LA THEORIE DES CORDES – new album out
- Posted on 23-04-2023
Label:
Luminol Records
April 21st sees the release of “4U 9525”, the third album by LA THEORIE DES CORDES.
This entity had been dormant since 2015. It was during the process of creating “4U 9525”, that Mathieu TORRES and Stéphanie ARTAUD, saw as obvious that the 9 pieces that make up this set offered a rebirth to La théorie des cordes. The musicians have set themselves a perimeter, not too limited, in order to benefit from a comfortable space of freedom. It was on a full moon evening, at the beginning of August 2022, that the creation took place in the studio La Mercery, perched above the hills of Mirepoix, with a view of the Monts d’Olmes.
Why “4U 9525”? Because it is the registration of the A320 plane of the company Germanwings which crashed on March 24, 2015, causing 150 victims, passengers and crew included, by the fact of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz who wanted to commit suicide.
The investigation determined that he was undergoing psychiatric monitoring but that the company was unaware of the seriousness of his condition.
The final flight took off from Barcelona to Düsseldorf (the company’s home airport) but was rushed to the ground in the French Alps. There were no survivors.
This entity had been dormant since 2015. It was during the process of creating “4U 9525”, that Mathieu TORRES and Stéphanie ARTAUD, saw as obvious that the 9 pieces that make up this set offered a rebirth to La théorie des cordes. The musicians have set themselves a perimeter, not too limited, in order to benefit from a comfortable space of freedom. It was on a full moon evening, at the beginning of August 2022, that the creation took place in the studio La Mercery, perched above the hills of Mirepoix, with a view of the Monts d’Olmes.
Why “4U 9525”? Because it is the registration of the A320 plane of the company Germanwings which crashed on March 24, 2015, causing 150 victims, passengers and crew included, by the fact of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz who wanted to commit suicide.
The investigation determined that he was undergoing psychiatric monitoring but that the company was unaware of the seriousness of his condition.
The final flight took off from Barcelona to Düsseldorf (the company’s home airport) but was rushed to the ground in the French Alps. There were no survivors.
Bandcamp link: https://matzizrecords.bandcamp.com/album/4u-9525
Link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6tmsF8Vnt4oJbxQD3op103?si=3OVA1ro7TLCoElQ0z1ODQQ
How to understand the pieces created, improvised and performed by LA THEORIE DES CORDES?
This is Lubitz’s “diary”, with the stops that marked him and inspired him with emotions, a feeling, a color, a state…
YYC (Calgary in Canada) “Blanc de Calgary”. Calm, light, padded, peaceful. The introductory piece, rather jazzy, is in Ionian mode.
HKG (Hong Kong China) “Cancer d’été” leaves a lot of room for imagination. How did he feel about this step? To set it to music, the wind mode was chosen. It’s soft, fine while being catchy with a talkative guitar that takes the room.
LAX (Los Angeles) “La mort du Boudhiste”. Myxolidian. Very different. Heavier and more mysterious. This piece opposes the “cool” side, always conveyed by this megalopolis and the social violence that reigns there.
ALP (ALEP) “Le colosse d’Anatolie” is introspective (Phrygian mode) because it is a land of history, the cradle of a civilization.
CDG (Paris Charles De Gaulle) “Need For Speed” is more rhythmic, syncopated, very sustained by the drums. (Dorian). I feel a form of urgency, even effervescence.
??? Les lois de l’attraction” or abstraction? The aircraft is in flight. More unstructured, daring, with great instrumental freedom, this short track challenges. Premise of mode to come.
DBA (DUBAI) “Les Grands Hôtels” or the dread of being within its immense impersonal hotel establishments, of being forced to cross a maze of endless corridors, ultra design, which seem hopelessly empty. (altered mode, tone by tone)
BCN (Barcelona) “Terminale envolée”. Gentle take-off (the last) bathed in a mysterious climate. (Lydien) A complexification develops, carried by the stretching guitar notes…
DUS (Dusseldorf) “Il ne restera rien” A kind of sadness, desolation, with tinkling scattered notes, asymmetrical percussion and guitar lines – total counterpoint to the violence of the crash – which end the piece, close the album.
This short description is only made up of references. Everyone, from the code and the title, must give free rein to their imagination to interpret the pieces, then the album, in their own way. The feeling will be different for everyone and can even vary for the same listener, depending on the moment or the state of mind. La théorie des cordes opens up a magnificent travel diary for us, which stimulates the intellect while flattering our appetite, with these variations of modes of composition and a fine, free, precise execution, generating varied climates. The nine pieces have been improvised, it is now up to the listener to prolong the experience with all chakras open !”
Link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/
How to understand the pieces created, improvised and performed by LA THEORIE DES CORDES?
This is Lubitz’s “diary”, with the stops that marked him and inspired him with emotions, a feeling, a color, a state…
YYC (Calgary in Canada) “Blanc de Calgary”. Calm, light, padded, peaceful. The introductory piece, rather jazzy, is in Ionian mode.
HKG (Hong Kong China) “Cancer d’été” leaves a lot of room for imagination. How did he feel about this step? To set it to music, the wind mode was chosen. It’s soft, fine while being catchy with a talkative guitar that takes the room.
LAX (Los Angeles) “La mort du Boudhiste”. Myxolidian. Very different. Heavier and more mysterious. This piece opposes the “cool” side, always conveyed by this megalopolis and the social violence that reigns there.
ALP (ALEP) “Le colosse d’Anatolie” is introspective (Phrygian mode) because it is a land of history, the cradle of a civilization.
CDG (Paris Charles De Gaulle) “Need For Speed” is more rhythmic, syncopated, very sustained by the drums. (Dorian). I feel a form of urgency, even effervescence.
??? Les lois de l’attraction” or abstraction? The aircraft is in flight. More unstructured, daring, with great instrumental freedom, this short track challenges. Premise of mode to come.
DBA (DUBAI) “Les Grands Hôtels” or the dread of being within its immense impersonal hotel establishments, of being forced to cross a maze of endless corridors, ultra design, which seem hopelessly empty. (altered mode, tone by tone)
BCN (Barcelona) “Terminale envolée”. Gentle take-off (the last) bathed in a mysterious climate. (Lydien) A complexification develops, carried by the stretching guitar notes…
DUS (Dusseldorf) “Il ne restera rien” A kind of sadness, desolation, with tinkling scattered notes, asymmetrical percussion and guitar lines – total counterpoint to the violence of the crash – which end the piece, close the album.
This short description is only made up of references. Everyone, from the code and the title, must give free rein to their imagination to interpret the pieces, then the album, in their own way. The feeling will be different for everyone and can even vary for the same listener, depending on the moment or the state of mind. La théorie des cordes opens up a magnificent travel diary for us, which stimulates the intellect while flattering our appetite, with these variations of modes of composition and a fine, free, precise execution, generating varied climates. The nine pieces have been improvised, it is now up to the listener to prolong the experience with all chakras open !”
Promo text by Alain (Plus prog de vous)
Stéphanie ARTAUD: piano and prologue
Mathieu TORRES: bass and electric guitar
Hugo LEMERCIER: mandolin and acoustic guitar
Heiva ARNAL: drums
Recording, mixing and mastering at La Mercerie studio in Mirepoix by Hugo LEMERCIER.
Released April 21, distributed by Luminol Records.