INFINE - Forced Exposure

$26.00 IN STOCK

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.

$24.00 IN STOCK

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.

$25.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 3/17/2023

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 gold limited edition vinyl (including an enamel pin of the doodle that adorns the album cover). 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 Dis 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."

$13.50 IN STOCK

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.

$25.00 IN STOCK

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.

$13.50 IN STOCK

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.

$25.00 IN STOCK

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.

$28.00 IN STOCK

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.

$31.50 IN STOCK

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.

$13.50 IN STOCK

If the name Seb Martel is still unknown to you, the guitarist appears on the credits of classic albums from Tony Allen, Femi Kuti, Morcheeba, or Blackalicious. Saturn 63, his new album on InFiné is dedicated to the exploration of the electric guitar in all its nuances. This new opus made from a selection of nine guitars from the Musée de la Musique (a branch of the Philharmonie de Paris), and only enriched with the voices of his close collaborators (Camille, Sabrina Bellaouel...), unfolds on fourteen tracks a musical fresco faithful to the historical and geographical heritage of his instrument. The album includes fascinating reworks of Carl Perkins, Benjamin Britten, Chavela Vargas, or Vincent Ségal in addition to his own compositions. However, adopting a dogmatic approach, and dressing his compositions with sounds and effects collected during the recordings, Martel offers an abstract and experimental edge to Saturm 63, which transports the listener into an out of time experience. Two famous names of the French chanson, M (Matthieu Chedid) and Mathieu Boogaerts joined Martel to close the album with the snapshot of a speechless improvised session. Also features Cindy Pooch, Martin Gamet, Vincent Ségal, Nicolas Martel, Vic Moan, and Marc Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius). CD version includes one additional track.

$27.00 IN STOCK

LP version. If the name Seb Martel is still unknown to you, the guitarist appears on the credits of classic albums from Tony Allen, Femi Kuti, Morcheeba, or Blackalicious. Saturn 63, his new album on InFiné is dedicated to the exploration of the electric guitar in all its nuances. This new opus made from a selection of nine guitars from the Musée de la Musique (a branch of the Philharmonie de Paris), and only enriched with the voices of his close collaborators (Camille, Sabrina Bellaouel...), unfolds on fourteen tracks a musical fresco faithful to the historical and geographical heritage of his instrument. The album includes fascinating reworks of Carl Perkins, Benjamin Britten, Chavela Vargas, or Vincent Ségal in addition to his own compositions. However, adopting a dogmatic approach, and dressing his compositions with sounds and effects collected during the recordings, Martel offers an abstract and experimental edge to Saturm 63, which transports the listener into an out of time experience. Two famous names of the French chanson, M (Matthieu Chedid) and Mathieu Boogaerts joined Martel to close the album with the snapshot of a speechless improvised session. Also features Cindy Pooch, Martin Gamet, Vincent Ségal, Nicolas Martel, Vic Moan, and Marc Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius).

$13.50 IN STOCK

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. 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.

$13.50 IN STOCK

O'o release their sublime debut album Touche. O'o singer Victoria Suter met her musical partner Mathieu Daubigné at college in Agen, South West France, when the pair were studying music theory in their teens. Victoria moved to Barcelona in 2010; Mathieu followed six years later. Their debut EP, Spells, appeared in 2018 a beautifully crafted patchwork of vocals and samples that is redolent of the uncanny vocalese of Laurie Anderson. The EP's sense of profound longing for something lost is carried over to Touche, as well as the same heightened sensory awareness of the world around them. What has developed in spades is the creative process. O'o have blossomed organically, augmenting their pop sensibilities. Avant-garde techniques have been brought to heel as the pair create off-kilter pop music that warms the heart and nourishes the brain. The catalyst that enabled this bold pop transformation came with the song "Touche" itself, a saucy chanson at the heart of the album. Suter's wry narrative about a botanical femme fatale is inserted into a lithe and skittish song with reggaeton beats and an inviting, balmy atmosphere. "Touche" reaches into hitherto unexplored areas of pop, while the rest of the album is accessible in the way that James Blake, Radiohead, or Kate Bush are accessible, and it always challenges, in a way that pop isn't supposed to. Suter writes playful, poignant, observational songs that tell stories as well as tell us something about ourselves. Songs like "Dorica Castra" are built upon the voice as an instrument, centrifugal and layered from its core. Complimentary to this method is Daubigné, who brings startling innovation with found sounds, samples, and clever vocal manipulations -- creating unique, otherworldly sonic flourishes. A guitar whirs like a musical spinning top on "Spin", created in Ableton; an Ondes Martenot appears to make a guest appearance on the title track, though it's the ingenuity of the Prophet 8 synthesizer.

$28.00 IN STOCK

LP version. O'o release their sublime debut album Touche. O'o singer Victoria Suter met her musical partner Mathieu Daubigné at college in Agen, South West France, when the pair were studying music theory in their teens. Victoria moved to Barcelona in 2010; Mathieu followed six years later. Their debut EP, Spells, appeared in 2018 a beautifully crafted patchwork of vocals and samples that is redolent of the uncanny vocalese of Laurie Anderson. The EP's sense of profound longing for something lost is carried over to Touche, as well as the same heightened sensory awareness of the world around them. What has developed in spades is the creative process. O'o have blossomed organically, augmenting their pop sensibilities. Avant-garde techniques have been brought to heel as the pair create off-kilter pop music that warms the heart and nourishes the brain. The catalyst that enabled this bold pop transformation came with the song "Touche" itself, a saucy chanson at the heart of the album. Suter's wry narrative about a botanical femme fatale is inserted into a lithe and skittish song with reggaeton beats and an inviting, balmy atmosphere. "Touche" reaches into hitherto unexplored areas of pop, while the rest of the album is accessible in the way that James Blake, Radiohead, or Kate Bush are accessible, and it always challenges, in a way that pop isn't supposed to. Suter writes playful, poignant, observational songs that tell stories as well as tell us something about ourselves. Songs like "Dorica Castra" are built upon the voice as an instrument, centrifugal and layered from its core. Complimentary to this method is Daubigné, who brings startling innovation with found sounds, samples, and clever vocal manipulations -- creating unique, otherworldly sonic flourishes. A guitar whirs like a musical spinning top on "Spin", created in Ableton; an Ondes Martenot appears to make a guest appearance on the title track, though it's the ingenuity of the Prophet 8 synthesizer.

$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 IN STOCK

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.

$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 LOW STOCK LEVEL

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

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.

$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".

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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.

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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.