Premiere // Frédéric D. Oberland on Nahal Recordings

It seems French musician and photographer Frédéric D. Oberland might be able to play more instruments than I can name. Mentioned in the creation of his latest album, Labyrinth, are electric guitar, Dark Energy Doepfer, harmonic pipe, critter, Guitari Organelle, hurdy gurdy, pantophone, alto saxophone, duduk and flute, just to state a few.

The Nahal Recordings released LP finds its origins in an audiovisual installation Oberland constructed for the Labanque Gallery in Béthune, France. A photograph of his inspired by the Greek myth of the Minotaur, 'The Tears of Minos', was displayed in the centre of the gallery, with a 90 minute composition for eight speakers playing on a continuous loop. The LP arrives in a condensed form of this — warbling resonances, haunting dulcet tones and fireside crackles come together in a homage to texts such as Dante Alighieri's Inferno, and George Bataille's philosophical treatise, Inner Experience.

With the release due for the 26th October, we were kindly offered an exclusive stream of 'La Part Du Feu', an achingly sparse piece of meandering electronics. Groaning amp tones reverberate through a crevasse of brittle percussion and creaking woodwind in one of the albums most tense and introspective moments. Check out the full track below:

• Published
• Oct 2, 2018

• Credits
• Words by Theo Darton-Moore