World Merging Neo-classical work from Odalie

Extrait de Derrière l'Écran Le spectacle Derrière l'Écran propose sous la forme d'un spectacle audiovisuel un temps propice à l'émerveillement et l'observati...

The French band return with plans to expand on their intimate discography

Odalie have a style which leans towards tones of ambient, drone, and experimental. The force and emotion behind the band’s sound however, comes from the infusion of deeply moving cello performance which permeates their work.

Beginning to make their presence known in the French electronica community back in 2019 with the release of their self-titled EP, Odalie have shown themselves to be capable of producing deeply thoughtful music.

Their limited public discography demonstrates quality over quantity, and brings to light the multi-instrumental talents required to produce meaningful neo-classical work. As careful percussion, pads and fragile textures of found-sound cultivate an ethereal touch, bass lines pull to the surface much more potent, dominant energies. It’s between these two contrasting fields that the cello flows, at times gravitating to the organic, then returning to regions populated by flavours of glitch and manipulated synth.

Our featured track is a hint of things to come, created to feature in the group’s upcoming audio-visual show in April 2021. ‘Les Hybres’ is an extended release reaching beyond eight minutes, time which is spent in the service of raw melody, gently blending with electronic influences to become a fluid, rich composition.

Stream the release on Youtube

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S8jfou returns from the mountains with ‘Mickey Under Every Wall’

Following private experiments and evolutions of his alternative ambience, S8jfou’s new album ‘Cynism’ draws nearer

The forces behind an individual artist’s flow of production are often highly personal, representing the motivations which drive not just their expression in sound, but their expression in life. For French electronic music producer S8jfou, isolation and abstraction have become central elements in his music, as well as in his place of work.

S8jfou’s upcoming album has been pieced together in the artist’s self-built house in the mountains, a place of seclusion where S8jfou is able to separate himself from the influences of our urban network and connect to music from a unique perspective. The mountain retreat echoes S8jfou’s individualistic, grassroots style. The alternative environments where he grew up, the homemade equipment he uses, his self-taught talents as a pianist; all these came into being as a result of the S8jfou’s determination to construct a path for himself.

His upcoming album ‘Cynism’ will arrive on November 13th, the second created within the walls of his cabin. From the eleven tracks included in the LP we hear hints of acid style squelch, alien synth and modular beats. It’s decidedly divided from the organic, and when we do grasp at reality with samples such as the trumpet of ‘Mickey Under Every Wall’, it only reminds us how far we’ve wandered into the forest.

Stream the single on Spotify

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Aalson crafts epic moments with new 'Serene' EP

The rising French producer continues his musical evolution with a bold and brooding solo EP

Like a masterful film director, up and coming French producer Aalson composes epic landscapes that elicit effortless emotional responses. With a sound and compositional patience well beyond his years, 2020 has seen the Toulouse musician further hone his unique brand of vast and profound harmonious techno. Rather than letting the shortage of live events this year slow him down, he’s refocused his energy in the studio and appeared across a number of compilations, collaborations and remixes.

Diving into Aalson’s discography reveals an increasingly busy release schedule with 2020 already entering the double digits in musical output. Not only is the hard work and dedication evident but a clear and steady progress in sound becomes obvious when tracking his growth over the years. With sharpened sound design and slicker arrangements, Aalson’s growing skillset saw him appear alongside a small group of handpicked collaborators on ‘Polytone’- the new album from French melodic techno guru: Teho.

Continuing his year of forward momentum, Aalson offers up his latest EP ‘Serene’, 2 tracks of finely tuned melodic techno set against a monochrome backdrop of thick analog synths all imbued with an undeniable energy. The title track starts with a slow subterranean build before opening up into more dynamic chord progressions and sweeping walls of sputtering white noise.

Support the EP on Beatport or stream it on Spotify

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Check out the label- Sinners
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An Intimate Sound From Montpellier

arthrn, a multi-genre music producer from France, presents one of his ambient pieces titled ‘While’, as part of the Stagne EP which appeared on the web a few months ago.

Originality in sound design is certainly a quality that defines arthrn, this piece is one that creates a space taking on the presence beyond that which physical sound occupies. It offers a space of emotional depth, which is suggested by the harmonic yet inharmonic combination of sounds that disseminate across an ever lasting reverb, with shifting pitches and gliding chords, the melodic progressions are one of a kind.

Listening to While, in the distance of the reverb you will hear sounds reminding us of a horn, plucked instruments and sustained keys that are all made to sound unlike you would imagine.

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Beyond The Hill's 'Granular Life' will turn your life into film

The debut EP from Japan’s 丘を越えて (Beyond The Hill), out now on 16:9 Recordings, is the perfect first release for a label ostensibly focusing on cinematic styles of music. 16:9 is of course the standard aspect ratio for High Definition digital video, and the EP’s title of ‘Granular Life’ is certainly evocative of one of the most distinct qualities of film, namely grain. But the title also goes beyond visual qualities, and can be taken more literally: these tracks were produced using granular synthesis techniques.

The opening track, Flicker Wind, (listen above) is a timeless ambient opener that would do well to accompany any number of tasks in daily life. It is at once precise in tone, and also flexible to interpretation. Think Boards of Canada in their more cinematic mode. The rest of the tracks on this EP only strengthen this comparison, expanding the Granular Life cinematic world in all directions. It’s a shame that such a carefully constructed world clocks in at under 15 minutes, just when you start to feel at home in its warm embrace. Nevertheless, it’s a strong first release from 16:9, and we’ll have to keep an eye on the label to see what they conjure up next.

Stream “Flicker Wind” above, and find the whole EP on 16:9 Recordings’ Bandcamp.

- review by autonomy

Follow Beyond The Hill on Spotify

Keep up with 16:9 Recordings further releases on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.