1 Paradis Vespéral
2 Christina Dans Le Foin
3 La Forêt Secrète
4 Une Lumière Brille Dans Les Ténèbre
5 La Consolation De Tes Collines
"I have always considered myself a fan of big cities: Frankfurt (where I lived for five years) and Berlin were centres of inspiration for me, because they would grow and proliferate according to a fascinating logic of their own. Lately, however, I increasingly found my views challenged by what I perceive as a a pronounced incapacity for renewal on the side of the metropoles and the incredibly aluring calm and comfort offered by visits to the countryside. Of course, these fresh perspectives are at least partially rather like fantasies, influenced by books such as "Knulp" by Herman Hesse or by my own imagination. And still, a process of rethinking my position and direction had begun. ‘Paradis Paysan’ is a way of answering these questions musically, a sort of poetic excursion into the blue on an unbeaten path – ready to go wherever it would take me.
Originally, I wanted the album to be composed of several short, but interrelated pieces to differentiate it from past works. When I sent out a promo to Gruenrekorder, however, I had lazily left the tracks glued together in one piece. As it turned out, it was this what especially attracted the label: A long composition made up of several scenes, which really forces you to listen from beginning to end. Listening to it now, I think they were absolutely right in persuading me to leave the music that way."
Tobias Fischer
Say the word “Gruenrekorder” and field recordings come to mind. In that regard, Budhaditya Chattopadhyay’s Landscape in Metamorphoses—in essence, field recordings of India—is perfectly in keeping with the label’s reputation. Paradis Paysan, on the other hand, a recording by Tobias Fischer under the Feu Follet guise, surprises by being less a pure field outing and instead more of an ambient work. [...]
Fischer’s Feu Follet recording lists five track titles on the sleeve but presents itself as a continuous thirty-nine-minute piece. The explanation? Fischer intended Paradis Paysan to be a collection of short, interrelated pieces but when he submitted the promo to Gruenrekorder he inadvertently presented the tracks as one piece—serendipitously it turns out, as the final product is best heard as a single, fluid composition comprised of several scenes, rather than separable and interchangeable units. Conceptually driving the work is Fischer’s disenchantment with city centres such as Frankfurt and Berlin and his concomitant attraction to the calm and comfort afforded by visits to the countryside. Not surprisingly, then, the recording migrates from the busy traffic sounds (cars racing past, honking) that initially dominate to a progressively more tranquil and “pure” sound design that’s cleansed of its machine-like qualities. As traffic noises slowly recede, the soft synth tones that have also been sounding placidly grow more audible until they’re supplanted by the flute-like exhalations of a church organ at the ten-minute mark and then crackling noises (a fireplace perhaps?). The piece subsequently oscillates between the two poles with both industrial rhythms and sparkling tones emerging during the minutes following but, in essence, Paradis Paysan grows ever more delicate as it advances towards its conclusion. Liquid pools of shimmer and spectral flourishes relaxedly intermingle but the most appealing part arrives during the last quarter when the gentle tones of the church organ, slathered in nocturnal forest chatter, return. Fischer’s sensitive handling of the piece’s contents and his careful execution of its transitions help make this episodic work a captivating travelogue.
Textura
sold out visit Gruenrekorder
try
