Bruit ≤ "Apologie du temps perdu, Vol. 1 EP" 12"

It's hard not to see the hype around BRUIT≤ as the next big thing in post-rock. While their 2018 EP Monolith provided a promising indication of their son- ic ambition, it was their debut LP The Machine is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again which really set off the trig- ger. Receiving rave reviews around the globe and selling out the first vinyl pressing of 3.000 copies within less than a year, BRUIT≤ have no need to prove themselves beyond what they have already achieved so far.

The past year saw the quartet from Toulouse take their music to the stage across Europe, expending themselves as they pushed the limits of their performance each night. It brought the collective on a new path. A trajectory which saw the need for pause, for meditation and reflection, and this gave birth to Apologie du Temps Perdu Vol. 1. A solemn ode to the flagrant act of wasting our time.

Consisting of three musical meditations, Apologie du Temps Perdu [Eng. apology for time wasted] sees BRUIT≤ cut down on their massive sound in favour of a more subtle contem- plation. In contrast with their recent streaming single «Parasite (The Boycott Manifesto)» with its direct message for Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and his listeners, the band have seemingly forgone their activist agenda paring back the grand thematic gestures and poignant spoken-word excerpts. Instead, BRUIT≤ let the music do the talking, reaching an activism which is more visceral, but all the more personal. “This ambient EP is conceived as a comma between our first album and the next one,” explains bass player & violinist Clément Libes about the purpose of this record. “It is an invitation to lose time, a parenthesis in the frantic race of our society.”

“These songs were recorded by mixing production techniques of all ages,” continues Libes about the recording process of Apologie du Temps Perdu. “For «La Sagesse de nos Aïeux», the composition was written by hand on paper as a tribute to the music of our an- cestors. We recorded and mixed the result on an old tape recorder, and then afterwards we slowed it down to give this heavy and low sound that seems like it has fossilized. On «Rêveur Lucide» we first recorded a guitar/bass improvisation on a 90's cassette portastu- dio. This formed the base of the whole piece, which was then cut, processed, and organ- ized on software after which we re-injected it into synthesizers and other more contempor- ary instruments. Finally, on «Temps Perdus» we created a synthesis of the experimenta- tions of the first two pieces. We worked on scores for synthesizers and strings while adding improvisations on piano, bass guitar and drums. We created textures with an old Roland tape delay and finalized the mastering on a beautiful Studer tape machine at Chab Mastering with Adrien Pallot.”

Existing somewhere between the grand genius of soundtrack composers like Hans Zim- mer and Ramin Djawadi, and the experimental prowess of fringe pop artists like Radio- head and Darkside, Apologie du Temps Perdu reveals the hidden power of film scores. We all know that moment in which we cease to be conscious of the musical accompani- ment and we become truly absorbed in the story. The music becomes part of scenery, and in this moment we lose track of time. Talking of his own work Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones, Westworld) notes: “If you were to turn the picture off, there is a story there and a connection to the characters and the plots.” In the same way, through the sweeping strings of «La Sagesse de Nos Aïeux», the ethereal tape loops of «Rêveur Lucide» and the undu- lating synths of «Les Temps Perdus», worlds are created to get lost in, and we experience the full power of music with our eyes and ears open.