Autunna et sa rose
L'art el la mort
Ark Records

This might be a hard record to describe. The group have rearranged and renamed songs by Tuxedomoon, Dead Can Dance, Eisturzende Neubaten and others. They've also put French poet and dramatist Antonin Artaud on the front cover and drawn inspiration from his ideas. The iconic writer has ideas on what he named the 'theatre of cruelty' that are far too complex to easily summarize here. But his influence on artists endures to this day.

Opener "Qui, au sein" sees vocalist Disorder aggressively declaiming Artaud's words to cello and piano. "Kyfi" is an austere instrumental that gives off a forbidding vibe. The piano is fluid and lovely on it though.

"Luna et arcades" sees Sonia Vistein's soprano taking over the song. We get a modern classical piece. "Evig-Dunkel" is spooked and industrial, the cello sawing its way across shards of melody. Nobody in their right mind would suggest this record is for everyone, but for the devout few it might just be the tonic.

Copyright © 2006 Anna Maria Stjärnell