This week Oiseaux-Tempête released the track “Carnaval“, a first single off their upcoming 2xLP AL​-​’AN ! الآن (And your night is your shadow — a fairy​-​tale piece of land to make our dreams) out March 31st via Sub Rosa. Continuing their political/social inquiries through sound, Oiseaux-Tempête’s core members Frédéric D. Oberland and Stéphane Pigneul traveled to Beirut in 2016. Since the band’s inception in 2012, the implications of “place” has always played a central role in their music. For instance, Oiseaux-Tempête’s 2013 self-titled debut focused on Greece’s economic crisis, while 2015’s ÃœTOPIYA? found the group traveling to Istanbul and Sicily.
Continuing to focus on the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, for this project Oberland and Pigneul took up residence in Lebanon. Sandwiched between Syria and Israel, and still reeling from 15 years of civil war, once in Beirut, the pair found themselves in the heart of the “storm zone”. Here they teamed up with a host of local musicians including key members of Johnny Kafta Anti-Vegetarian Orchestra–the guitarist Charbel Haber (Scrambled Eggs, The Bunny Tylers) and percussionist Sharif Sehnaoui (Karkhana, Alan Bishop, Okay Temiz), to name a few.
Making the rounds in the local improv scene, while also recording at Tunefork in Beirut, Oberland and Pigneul eventually returned to France to finish construction on AL-‘AN!. Completing their work at Kerwax and Magnum Diva studio, the musicians were again joined by a host of players including: drummer Sylvain Joasson (Mendelson), electronic musician Mondkopf, the soprano saxophonist Stephane Rives and the vocalists Tamer Abu Ghazaleh and G.W. Sok.
The track “Carnaval” begins with what sounds like a field recording. A heavenly chorus of male and female voices is heard harmonizing thru a dusty expanse. Eventually, though, the voices give way to an instrumental drone and the clatter of percussion. The French musician Paul Regimbeau, aka Mondkopf, is featured on the track, and the analog synth work here adds a core of fiery tension that threatens to swallow up the band’s simmering ambiance in flames of sonic chaos. Below, you can check out the album art and track listing for AL-‘AN!, as well as a complete listing of all the musicians that played on the upcoming 2xLP.
Oiseaux-Tempête’s 2xLP AL-‘AN!
Track Listing:
A1 1 Notes from the Mediterranean Sea
A2 2 Bab Sharqi
A3 3 Feu Aux Fronti?res
B1 4 Baalshamin
B2 5 Our Mind is a Sponge; Our Heart is a Stream
B3 6 Mish Aaref Eish w Leish
C1 7 Electrique R?sistance
C2 8 The Offering
C3 9 Ya Layl, Ya 3aynaki (? nuit, ? tes yeux)
C4 10 Carnaval
D1 11 Through The Speech Of Stars
D2 12 A L’Aube
Musicians:
Frédéric D. Oberland: electric guitar & hurdy-gurdy (BAB V), field recordings, mellotron, alto saxophone, dukar, analog synths, percussion, flute
Stéphane Pigneul: electric bass VI & guitar, moog, modular system & analog synths, drum machine, field recordings, percussion, piano
&
Paul Regimbeau: analog synths on tracks 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12
Sylvain Joasson: percussion & drums on tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 & 11
Charbel Haber: electric guitar on tracks 3, 5, 6 & 11
Sharif Sehnaoui: acoustic guitar & percussion on tracks 2 & 7, electric guitar on track 8
G.W.Sok: narration on track 11
Tamer Abu Ghazaleh: vocals on track 5
Abed Kobeissy: electric buzuk on tracks 2, 7 & 8
Ali El Hout: bandir on tracks 2 & 7
Youmna Saba: oud on tracks 3, 5 & 6
Pascal Semerdjian: percussion & drums on tracks 3, 5, 6 & 11
St?phane Rives: soprano saxophone on tracks 1, 4 & 11
Pierre-Georges Desenfant: modular synth on track 11
Gr?goire Orio & Gr?goire Couvert: additional field recordings on track 7, 10 & 11
