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 French synth outfit establishing a minimalist krautrock sound and approach.
The Lyon-based synth act supported their full-length debut with tours across their native France opening for JOVM mainstays METZ and Flamingods, Warrmduscher, Bo Ningen, Kikagaku Moyo and others.
Ashinoa’s sophomore album L’Orée is slated for a March 25, 2022 release through Fuzz Club. The album reportedly sees the building upon the minimalist krautorck of their debut while taking the listener on a psychedelic journey through the wilderness through shape-shifting electronics.
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.”
So far i’ve written about two previously released singles:
- 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,” which features some scorching psych rock riffage, twinkling synths and an oscillating beat in a jazz fusion meets psych rock-like jam
L’Orée‘s third and latest single “Koalibi” is a percussive track centered around syncopated polyrhythm, oscillating electronics, a trippy motorik groove and jungle noises — specifically birds and animals calling to each other. Koalibi” is one-part tribal house, one-part acid house one-part psych pop — and entirely danceable.
“’Koalibi’ sounds like the jungle, with animals screaming and birds flying up in all directions. It’s a ritual movement. It’s dancing,” the band says of L’Orée‘s third single.
Animated by Morgane Botella, the accompanying visual for “Koalibi” fittingly features jungle-like imagery with various wild creatures flying, crawling, swimming and climbing through the jungle, as humanoid figures float by on boats. The humanoid figures travel to a mystical spot, where they trip out and dance throughout the night in their boats — as the wind blows through the reeds and grasses.