Audiopleasures: Arnaud Rebotini

Showing posts with label Arnaud Rebotini. Show all posts

Monday, 7 November 2011

Arnaud Rebotini - Another Time, Another Place Video

Brand new video from Black Strobe's Arnaud Rebotini last ep on Black Strobe records, "Another Time, Another Place" is taken from his most recent album "Someone Gave Me Religion"

Watch | Arnaud Rebotini - Another Time, Another Place

Thursday, 5 May 2011

Arnaud Rebotini - Personal Dictator

New video and 2nd album "Someone Gave Me Religion" coming very soon on Black Strobe records from the Parisian master !@! Just in case you dont know him Arnaud Rebotini was the founder of the beloved Dark Electro Parisian duo ♥ Black Strobe ♥ together with Ivan Smagghe in 1997

Watch | Arnaud Rebotini - Personal Dictator

Tuesday, 2 December 2008

Best of 2008,Remote,Our Sleepless Forest, Deerhunter,Fennesz, Arnaud Rebotini,Fuck Buttons, Munk, Duchess Says,Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker ,Kap Bambino

This week i was asked by Hype Machine to vote on my top 10 records of 2008.
this will be a hard and difficult exercise but i have a pretty good idea of a few of them . Its difficult because i normally listen to so many different styles of music , and to pick 10 , well its hard .

The order of the records is not importante , all this records have the same importance and impact throught out this year.

Remote
" Dark Enough " - Kill the Dj
Techno / Minimal / Electro / Electronic
Buy

From the beginning of the year that i new that this record had it all , thought i'm absolutely not a fan of techno , this is a really great crossover of techno and electro. Its dark , muscled and always on heavy rotation on my gym play lists.

I'm also a big fan of French Electro , i've start loving the whole thing listening to the Black Strobe , and this records as loads of it , that dark matter that i like so much on electro.

Mp3 | Remote - Veron

Our Sleepless Forest
" Our Sleepless Forest " - Resonant
Experimental / Post-Rock / Drone / Ambient
Buy

What a majestic record from this South London trio, it simply has to be heard.
I know is always unfair to compare records and artist , but the reason that made me like this record immediately , was is resemblance to Ben Frost "Theory of Machines" , it was like finally something as powerful had came out.

Its almost breathtaking , you could almost get lost in its complexity , "Clarion" its just beautiful , Drones and Experimental Post-Rock . "The Tinderbox" , apparently and easy and appealing tracks that at some point stops , you think the track as came to the end , and them starts this ravishing drone with sounds of landscapes filled with water sounds and exotic creatures. Its a must have.

Mp3 | Our Sleepless Forest - The Clarion

Sadly this was the last release of a great record label Resonant

Deerhunter
" Microcastle " - Kranky
Alternative / Indie
Buy

Mr. Cox had a very busy year , 3 records under is belt , " Microcastle " is definitely my favorite , in is other project Atlas Sound , Mr. Cox brought us another well crafted and excellent record " Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel "

" Nothing Ever Happened " , " Agoraphobia " and " Never Stops " are masterpieces in a all together a brilliant record.

Mp3 | Deerhunter - Agoraphobia

Fennesz
" Black Sea " - Touch
Ambient / Modern Classical / Drone
Buy

2008 saw the consolidation of Christian Fennesz on my top 10 favorite artist.
First because this year finally i had my ears on his collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto , its tremendous " Cender " , probably my favorite record at this moment.

Second because " Black Sea " new album out now on Touch Records, its just miraculous beautiful . normally i can do a lot of things at the same time , but with this , no . while i'm listening to is drones and acoustics all looped out is a calm and relaxing ambient , i think i'm nearly in a state of trance looking to a painting i have above my couch , i just steer at it numbly , even if the whole world was collapsing around me , i wouldn't fell a thing.
" Grey Scale " and " Perfume For Winter " are some of the most beautiful and profoundly tracks i've heard from Fennesz.

Mp3 | Fennesz - Grey Scale

Arnaud Rebotini
" Music Components " - Citizen
Electro / Techno
Buy

There was a lot of nasty talk about the Black Strobe split up , the reviews about the 2007 " Burn you own Church " were quite poor . To be honest , i don't listen to that kinda of stuff , i liked the record a lot , and the reasons that lead Ivan Smagghe to leap out because he wanted to focus more on his Dj Career are very valid.
The thing is , the Black Strobe are something very special their sound is unique and very appealing to me. Ever since i heard " Me and Madonna " for the first time , my world change a lot and my music tastes had to evolve into things that i didn't like a lot

Arnaud Rebotini , new solo record " Music Components " is very good , i can't say its awesome because the surprise element is not there anymore , but it doesn't invalidate being a very good record , and when comes to electro , Rebotini knows it all.

Mp3 | Rebotini -1314

Fuck Buttons
" Street Horrrsing " - ATP
Noise / Drone / Experimental
Buy

There was a lot of talk about Fuck Buttons , i saw them live and give them a 10/10
As for the record , leaps out on all the boundaries and extensions of what is permitted and allowed in music these days . Fuck Buttons broke all these limits and produced a unique piece of wonderful and tribal noise record .

Mp3 | Fuck Buttons - Sweet Love For Planet

Munk
" Cloudbuster " - Gomma
Krautdisco / Future Disco / Electro Funk
Buy

Gomma is one of my favorite record labels , and also one of the most underestimated in Europe , they are also known as the DFA of Europe , because of there inflamed disco beats .
Release after release , they always bring something fresh , this time was Munk's " Cloudbuster " with some fabulous spaced disco/funk .

The super " Psychomagic " and the smashing " live fast! die old! " feat. Asia Argento made Munk catapult and shows us some of their Gomma glamour.

Mp3 | Munk - Psychomagic

Duchess Says
" Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs " - Alien8
Punk-Rock / Alternative
Buy

They are Canadians and they make shit loads of noise , one the best Punk/Rock records of these year.

Rough bass lines , screaming guitars and heavy pounding drumming , add this to the screams of their sexy vocalist Annie-C and you get an explosive mix that will raise all you hidden hairs to hysteria.

Mp3 | Duchess Says - La friche

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker
" Fantasma Parastasie " - Alien8
Drone / Ambient / Experimental
Buy

2008 i believed to be the year of the drone , it's something very recent to my ears.
Tim Hecker and Aidan Baker are recent addiction to my Audiopleasures world.
" Fantasma Parastasie " joins Nadja’s Aidan Baker and fellow Canadian Tim Hecker in their first collaboration on Alien8.
Both Canadian artist are exponents in the art of abstract and experimental music , while Tim Hecker explores the more ambient part of the compositions , Aidan Baker takes is darker backgrounds with distortion and noise.
If you like this combinations and enjoy experimental music , this a must have record.

Mp3 | Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker - hymn to the idea of night

Kap Bambino
" zero life night vision " - Alt+Delee
Electro / Punk / 8-Bit / Nu-Rave
Buy

Either you love or you hate it , there is no halve term on this record .

Its intoxicating and energetic to the bone , the beats are unreal hard , nu-rave mixed with 8-bit , electro and very punky attitude.
I give them my vote because of their courage and the freshness of the record , if you listen to it , put on your party gears and rock on.

Mp3 | Kap Bambino - Night Vision Ocean

Other records that deserve to be mentioned.

Flying Lotus - " Los Angeles " - Warp
Ezekiel Honig - " Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band " - Anticipate
Kangding Ray - " Automne Fold " - Raster-Noton
Cloudland Canyon - " Lie in Light " - Kranky
M83 - " Saturdays=Youth " - Mute
Padded Cell - " Night Must Fall " - Dc Recordings
MIT - " Coda " - Haute Areal
Tindersticks - " The Hungry Saw " - Beggars
These New Puritans - " Beat Pyramid " - Domino
Atlas Sound - " Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel " - Kranky

this could go on and on and on , appologise for those i forgot . Funny thing , normaly the best albums are those you will only discover next year.

Sunday, 20 April 2008

Black Strobe , The Dark Lords of Electro

To commemorate Audiopleasures 100 posts a special , on one of my all time favorites .

BLACK STROBE

What connects Norwegian death metal, French club anthems and London super-producer Paul Epworth? It sounds like a particularly intractable example of the six degrees of separation game. However, these seemingly irreconcilable points on the musical compass are linked by French dance rock four-piece Black Strobe. A simple enough answer. The explanation is going to take a little bit longer.

Not as long as it took the band – Arnaud Rebotini
(vocals and programming), David ‘Siskid’ Shaw (guitars and keyboards), Bastien Burger (bass and keyboards) and Benjamin Beaulieu (drums) – to record their debut album, however. Burn Your Own Church is a record ten years in the making. Happily, it’s worth the wait. Few bands manage to combine guitars and electronics as successfully as Black Strobe do here. First single Shining Bright Star is a stunning marriage of gut-butting bass guitar, droning synth and Arnaud’s menacing but melodic vocals. The opening track is called Brenn Di Ega Kjerke, Norwegian for ‘burn your own church’ and a nod to principal songwriter Arnaud’s fascination with the extreme sound of so-called black metal. Accordingly, it’s a crunchingly heavy song, pulsing synths colliding with guitars inspired by My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 album Loveless. It’s a darkly captivating formula repeated with great success on Blood Shot Eyes and You Should Be. The flip side to the band’s personality is Girl Next Door, as downbeat and spooky as a 4AM walk home. Perhaps most surprising moment is a high-octane electronic cover of I’m A Man by rock’n’roll icon Bo Diddly, which will be the second single. The sum of these parts is a jaw-dropping debut.

Burn Your Own Church may surprise anyone familiar with Black Strobe from early clubland hits such as Innerstrings and Me And Madonna. However, Arnaud sees nothing strange. “Especially if you think of Innerstrings and Me And Madonna, the album is a logical evolution,” he says. “Maybe people will be surprised because they think there’s not enough synth and too much guitar, but musically it’s a logical evolution. I like the idea that people will be surprised.”

Arnaud wanted to make a record that reflected the full range of his taste. “It’s the summing up of a long musical background,” he explains. “The idea at the beginning was to do an album you can listen to at home, not a dance record. I wanted to keep the dance side in Black Strobe, but not to produce everything with electronics; I wanted to use guitars as well. I wanted to have some freedom. When you’re doing dance music you’ve got to really follow the rules so the DJ can play it. But it’s not really free. You can’t do everything you want. This album is about breaking out of those rules and bringing something to the essence of Black Strobe that I can’t have when I’m doing dance music. Such as the blues. Or country. Or the roots of rock’n’roll. The hypnotic side of black metal bands. To have proper songs. Some slow songs, too. To have the kind of instrumentation they have in classical music. I wanted to write music I really liked and something that reflected the music I grew up with. The idea was freedom.”

Let’s go back to the beginning. Originally, the band was a duo comprised of Arnaud Rebotini and French DJ Ivan Smagghe.

They became friends in the mid-’80s after repeatedly bumping into each other in front row at concerts. Both went on to work in the dance section of the Rough Trade record shop in Paris. They decided to form a band. The first thing Black Strobe recorded was an acid house track called Paris Acid City, which was featured on the Sourcelab 3 compilation in 1996. They didn’t follow it up until 1999, when they released Innerstrings, which referenced early ’80s synth pop a good two years before electroclash was cool. Meanwhile, their third single, Me And Madonna, became one of electroclash’s anthems. Not that Black Strobe were ever part of the scene. They were always too spiky for that.

From the beginning, Arnaud knew that playing live was central to Burn Your Own Church. “When I started writing the album, I said, We need to be able to perform these songs,” he remembers. “I thought about what the songs would sound like live. I didn’t want to record the album and then have to think about how to play it live. If there were songs that didn’t work live, we didn’t put them on the album. There were five or six like that. Maybe some of them will be B-sides.”

As a result, Black Strobe have developed into a thrilling live act, with Arnaud an imposing, gravel-voiced front man – a thicker set Nick Cave, perhaps. However, Ivan was less comfortable with performing and decided to leave the band to concentrate on his DJ career. It was an amicable parting and his influence can still be heard on Burn Your Own Church – before he left he wrote most of the lyrics.

Burn Your Own Church may be heavier and more rock-oriented than anything the band have done before, but it’s not entirely without precedent. The B-side to Chemical Sweet Girl was The Abwehr Disco, which recalled nothing so much as Metallica making heavy metal with synths.

On the Black Strobe MySpace site, Arnaud says that he wants to make music that scares people. He’s joking, but only a bit. When he was young, Arnaud’s father was into soul, blues and rock’n’roll. As a teenager, he became interested in “noisy bands” such as Sonic Youth. The first band he played in was a death metal group called Swamp. His obsession with extreme music continues to this day, whether it’s pounding industrial noise like Nurse With Wound, the experimentation of Karlheinz Stockhausen or Norwegian black metal bands such as Burzum or Darkthrone. “They’ve made some really amazing albums,” says Arnaud of the latter. “People always talk about punk, but these guys are the only real punks left.”

He continues: “I like what Stockhausen said. That you can think of music as sonic objects and use those sonic objects to construct another sonic object, like building blocks.”

One of the other building blocks Arnaud used on Build Your Own Church is the epic sweep of classical music. Arnaud is a big classical buff, He works for GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales), a French organistion founded by Pierre Shaeffer, the French avant-garde composer and pioneer of musique concrete.

Helping Black Strobe assemble these wide-ranging and hugely ambitious influences was producer Paul Epworth, best known for his work with Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads. Having written Burn Your Own Church in his home studio in Paris, Arnaud and the band recorded it at Epworth’s Eastcote Studios in West London over three weeks at the start of 2006. It was then mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson).

“I learned a lot from Paul,” says Arnaud. “He makes electronic music as Phones, but also produces proper rock bands. He has a big studio knowledge. He was definitely the right guy for us. When I found out we could have him, I was like, Great.”

Only one question remains: what took them so long?

“Because it was quite difficult,” laughs Arnaud. “It was hard to find a good way to get out of dance music. We had to learn how to be a band. We had to learn how to play live. We had to take some time.”

Ultimately, it’s worked to Black Strobe’s advantage. Arnaud name checks Klaxons and The Horrors. “I think we’re quite close to Klaxons in terms of production, although maybe we are a little bit darker because of the low voice and the different influences. But we have the same mood, the same mix of synths and guitars.” Indeed, a hybrid of Klaxons and The Horrors isn’t the worst description of Black Strobe.

The last word goes to Arnaud. “The album is a collection of raw songs about love, addiction, (self) waste,” he says. “It’s an album made by guys who love burn their own church.” Contact music