Lith – Anthropocene (Album – M-Tronic)
Genre/Influences: Tribal, IDM, Industrial.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: David Vallée aka Lith strikes back with a new album which also is the first one in seven years. The title refers to ‘the geological era, succeeding the Holocene, during which the impact of human activity becomes preponderant on the evolution of the terrestrial ecosystem, ahead of all the other natural factors predominant until then.’
Content: The theme of the album has been transposed in a sophisticated production mixing slow Tribal rhythms together with icy atmospheres and deep blasting bass sounds. The sound is cold and the cadence often has something sensual. Some passages are fetching and inciting. The last track is a remix of the title song by Conjecture.
+ + + : Lith is back and that’s a damned good thing. This artist has already produced multiple great works and this new album only confirms his nose for great underground music. Somewhere in between Industrial, Tribal, ambient and simply Electro he creates a true melting pot between different influences. I like the Tribal cadence and especially when it becomes slow. The work has something shamanic which is mainly emerging on “The Limits To Growth” and “Amazon Ashes”.
– – – : The album has something complex and therefor not exactly a bite-size piece.
Conclusion: “Anthropocene” deals with a sensible, but important concept which inspired the artist to create a visionary piece of music.
Best songs: “The Limits To Growth”, “Amazon Ashes”, “Collapse”, “Anthropocene”, “Ruins”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist: www.lithsite.net / www.facebook.com/lith.music
Label: www.m-tronic.com / www.facebook.com/mtroniclabel
M-Tronic released “Anthropocene” on 29 January 2022 on CD and digitally. The nine tracks are “Anthropocene”, “Torn Ground”, “The Limits to Growth”, “Collapse”, “Amazon Ashes”, “Sixth Extinction”, “Gaia Hypothesis”, “Ruins” and “Anthropocene (Conjecture mix)”.
David Vallée composed, recorded and mixed the album. Rémy Pelleschi mastered it at QFG Studio and Sophie Vizzone made the artwork. The closing remix comes from Vasilis Angelopoulos of Conjecture, whose own “Nostalgia Futura” Side-Line reviewed in 2023.
Listen to “Anthropocene”:
About Lith
LITH is the solo project of French musician David Vallée, formed in 1996 in eastern France and now based in Paris. The project mixes industrial rhythms, tribal percussion, IDM and bass music, and has appeared on Brume Records, Divine Comedy Records and Les Forges Alliés.
Earlier LITH releases include “Case Of War” in 1998, “Tribal End” in 2004, “Gaia” on Brume Records in 2006, “Rustland” in 2011 and “Hiroshima” in 2015. Vallée has also remixed for and collaborated with Empusae, Conjecture and Muckrackers, and has played festivals in Europe and Canada.
Side-Line had already covered the project through the label compilation V/A Table Of Elements Volume 5.0, issued by M-Tronic in 2021. Two months after this review, Vallée discussed the record’s subject in the Click Interview with Lith.
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