Lyon, France-based experimental synth act Ashinoa quickly exploded into the national and international scene with the release of their full-length debut, 2019’s Sinie Sinie, an effort that saw the Lyon-based act establishing a minimalist krautrock approach.
Ashinoa supported Sinie Sinie with tours across France opening for JOVM mainstays METZ and Flamingods,Warrmduscher, Bo Ningen, Kikagaku Moyo and others. The rising French act’s sophomore album L’Orée is slated for a March 25, 2022 release through Fuzz Club, and the album reportedly sees the band building upon the minimalist karutrock of their debut while taking the listener on a journey through the wilderness through shape-shifting, psychedelic electronics.
While primarily centered around a largely synthesizer-driven soundscape, L’Orée‘s material sees the members of Ashinoa exploring a much more natural, organic sound than their previously released work, a sound that at times is percussive and dance floor friendly and other times hypnotic and expansive — and largely inspired by the environment it was written and recorded in. Recorded in a house, tucked away in the French countryside, which bordered on a surrounding forest, the band recalls that the album sessions were spent soaking up their immediate surroundings with a number of collaborators coming in and out to play on the record:
“The house we recorded the album in was kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Douglas Pine trees. From this proximity to the forest, we wanted to take our soundscapes to a place we’ve never been before,” the members of the French-based experimental act explain. “Before we were surrounded by concrete, and then far from it. We were looking for a new listening place, to discover new intriguing sounds. We had laid down the basis of the album and then musician friends that would visit us at the time were invited to participate in the making of the album, each one of them bringing a touch of their own.”
Late month, I wrote about “Disguised by Orbit,” a L’eclair and Mildlife-like bop centered around cosmic grooves, old school boom bap and Brit Pop swagger. “Feu De Joie,” L’Orée‘s second and latest single, derives its name for the French term for bonfire. Interestingly, “Feu De Joie” is centered around some scorching psych rock riffage, twinkling synths paired with an oscillating beat — and may arguably be the most jazz fusion meets psych rock leaning track on the album.
“The main theme was inspired by the Hispanic composer Manuel de Falla and his ‘El amor Brujo’ work. This track condenses the idea that we had for the album. It signals a change between universes.”