeneity of the worlds that intersect in this story."
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IF 1090LP
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LP version. A mesmerizing journey of electronic and classical elements for this year most awaited series D'Argent & De Sang is the latest creation from French producer Erwan Castex, known as Rone, famous for acclaimed albums such as Room with a View (IF 1057LP, 2020) and Tohu Bohu (IF 1020LP, 2020), who won a César for his first soundtrack for Frédéric Farrucci's film La Nuit Venue in 2021 and the award for best soundtrack at the Cannes Film Festival for Jacques Audiard's Les Olympiades. Initially entitled Tikkoun, the next CANAL+ original series D'Argent & De Sang is produced by Curiosa Films and directed by multi-César winner Xavier Giannoli, with whom the composer worked closely to develop a subtle blend of electronic and classical sounds, a field in which Rone's reputation is well established. "By mixing classical orchestral textures with modern electronic elements, I wanted to symbolize the heterogeneity of the worlds that intersect in this story."
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IF 1088CD
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As Brian Eno famously said, "The studio is a musical instrument," Bruce Brubaker now says, "A musical instrument can be a studio." Eno Piano, is a stunning reinterpretation by American pianist Bruce Brubaker of selected tracks from Brian Eno's ambient masterpieces, including iconic Music for Airports as well as three original compositions venturing into his collaborations with Harold Budd, Hans Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, or Jon Hopkins. In his explorations of minimalism, Bruce Brubaker makes connections to music old and new. In his album Codex, there was a dialogue between open-form music by Terry Riley and very early keyboard pieces written down by anonymous scribes in the 15th century, while Brubaker's performances of music by Philip Glass enabled the releases of the critically acclaim Glass Piano and his collaboration on Glassform with Max Cooper (IF 1059CD/LP, 2020). Brian Eno's music is equally a significant part of the repetition-based musical minimalism in the 20th century. Eno Piano acknowledges a deep artistic bond. In Eno Piano, the piano, one of the first "synthesizers," becomes a new kind of fantastic resonating box -- a supernatural synthesizer. The album is a compelling discovery, a rereading, reinterpretation, "re-production" of Brian Eno's music, from the hands of a visionary virtuoso. Sonically, the record is a combination of Bruce's piano playing, and piano sounds made using new electromagnetic "bows" that vibrate strings inside the piano creating drone notes. The album represents a leap, into a new genre of post-ambient, post-piano piano music. Here, sound technology heightens artistic sensitivity, and the listener's presence in the moment. An instrument is reimagined, refashioned. The usual boundaries of time and sound loosen allowing the formation of a new 21st-century beauty.
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IF 1088LP
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LP version. As Brian Eno famously said, "The studio is a musical instrument," Bruce Brubaker now says, "A musical instrument can be a studio." Eno Piano, is a stunning reinterpretation by American pianist Bruce Brubaker of selected tracks from Brian Eno's ambient masterpieces, including iconic Music for Airports as well as three original compositions venturing into his collaborations with Harold Budd, Hans Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, or Jon Hopkins. In his explorations of minimalism, Bruce Brubaker makes connections to music old and new. In his album Codex, there was a dialogue between open-form music by Terry Riley and very early keyboard pieces written down by anonymous scribes in the 15th century, while Brubaker's performances of music by Philip Glass enabled the releases of the critically acclaim Glass Piano and his collaboration on Glassform with Max Cooper (IF 1059CD/LP, 2020). Brian Eno's music is equally a significant part of the repetition-based musical minimalism in the 20th century. Eno Piano acknowledges a deep artistic bond. In Eno Piano, the piano, one of the first "synthesizers," becomes a new kind of fantastic resonating box -- a supernatural synthesizer. The album is a compelling discovery, a rereading, reinterpretation, "re-production" of Brian Eno's music, from the hands of a visionary virtuoso. Sonically, the record is a combination of Bruce's piano playing, and piano sounds made using new electromagnetic "bows" that vibrate strings inside the piano creating drone notes. The album represents a leap, into a new genre of post-ambient, post-piano piano music. Here, sound technology heightens artistic sensitivity, and the listener's presence in the moment. An instrument is reimagined, refashioned. The usual boundaries of time and sound loosen allowing the formation of a new 21st-century beauty.
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IF 1086LP
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Since his first album, Labelle has been dovetailing the techno that so captivated his imagination as a teenager, with traditional Maloya music -- native to the French overseas department where he grew up and still lives. His new album submerges itself in the darker recesses of the psyche. Noir Anima is a reflective portrait of a soul enshrouded by the darkness of night, inching towards a euphoric morning. Over the last decade, the Réunion Island-based composer has made a name for himself exploring syncretic religion and philosophy throughout his work and, for his fifth studio album, his search for truth has turned inwards. On Noir Anima, we are offered a glimpse into the emotional state of the artist making this extraordinary and dynamic music.
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IF 1087CD
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Cindy Pooch is a breath of fresh air on the French pop scene, placing vocals and lyrics centerstage. She initially started composing this project intimately alone, unveiling the raw emotions of the artist. The result is an album of Chanson Française tracks as pop as they are avant-garde, with meticulous, intimate and powerful productions. The twelve tracks that make up the album were written around specific moments in the Cindy's life; in Lyon, where she lives, in Cameroon where she frequently visits her family, and on the road during her many tours with the Maloya groups Ti'Kaniki. In Nomine Corpus is a debut album that showcases Cindy's maturity, sincerity, and commitment, marking the beginning of a promising solo career. Her artistic collaboration with guitar player and producer Seb Martel (Camille, Femi Kuti, -M-) finally takes shape in productions that are both powerful and light at the same time, an effervescent weightlessness. Twelve tracks, combined with lyrics of pure poetry, making up a cathartic album that is endearing and liberating.
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IF 1087LP
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LP version. Cindy Pooch is a breath of fresh air on the French pop scene, placing vocals and lyrics centerstage. She initially started composing this project intimately alone, unveiling the raw emotions of the artist. The result is an album of Chanson Française tracks as pop as they are avant-garde, with meticulous, intimate and powerful productions. The twelve tracks that make up the album were written around specific moments in the Cindy's life; in Lyon, where she lives, in Cameroon where she frequently visits her family, and on the road during her many tours with the Maloya groups Ti'Kaniki. In Nomine Corpus is a debut album that showcases Cindy's maturity, sincerity, and commitment, marking the beginning of a promising solo career. Her artistic collaboration with guitar player and producer Seb Martel (Camille, Femi Kuti, -M-) finally takes shape in productions that are both powerful and light at the same time, an effervescent weightlessness. Twelve tracks, combined with lyrics of pure poetry, making up a cathartic album that is endearing and liberating.
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IF 1084LP
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LP version. Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed's album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision. Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, "The Key to the Exit," a deconstructed sha'bi production. With tracks like "Six as Oil" and the delightfully intense "Violence for Free," Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed's vocals on "Complain" and "Pre-Island" are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said "[Khonnar is] an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political." With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.
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IF 1084CD
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Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed's album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision. Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, "The Key to the Exit," a deconstructed sha'bi production. With tracks like "Six as Oil" and the delightfully intense "Violence for Free," Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed's vocals on "Complain" and "Pre-Island" are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said "[Khonnar is] an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political." With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.
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IF 1048LP
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Deena Abdelwahed's first album is shifting the epicenter of contemporary electronic music south. Khonnar, pronounced "Ronnar" (an essential detail so as to avoid facile misinterpretation by French-speakers) it is a term that makes the most of Tunisia's cultural and linguistic spectrum. It evokes the dark, shameful and disturbing side of things, the one we usually seek to hide, but which Deena instead sticks our noses in with her debut. It is a testament to Deena's coming into her own as a world citizen, and as an artist. A self-construction made of frustrations and constraints, borne of retrograde mindsets, which are not the prerogative of either the East or the West, and which she tirelessly strives to expose and break. Throughout the 45 minutes of Khonnar, Deena breaks down the codes of bass, techno and experimental music, and writes the manifesto for a generation that does not seek to please or to conform, taking back control of its identity -- with all the attendant losses and chaos. A new creative world order is taking shape, a new tilting point between north and south, the response of a connected and liberated youth who takes the control of the new decolonization.
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IF 1082CD
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African Singer-songwriter Blick Bassy is back with a fifth album, again sung in the Baasa language of Cameroon. Madíbá brings together twelve songs in the form of fables, dedicated to the theme of water, in which his high and angelic voice dominates, carried by delicate guitar, synthesizer melodies, and sober brass arrangements. The cuts are diaphanous and nevertheless modernist songs, which testify to a contemporary and poetic Africanity at the crossroads of soul, folk, and electro. Blick Bassy's albums have a humanist and universal dimension. His fifth and new solo album, titled Madíbá, which means water in the Douala language of Cameroon, comes in the form of songs close to the fable, in which Bassy explores "a theme shared by all" of water, the source of life. The fables of the album, all born in the imagination of Blick, explore in a more concrete way different themes related to water, its rarity, its necessity, its energy or its vital power. The twelve songs all bring together a series of figures, animals, or various characters, embodied in turn by Blick Bassy. "I have fun stepping into the shoes of a bird, a cat conversing with an elephant, a flower worrying about its declining beauty, a monkey looking for a spring or a storyteller with his grandchildren. In these texts, water can even take on a human appearance." Beyond the tale, the texts of the album also refer to our climate crisis, or to the problems of access to water, a way for the artist to approach serious subjects through a poetic form which avoids didactic or moralizing speeches.
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IF 1082LP
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LP version. African Singer-songwriter Blick Bassy is back with a fifth album, again sung in the Baasa language of Cameroon. Madíbá brings together twelve songs in the form of fables, dedicated to the theme of water, in which his high and angelic voice dominates, carried by delicate guitar, synthesizer melodies, and sober brass arrangements. The cuts are diaphanous and nevertheless modernist songs, which testify to a contemporary and poetic Africanity at the crossroads of soul, folk, and electro. Blick Bassy's albums have a humanist and universal dimension. His fifth and new solo album, titled Madíbá, which means water in the Douala language of Cameroon, comes in the form of songs close to the fable, in which Bassy explores "a theme shared by all" of water, the source of life. The fables of the album, all born in the imagination of Blick, explore in a more concrete way different themes related to water, its rarity, its necessity, its energy or its vital power. The twelve songs all bring together a series of figures, animals, or various characters, embodied in turn by Blick Bassy. "I have fun stepping into the shoes of a bird, a cat conversing with an elephant, a flower worrying about its declining beauty, a monkey looking for a spring or a storyteller with his grandchildren. In these texts, water can even take on a human appearance." Beyond the tale, the texts of the album also refer to our climate crisis, or to the problems of access to water, a way for the artist to approach serious subjects through a poetic form which avoids didactic or moralizing speeches.
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IF 1009X-LP
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Reissue. In 2010, electronic composer Arandel quietly released his first album In D on the then young InFiné label. At the time, the artist was strictly anonymous, put in the forefront its strict methodology of composition, and unleashed to the world what was destined to eventually break ground as a classic debut. The original pressing of that record sold out more than ten years ago, and at long last is finding new life on limited edition vinyl. The record covers immense ground despite the strict "sonic dogma" put in place (every song in the key of D, and no samples allowed beyond what Arandel played himself). With these limitations aside, the record traverses a wide sonic map that covers classic, pristine leftfield house, ambient experimentalism, and even mind-expanding psychedelia. As stated by The Line of Best Fit in 2010, "In D is an exciting, occasionally intoxicating and spirited album that owes as much to the spirit of its influences as it does to the desired mystery of its creator."
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IF 2082EP
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The two pieces Gaspar Claus brought together on Scaphandre form an abstract and mysterious B-side of Tancade, released in the fall of 2021. Both composed during the long, initial period of his first album's conception, this mini album's two episodes, each tinged with minimal and noisy abstractions, unfold more than ten minutes of total immersion into the abyss of experimental music on the first, and drone for the second. In their own way, these tracks are a form of raw, unadorned escape, a film negative of the cellist's surface creations, which we know are bathed in sunshine and fresh air. "Inside" is a moment of distraction while Gaspar worked on a film soundtrack. The title took time to mature in the musician's head, abandoned then picked up again and modified until it found its signature progression of strings where time seems suspended. The reverberations dress its fourteen-minute sound canvas in a way that is reminiscent of endless, sub-marine darkness. "Beyond" was recorded in three takes during a writing session for his first album with David Chalmin in the Basque Country. The post-production phase required a long process of refinement to obtain this invasive sound material that cuts the listener off from their real environment and films them with a hypnotic feeling of depths and apnea. Taken in 1898 by Louis Boutan a few dozen kilometres from the beach of Tancade in Banyuls sur mer -- Gaspar's family village -- the photographs of Scaphandre seal the vinyl sleeve with a unique auditory experience presenting the submerged side of the cellist. Obscure, dense, haunting, excitingly weightless.
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IF 1080LP
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LP version. On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities, and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she's finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future. Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné -- 2020's We Don't Need To Be Enemies and 2021's Libra (IF 2081LP) -- the French-Algerian producer and vocalist's unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite, and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others. Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as "Berbers", she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body. In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr -- which translates from Arabic as "the present time" -- Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she's ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French, and Arabic, exploring love, faith, and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental "found sounds", including Bellaouel's own live recordings.
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IF 1080CD
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On Al Hadr, Sabrina Bellaouel taps into myriad influences: from spirituality, astrology to club culture, romance, the body and self-love. Creating a balance between places, identities, and sounds is a huge part of the charm of Al Hadr. As a true Libra, she's finding a balance between honoring her roots and carving out her future. Following two solo EPs, also on InFiné -- 2020's We Don't Need To Be Enemies and 2021's Libra (IF 2081LP) -- the French-Algerian producer and vocalist's unique style of electronic R&B blossoms with Al Hadr, a 13-track album featuring collaborations with dance producer Basile3, experimental club DJ and writer Crystallmess, jazz musician Monomite, and pop singer Bonnie Banane, among others. Born, raised and based in Bagneux, outside the southern périphérique of Paris, Bellaouel lives between worlds. At home, her Algerian heritage and Muslim faith have fused tight familial bonds and a keen sense of history and culture; as "Berbers", she speaks French and Arabic. In her headphones, she finds comfort in the sparse experimentalism of Radiohead and romantic tales of Jill Scott. On the hot club dance floors of Paris, driving house beats connect her to her body. In swirling these private and public passions together on Al Hadr -- which translates from Arabic as "the present time" -- Bellaouel is the most vulnerable she's ever been on record. Classic neo-soul and silken R&B blend with club electronics. Tender harmonies are sung and rhymes are spoken in English, French, and Arabic, exploring love, faith, and identity. Samples of drum machines are the backbone for wisps of woodwind, strings, keys and environmental "found sounds", including Bellaouel's own live recordings.
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IF 1076LP
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After spending his debut album exploring techno and mechanical sounds in the depths of the Pas-de-Calais mines, Toh Imago looks up to the sky, with an open breeze on his face, as tree branches and canopy filter out the sun's rays on Refuge. All the machines used during the album recording are tuned at 432hz, carrying the mystical benefits of Earth's resonance. Spending just seconds with the opening track, the listener is drawn into the safety that Refuge was intended to provide, and each subsequent piece pulls you deeper and deeper into the album's forest. Refuge was recorded on the edge of the Mormal Forest, in the North of France. With nature as a setting and studio accomplice, the album features synthesizers, field-recordings, as well as the acoustic qualities of reverbs from the nearby forest. As the artist's inner world and nature converge in moments of self-reflection, so the album's 11 recordings harmoniously unfold in a cavalcade of machines and organic sonorities. While the first LP Nord Noir (IF 1055LP, 2019) explored his family's mining past, Refuge is about being present and the desire to re-contextualize the relationship between nature and humans. It is a record of uplifting tones that is filled with optimism, imbued with the lightness of those who finally reconnect with nature, their roots, and the feeling of groundedness. Like the steps taken on a walk in the woods, the 11 tracks sonically tell the story of an inner journey divided in three chapters. "Asile Sauvage", "Sylve Barbare", and "Avril Mormal" take the listener into a fast-paced progression of rhythms. When the heart of the forest is reached, the journey becomes intimate, revealing a sacred space where breathing becomes the leading tempo ("Locus Neminis") and the traveler becomes a spirit lost in space ("Cosmos Intra"). The journey's climax is reached with "Monde intérieur". The album closes with "Chiff Chaff" which accompanies the listener back to a reality, hopefully a more reassuring one. Across the album, Toh Imago finds inventive ways of opening a dialogue between nature and machine, both literally and metaphorically, creating a soundscape that both feels like and was created by the natural world that surrounds him. The album offers a shelter from a predetermined world. It's a story told through ambience, racy and subtle electronics, and the memories of lichens clinging to shoes.
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CD
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IF 1077CD
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French pianist Vanessa Wagner collects solo piano studies of graceful minimalism and rare finesse for new album Mirrored. Quickly following March 2022's Study of the Invisible album (IF 1070CD/LP), Vanessa Wagner returns with a new collection of work that paints in many colors. The application of shadow in Mirrored evokes haunting poignancy; the care and delicateness of its negative space leaves room for undulating melodic motifs to ebb and flow; its bold splashes of luminescence are striking and rich. And while the album collates re-interpretations of works by composers as varied as Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Moondog, Leo Ferré, and Camille Pepin, the potency and effect of the collection as a whole reflects only Vanessa Wagner and the extraordinary breadth of her abilities. Performing solo, exposed to timbre, tempo and clarity, many of the pieces here -- such as "Sea Horses" by (Vanessa's one-time mentor) Moondog or Philip Glass's "Etude 4" -- demand virtuosic abilities as a performer and interpreter. But in Vanessa Wagner's hands, they are not only made her own, but made mesmeric and magical by the sensitivity of her touch. Also features works composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Melaine Dalibert, and Sylvain Chauveau.
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LP
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IF 1077LP
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LP version. French pianist Vanessa Wagner collects solo piano studies of graceful minimalism and rare finesse for new album Mirrored. Quickly following March 2022's Study of the Invisible album (IF 1070CD/LP), Vanessa Wagner returns with a new collection of work that paints in many colors. The application of shadow in Mirrored evokes haunting poignancy; the care and delicateness of its negative space leaves room for undulating melodic motifs to ebb and flow; its bold splashes of luminescence are striking and rich. And while the album collates re-interpretations of works by composers as varied as Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Moondog, Leo Ferré, and Camille Pepin, the potency and effect of the collection as a whole reflects only Vanessa Wagner and the extraordinary breadth of her abilities. Performing solo, exposed to timbre, tempo and clarity, many of the pieces here -- such as "Sea Horses" by (Vanessa's one-time mentor) Moondog or Philip Glass's "Etude 4" -- demand virtuosic abilities as a performer and interpreter. But in Vanessa Wagner's hands, they are not only made her own, but made mesmeric and magical by the sensitivity of her touch. Also features works composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Melaine Dalibert, and Sylvain Chauveau.
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2LP
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IF 1020-10Y0
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Double LP, recycled color vinyl and recycled sleeve; includes two sticker sheets with the artworks of each track of the album. Tohu Bohu (released in 2012) has become Rone's most cult album, with tracks like "Bye Bye Macadam" or "Parade." InFiné decided to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the album with an anniversary edition in recycled vinyl (random color), recycled sleeve, and two sticker sheets with the artworks of each track of the album. It has been a decade since electronic producer and musician Erwan Castex, known by the pseudonym Rone, released his groundbreaking and breakout second album Tohu Bohu in 2012. Created in a three-month period soon after moving from Paris to Berlin, Tohu Bohu is more a contemplative, reflective record than it is an observation of his newfound present environment. The result is a truly transcendent, transportive album that has for ten years occupied a space in the electronic music landscape that is wholly its own. Tohu Bohu was met with a steady landslide of critical acclaim, and hailed by The Creator's Project as "a beautiful musical artifact from an increasingly powerful musical archaeologist," and "grand in scale, yet delicately intimate" by Interview Magazine. The tenth anniversary of the album will be celebrated with a special edition vinyl reissue on InFiné, made with fully recycled materials. In the words of Death + Taxes Magazine in 2012, "Rone is one of the shining lights of electronic music in a decade of micro-genres and artists that burst brilliantly then fade into internet obscurity," and the decade following the release of Tohu Bohu is conclusive proof of that. Features High Priest of Antipop Consortium and Gaspar Claus.
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