- 1Polemoflora
- 2Heaven Remembers
- 3Eyes Closed (with DD
- 4The Feed (Part II)
APP012
•
Open edition
Gathering tracks composed between tours as contributions to various fundraising compilations in 2024, 🫂 (also known as the People Hugging EP) captures the urgency of our times. It also serves as a humble medium for donations to the Palestine and Lebanon Emergency Fund organized by MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians).
In contrast to the multi-faceted and crystalline sound of L’Eau par la soif, 🫂 picks up from where Spazio Libero left us, with a consistent grit, moody and hissy aura permeating the EP. Feu St-Antoine rarely sounded as straight-forward, and thumping as this — Head-on.
On "Polemoflora," entangled bass and drums alternately surface and are submerged by heavy filtering and compression, while wide-reaching strings hover above the scene. The title alludes to the resilient flora found at former war sites or along paths once trodden by armies.
Sometimes a couple of chords recorded on a phone and a simple drum loop is all you need as a backdrop to a great song. As illustrated by "Heaven Remembers" which features the elegant vocals of singer-songwriter Mounir Al Shami. Its disarming directness aims straight for the heart.
In "Eyes Closed," Feu St-Antoine reworks audio stems from DD (David Madden), chopping and corrupting the original vocals into scattered interjections over a hypnotic guitar loop and a skipping and shuffling distorted drum machine. Ever heard a melodic hook made out of an 808 cowbell?
"The Feed (Part II)," previously unreleased, marks the second iteration of a concept developed for a sound installation in a Montreal art gallery in 2022. The track, built around audio documenting the composer’s social media doom-scrolling, conjures an anxiety-laden atmosphere, offset by soothing New Age synth pads that create an oddly calming, focused sense of solace amidst the chaotic, hyper-stimulating, violent, and attention-seeking contemporary environment. The decentralization of information reveals global injustices and inequalities more vividly than ever before. The juxtaposition of political news, entertainment, personal testimonies, and advertisements heightens the psychotic experience.
The voyeuristic nature of this listening experience, curated from the artist’s personal scrolling, urges us to reflect on the dopamine-driven algorithms that power these platforms, continually fine-tuned by their hunger for user data. It becomes crucial to recognize our position in the "food chain" of their business models.
Whether delving into thumping adagio tempi ("Polemoflora," "Eyes Closed"), haunting songwriting ("Heaven Remembers"), or more poetic and conceptual territories ("The Feed (Part II)"), Feu St-Antoine has the rare ability to keep listeners hypnotized by what the music reveals in us.
credits
released November 27, 2024
Written and produced by Pierre Guerineau.
Lyrics and vocals on "Heaven Remembers" by Mounir Al Shami.
"Eyes Closed" co-produced with DD.
Mastering by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier.
Artwork by Pierre Guerineau.
Stamp by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier
In contrast to the multi-faceted and crystalline sound of L’Eau par la soif, 🫂 picks up from where Spazio Libero left us, with a consistent grit, moody and hissy aura permeating the EP. Feu St-Antoine rarely sounded as straight-forward, and thumping as this — Head-on.
On "Polemoflora," entangled bass and drums alternately surface and are submerged by heavy filtering and compression, while wide-reaching strings hover above the scene. The title alludes to the resilient flora found at former war sites or along paths once trodden by armies.
Sometimes a couple of chords recorded on a phone and a simple drum loop is all you need as a backdrop to a great song. As illustrated by "Heaven Remembers" which features the elegant vocals of singer-songwriter Mounir Al Shami. Its disarming directness aims straight for the heart.
In "Eyes Closed," Feu St-Antoine reworks audio stems from DD (David Madden), chopping and corrupting the original vocals into scattered interjections over a hypnotic guitar loop and a skipping and shuffling distorted drum machine. Ever heard a melodic hook made out of an 808 cowbell?
"The Feed (Part II)," previously unreleased, marks the second iteration of a concept developed for a sound installation in a Montreal art gallery in 2022. The track, built around audio documenting the composer’s social media doom-scrolling, conjures an anxiety-laden atmosphere, offset by soothing New Age synth pads that create an oddly calming, focused sense of solace amidst the chaotic, hyper-stimulating, violent, and attention-seeking contemporary environment. The decentralization of information reveals global injustices and inequalities more vividly than ever before. The juxtaposition of political news, entertainment, personal testimonies, and advertisements heightens the psychotic experience.
The voyeuristic nature of this listening experience, curated from the artist’s personal scrolling, urges us to reflect on the dopamine-driven algorithms that power these platforms, continually fine-tuned by their hunger for user data. It becomes crucial to recognize our position in the "food chain" of their business models.
Whether delving into thumping adagio tempi ("Polemoflora," "Eyes Closed"), haunting songwriting ("Heaven Remembers"), or more poetic and conceptual territories ("The Feed (Part II)"), Feu St-Antoine has the rare ability to keep listeners hypnotized by what the music reveals in us.
credits
released November 27, 2024
Written and produced by Pierre Guerineau.
Lyrics and vocals on "Heaven Remembers" by Mounir Al Shami.
"Eyes Closed" co-produced with DD.
Mastering by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier.
Artwork by Pierre Guerineau.
Stamp by Jesse Osborne-Lanthier
