GH Records / Sello de música rara
Anenerbe Music Club – The Night Porter
Label: Collapsar Publishing – mpec-01-2014
Format: CDr, Album, Limited Edition, Numbered
Country: Russia
Released: Apr 28, 2014
Style: Synth-pop, Post-Punk, Industrial, Shoegaze, Drone
This is the first release of Collapsar Publishing (Moscow, Russian Federation), dedicated to anniversary of Anenerbe Music Club. Pro CDr, jewelcase, 100 handnumbered copies.
Alcest – Les Voyages De L’âme
Label: Prophecy Productions – PRO 122LP
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: Germany
Released: 05 Oct 2018
Style: Shoegaze, Black Metal
/ / / SOLD OUT / / /
The quintessence of Alcest
«Les voyages de l’âme» («The Journeys of the Soul») is Alcest’s third album and contains the quintessence of the group’s creative work to date. While «Le secret,» the debut EP from 2005, was the key to the world of Alcest, «Les voyages …» unites everything that characterises Alcest in terms of concept and music. While an epic composition such as «Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles» would have found its place also on «Écailles de lune,» «Beings of Light» with its blazing character reminds of the ground-breaking «Le secret.» On the other hand, «Autre temps» – the album’s first single to which there is also an impressive and visually stunning video clip – is a prime example for the melodic and catchy side of Alcest that initially came to the fore on the band’s debut album «Souvenirs d’un autre monde.» Something that is common to all of the songs, however, is the predominant feeling of euphoria and bliss, always subtly overshadowed by melancholia and yearning.
Gatefold vinyl with original cover by Fursy Teyssier, incl. poster; limited to 500 copies.
Alcest – Écailles De Lune
Label: Prophecy Productions – PRO 106 LP
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition
Country: Germany
Released: Mar 2010
Style: Shoegaze, Black Metal
The second album by the pioneers of post-black metal
LP (black vinyl) incl. protection sleeve and poster
Three years after their genre-defining record “Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde”, Alcest return to the sound of black metal on their sophomore “Écailles De Lune”, but without forgetting any of their trademarks: calm passages, massive slabs of guitars, catchy melodies, and hook-lines going straight to the heart. “This time I was especially inspired by the seaside, the energy and the exaltation you can feel when you sit in front of the sea at night,” Neige tries to describe the album’s atmosphere. “It appears terribly fascinating, full of secrets and scary at the same time.”
Memories live within us all. We dream of our loved ones, of our experiences, and we even dream of dreams and other worlds. When Neige, the mastermind behind ALCEST, is dreaming his dream, the end result is so much more than fitful sleep. He lets us partake of his “Souvenirs d’un autre monde”, of the innocence of childhood, a personal Elysium – and this Elysium is radiant, emerald green, luscious, and all the fresher the deeper you immerse yourself in it.
“Écailles de Lune” is different, though, as ALCEST are moulding ambivalences on this album. “This story isn’t really a metaphor of death, as it would seem to be. For me, it is about a man who decides to leave one world for another one, literally. Like a passage to another reality, another state of existence,” Neige says about the album concept. “This time I was especially inspired by the seaside, the energy and the exaltation you can feel when you sit in front of the sea at night. It appears terribly fascinating, full of secrets and scary at the same time.”
Stylistically, Neige reverts to the sound of Black Metal that once shaped him: a picture of heart-rending, otherworldly screams, collages filled with passion and sadness, and the characteristic clean vocals. These mellow and ageless voices manage to weave a shroud of sorrow around the album. “Écailles de Lune” is like a dream, a manifesto of transience and human inferiority. For all the changes, Neige has kept all of his trademarks: calm passages, massive slabs of guitars, catchy melodies, and hook-lines going straight to the heart – all this once more delivers a convincing articulation of ALCEST’s unique style.
Close your eyes and dream along. This time, melancholy shall propel and unite us. We immerse ourselves once more in fairyland. This time, it doesn’t seem fresh but fallow. Its pallor and its shadows are unfathomable, and it reveals itself to us through our senses. It is always there when we quest for it.
Buy: http://gh-records.com/shoegazer/1909-alcest-ecailles-de-lune.html
