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2LP
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REC 102LP
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Acid Washed, a duo that arose from the second wave of French house, are bringing back everything that house music comprises, including its political, social, utopian, and more subversive matters. Legendary club culture, with its heroes and its secret stories, is where Andrew Claristidge and Richard d'Alpert found the ideas of pretty much everything that they wanted to inject into Acid Washed. Considered a return to the origins of house and techno music after a euphoric first album, House of Melancholy proposes a synthetic cocktail -- a highly idiosyncratic return to the origins of their own house and techno. Those who only see Acid Washed as a pair of skillful technicians of vintage synths and references are in for a surprise. Recorded after traveling twice around the world, House of Melancholy is the soundtrack of Claristidge and d'Alpert's lives, following the leap into the void. As Richard says, ''My melancholy always travels with me,'' and it's especially the emotional paradox of electronic music as it resonates in our hearts that reveals itself here. Without ever getting to the shores of electro-pop, the duo puts a little more of real, heavy pop, of '70s Italian variety, of Morricone, or Philip Glass soundtracks, and very pure electronica in their dance music. Particularly, Andrew and Richard surrounded themselves with friends to celebrate better: the exceptionally-gifted Joakim at the production board, as well as Yan Wagner, Miss Kittin, Ahmad Larnes, Hypnolove, Turzi, and La Mverte. House of Melancholy is a human adventure and an ode to music which unites bodies and souls. Housed in a gatefold sleeve.
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CD
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REC 059CD
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Paris' Acid Washed is a two-man process primarily, involving deteriorating sound amongst souvenirs, friends, home studios and analog equipment. It follows the blueprint devised by two DJs keen on using modern and vintage equipment to create sophisticated electronics with a sharp pop aesthetic. The result is a fusion of late '90s French house vibes and DFA disco touches that acknowledge the influence of Chicago and Detroit without being overly reverential. Throw names like Steve Reich, Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk into the hat as well if you like, but don't dwell on them. The list of big-time collaborators queuing outside the hit-factory is getting larger by the day and shows no sign of dying down anytime soon. The romantic and cinematic vision of Acid Washed slots in perfectly alongside the widescreen-zombie-electro of Kavinsky and the sophisticated bedroom grooves by Sébastien Tellier. A glittering fusion of Paris dance sophistication, and Detroit's dirt-flecked sound.
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