New releases on RAUBBAU: The Protagonist re-releases

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New releases on RAUBBAU: The Protagonist re-releases

Beitragvon Electrolurch » 29.01.2012 (20:27)

the protagonist. a rebours. cd. raubbau raub-006

&

the protagonist. songs of experience. cd. raubbau raub-011

release date: February 12, 2012

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the protagonist. a rebours. cd. raubbau raub-006

tracklist: 1. the eternal abjectness of life, 2. kämpfende pferde, 3. mutability, 4. zoroaster, 5. song of innocence, 6. the puritan, 7. imitation, 8. the end

upc 821272303626. release date: 12.february.12

‘a rebours’, the novel by joris-karl huysmans, is certainly a very important piece of literature, a landmark of symbolist aestheticism - and of language itself. released in 1884, it still amazes readers today, and really: how would you guess someone back then could have thought up a hyper-materialistic decadence that still potentially shocks you today, even though quite a bit of it has become commonplace dealing in our times?

‘a rebours’, consequently an ambitious title for a music album for sure, and especially for an artist’s debut. but when cold meat industry released this in 1998, it seemed all appropriate, for it was met with high expectations, after magnus sundström (the creative spirit being the protagonist) had featured on some high profile compilations. and really, the album, was excitedly greeted and well received by the dark industrial crowd. the sheer power of the orchestral, cinematic, imaginative pieces, the obviously talented compositions are all too convincing. various guests on the (mostly spoken) vocals and playing additional instruments, mostly strings add depth and variation to the album’s tracks.

right in the opening track the huysmans reference is openly revealed in a recitation that expresses the praise of
imagination - any possible misconception of what ‘a rebours’ is about is from now on passé. throughout the album,
artifacts of european culture repeatedly serve as a source of inspiration: thorak’s sculptures, riefenstahl’s film art, poe’s and shelley’s poetry, as well as the ancient zoroastric religion (the first monotheistic faith known to mankind). among all those heavy notions there sticks out one dominant feature: a prevailing sense of romanticism, maybe most clearly expressed in ‘mutability’, featuring the beautiful vocals of marks st. john ellis aka elijah’s mantle. some tracks, like ‘kämpfende pferde’ or ‘zoroaster’ are driven by military style kettle drums, most parts of the album are dominated by orchestral complexity, others appear a bit more subdued and introspective - all in all, 47 minutes barely ever seem so short as when you listen to this emotionally sweeping album.

‘a rebours’, a title for a timeless classic? it has proven to be in literature, and now it does so in music: 13 years after the original release, this album seems to have matured instead of aged. a celebration of western culture, of ambition, intelligence and the power of the mind, a celebration of beauty - thanks to raubbau it is now revealed to a new generation of listeners, and to those who missed it the first time around.

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the protagonist. songs of experience. cd. raubbau raub-011

tracklist: 1. the sick rose, 2. hesperia, 3. spirits of the dead, 4. down there, 5. the hunt, 6. strife, 7. la fin de la journée, 8. sermon, 9. sacrifice, 10. der wahnsinn, 11. la fin de la journée (stripped)

upc 821272303725. release date: 12.february.12

in 1794, william blake published ‘songs of experience’ as an addendum to ‘songs of innocence’, to complete the picture of ‘the two contrary states of the human soul’ - the state in question here being the constriction of the human spirit, the suffocation of creativity by the force to conform.

after magnus sundström aka the protagonist had released his debut ‘à rebours’ in 1998, the sky seemed the only limit for this musical entity. but, to much disappointment within the industrial scene, for the next seven years only a couple of compilation appearances would be heard from the protagonist. then, in 2005 two cds came out via cold meat industry: the aptly titled ‘interim’ ep and the album ‘songs of experience’ (which was actually not entirely a new album, but in parts consisted of reworked versions of the aforementioned compilation tracks and a couple of tracks from the previous ep).

the music on ‘songs of experience’ resolved all doubts: the protagonist is a devoted artist, putting quality over quantity, and the result had been well worth waiting! as if no period of inactivity had ever discontinued the creative flow, the protagonist reassumed the path of the debut: orchestral splendour, rigid drumming, dramatic string works and an increased presence of haunting, eerie atmospheres, pushing the album towards the darker edges of the neo-classical spectrum. vocal deliveries are rather sparse and restricted to short spoken parts this time around, but feature prolific guests again: tomas petterson of ordo rosarius equlibrio lent his unmistakeable voice to the protagonist’s most wellknown track, ‘strife’, a truly bombastic marching tune. jonathan grieve of contrastate can also be heard on one track, the heart-shattering ‘sick rose’. among all the opulence, romantic leanings all over, though the whole composition takes a decidedly bleak direction. the adapted literature features not only blake, but also baudelaire (here’s the symbolist theme again) and no other than the master himself, mr. william shakespeare. all in all, music and content combine into one impressive libertine’s manifesto, proclaiming the power of free thought and the mistrust of authorities!

for this well-timed re-release, raubbau gathers together not only the original album, but also the exclusive tracks from the ‘interim’ ep, thus presenting the entire bundle of cmi-released protagonist tracks. until today, the protagonist stands out unique among neo-classical artists for the sheer brilliance of composition and the authenticity of his preoccupations - he is really serious about seriousness. history has been revealed, let beauty unfold!

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discography:
songs of experience. cd. raubbau. 2012
a rebours. cd. raubbau. 2012
songs of experience. cd. cold meat industry. 2005
interim. cd-ep. cold meat industry. 2005
a rebours. cd. cold meat industry. 1998
1994 - 1997. tape. not on label. 1997

the protagonist websites:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/the-prota ... 8766321243 & http://www.findesieclemedia.com

raubbau official websites:
http://www.raubbau.org & http://www.facebook.com/raubbau

distribution: ant-zen. audio & visual arts. p.o. box 1257 · 93135 lappersdorf · germany
info@ant-zen.com · http://www.ant-zen.com · http://www.mailorder.ant-zen.com · http://www.facebook.com/antzen.official
Electrolurch
 
Beiträge: 164
Registriert: 09.09.2003 (20:19)
Wohnort: Berlin

Re: New releases on RAUBBAU: The Protagonist re-releases

Beitragvon distra74 » 30.01.2012 (2:10)

Oh, wie nett!
"A rebours" war mal einer meiner liebsten, inzwischen fast vergessenen Tonträger; schön, dasses jetzt nochmal neu rauskommt.
distra74
 
Beiträge: 58
Registriert: 05.05.2004 (18:04)
Wohnort: Hamburg


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