We are in the middle of a mysterious and frightening forest, surrounded by trees, lightened by a starry sky. And Amelie’s floating voice gets us lost.
Colored by filtered and transposed phrases
After one appearance in Molecule’s Music For Containment and some self-promoted works shared on social medias, the young French producer Amélie Nilles will reveal her first full release on Planisphere Records this fall. And it is the 2021 release you don’t want to miss.
A croqué le fruit étrange is full of nature. Many are the field recording inserts. They play an unpleasant role, tensing the listener. We hear a stretched rope, or maybe it is a creaky trunk, in the opening track—we hear the same sound in “Το μινόρε της αυγής” and some granular and wet textures in “Don’t Explain.” The percussions’ timber is affiliated to a woody territory, like the syncope rhythm we hear in “Caravan” or the tones which dictate the title “Don’t Explain.” We are in the middle of a mysterious and frightening forest, surrounded by trees, lightened by a starry sky. And Amelie’s floating voice gets us lost.
The gorgeousness of this EP lies for a part in the voice treatment Amélie Nilles realized in her own voice. We fly in a wonderful glitch course, in a multi-layered voice environment, colored by filtered and transposed phrases. She uses many chirurgical cuts during this journey to punctuate our progress. And her beautiful timber contrasts with the violence of her words.
The track “Strange Fruit” introduces perfectly what we’re about to hear next. A stunning crescendo which combines a controlled explosion of woody sound effects, an emergence of screeching tones, and a subtle use of saturation. This saturation has a primary role in the construction of the EP. It is used in every tracks as a reminder of the surrounding darkness we have to face in this environment. Because, side by side with this saturated sound design, we are flooded, all along the EP, in cold poetry. The images we see in our minds are the saddest. We see blood on leaves, we smell burning flesh, we see lights which are fading, leaving us alone in the dark. Some strange forces surround us, speaking for the rain and the sun. This EP invokes the four Elements, and we can only contemplate their mysterious, exciting and unpredictable dance.
A croqué le fruit étrange talks also about Human relations with nature and with themselves. Amélie Nilles mentions our bodies, torn apart and then reunited. Bodies that are led by temptation to all sins. As soon as the fruit is crunched, a storm begins and gets stronger track after track. At the end, she leaves us in a bright chaos of sounds. An outstanding scream against violence, domination and property. “Chiennes” is the final touch of the strong identity of this EP. The strong identity of Nilles’ music.
A croqué le fruit étrange has been produced with a rare dexterity. With this first official release, Amélie Nilles offers the most solid evidence that she evolves one step ahead in the current electronic music landscape. And it is good news for the future—save your ears for her next releases.
A croqué le fruit étrange is available on Planisphère. [Bandcamp]
