As we reported before, La Machine‘s first album “Contrôle Total” which was due this year had to be postponed to next year. But there is also good news as the BOREDOMproduct label will release a new 5-track EP and new videos in December completing their EP trilogy.

You can already pre-order your copy of the ultra-limited 10″ vinyl edition, on clear transparent vinyl, or the CD numbered edition, in a dedicated packaging, as you can see below.

Behind La Machine we find some habitués, namely Pierre Pi (Komplex, Position Parallèle, Communication Zéro…) and Éric U0 (Celluloide, Thee Hyphen, Signal~Bruit…). As far as inspiration goes, La Machine finds inspiration in fantasy films an B-Movies from the 50s as much as it recycles science fiction and horror movies.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Last year December, the French BOREDOMproduct label launched the debut single and video “La Machine Qui Ne Sert à Rien” for the all new minimal electro project La Machine. Behind La Machine we find some habitués, namely Pierre Pi (Komplex, Position Parallèle, Communication Zéro…) and Éric U0 (Celluloide, Thee Hyphen, Signal~Bruit…).

As far as inspiration goes, La Machine finds inspiration in fantasy films an B-Movies from the 50s as much as it recycles science fiction and horror movies.

A new video is out now for “FFP2”, the second track from the first EP “La Machine Qui Ne Sert à Rien” which the band describes as being “a genuine erotic-sanitary hymn, a plea for saliva exchange in a not quite imaginary hygienist world obsessed with the wearing of masks.”

Here’s the all new video single.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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The French BOREDOMproduct label has just launched the debut single and video “La Machine Qui Ne Sert à Rien” for the all new project La Machine. Behind La Machine we find some habitués, namely Pierre Pi (Komplex, Position Parallèle, Communication Zéro…) and Éric U0 (Celluloide, Thee Hyphen, Signal~Bruit…).

The track is actually a minimal electro cover of the 1967 proto-punk track by French model/singer Dani and comes with the extra track “FFP2”. Exclusive to the EP is also a dark and complex cover of the classic song “Pop Corn”. The tracklist for the EP is wrapped up with the extended versions of the first two tracks.

Inspired by fantasy films and B-Movies from the 50s, La Machine recycles science fiction and horror movies, and fits in a present where the absurd, the nuclear nightmare and the control of individuals are never very far away.

The debut single is available in several formats, a 5-track CD, a 10″ vinyl EP as well as a digital single out now and available via the BOREDOMproduct label shop.

Here is the video for “La Machine Qui Ne Sert à Rien”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Behind the French solo-project SIGNAL~BRUIT is hiding the enigmatic ‘Member U-0176’. Electro-pop lovers for sure know the man from his involvement with Cellloïde and Thee Hyphen while he’s still running the label BOREDOMproduct and the sub-division productB. Four years ago now he unleashed the debut-album “Planisphère(s)” on Sevren Ni-Arb (X-Mark The Pedwalk) label Meshwork. The work clearly revealed a retro-electro approach reminding pioneers in the genre, but still a space-minded ambient/soundtrack style. The new album “Hyperborée” has been released on productionB and moves a step further, revealing a new concept and a more elaborated and intelligent sound creation. “Hyperborée” is a truly masterpiece I can only recommend.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You this year released the second album of Signal~Bruit, but can you tell us how this project saw the daylight?

U-0176: In between two albums of Celluloide, I’m always searching for ideas, experimenting sequences and creating sounds, testing new settings with synthesizers… which we keep in store for incorporating into Celluloide’s pop format later.

Sometimes I decide to record my improvisations when I feel it has an interesting mood, though it isn’t obviously made for Celluloide.

I was reading the book “Flatland” and I had the kind of feeling that the book left a mark on the ‘atmosphere’ of what I was creating when turning knobs and improvising notes and sequences. 

So I had the idea to keep these tracks to illustrate important parts of the book with sound atmospheres and melodies… like a soundtrack for a book.

Q: You’ve been –and still are, involved with different projects such as Thee Hyphen and of course Celluloïde so what brings this new project and music experience in your artistic career? Is there a kind of specific sonic identity or quest behind this new work?

U-0176: I think it’s very difficult to write songs… so it takes a lot of energy and time to write new songs for Celluloide or Thee Hyphen… maybe it’s too much demanding for me now.

So experimenting sounds, effects, patches is more like a recreational time for me. I have no other objective than ‘feel’ the sound change when I turn the knobs.

Then organizing all these experiments into something that makes a consistent piece is a completely different work than writing a song, and I like this a lot.

Q: Signal~Bruit clearly sounds as a wink to some electronic pioneers; the creation of sounds and especially atmospheres appear to be some essential elements in the process. Can you give us a bit more details about it all and also about the way of creating this music (and sounds)?

U-0176: Yes, I have always been influenced by lots of different electronic music and of course pioneers like Tangerine Dreams. I’ve always been fascinated by their albums of the Froese/Franke/Baumann era, and the solo works of Froese of the same period… But I’m also a huge fan of Lassigue Bendthaus or Clock DVA, and I like very much the experiments of Autechre… I just want to do something similar… not similar in sound but, trying to test new things, new ways.

Creation of sounds and effects is essential because it’s where it starts, when I have an interesting texture, I play with it and try to find the notes that work best with it. Tracks are constructed bit by bit until I get to something. It can be very long and requires a lot of post-recording rework…

Q: I noticed an important evolution in sound and production from the debut album “Planisphère(s)” and “Hyperborée”? How do you perceive this evolution and what have been the main changes/evolutions from the first album till “Hyperborée”?

U-0176: Evolution in sound is simply led by the story I’m trying to illustrate… These two albums illustrate very different stories, so they sound different.

So that’s the story beneath that influences the result. You cannot make a soundtrack for a Western film sound the same as a sci-fi movie, that’s just it.

Sound and productions are quite similar, but I probably used more digital synthesizers on “Hyperborée”, and a lot more effects, so it could have made a significant change.

Q: “Hyperborée” seems to be a conceptual album so can you tell us a bit more about it? Did this conceptual work need some kind of preparation and how did you finally achieve it?

U-0176: “Hyperborée” follows the journey of Pythéas from Massalia to the North Pole in 300 BC. This is a true story, but we lost the details from this expedition. We only know that he discovered the Northern seas, territories and people while he was trying to prove the earth is a sphere. I read several books on his story, and we’re not sure how he made it, but he did.

So I tried to imagine a possible path for this antic adventure that I see as thrilling as discovering space in the modern age.

Q: To me Signal~Bruit stands for intelligent electronic music, but unfortunately there’re less people interested in ‘intelligent’ music. What does it evoke to you and how do you as label owner look at bands with intelligent and sophisticated compositions?

U-0176: Yes, releasing albums for Signal~Bruit or Novocibirsk as we did with productionB is quite risky, but we’re not doing it for success.

I hope that we’ll find enough people to buy our records so that we can keep up the flag high as long as possible, that’s our objective.

As you can see, we stated it right from the start when launching productionB

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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“Planisphère(s)“ is the debut album from the brand-new French project Signal~Bruit. The full length has been released on the brand-new label Meshwork Music, which is driven by X Marks The Pedwalk member Sevren Ni-Arb. Behind Signal~Bruit is hiding ‘Member U-0176’ who’s running the label BOREDOMproduct. He’s also involved into Celluloide and once started under the Thee Hyphen moniker. Signal~Bruit is something totally different revealing a retro-electro style that might remember to electro pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre, Clock DVA, Jacno ao.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What inspired and motivated you to set up Signal~Bruit?

S~B: I don’t know exactly… it just happened. Sometimes when I’m in the studio, I don’t feel like writing a song or recording something with a structure… I’m just in the mood of hearing the sequences running and so I let the sound grow… So that’s what I did, and I don’t know why, this time I started recording, with no specific idea in mind.

Q: This new project is quite different in sound compared with other bands you’ve been involved with like Thee Hyphen and Celluloide. Can you tell us a bit more about the sound properly speaking? 

S~B: It all started from the need of turning knobs and nothing more… just to feel the music with the hands like when you play guitar. it immediately affects the sound depending on your fingers position. I started this way: turning the knobs and pushing the faders until it has an hypnotic feel on me. I actually didn’t think of releasing anything at first, I was just trying to please myself.

Q: “Planisphère(s)“ makes me think of a ‘sonic bridge’ between early electro pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk ao… and a more personal and contemporary electronic approach. How would you analyze this album and its influences?

S~B: I guess all my influences, are present at different levels. As I didn’t intend to make it public when I started, I guessed I didn’t try to show anything. I just let the music flow, and my mind float. So of course, electronic pioneers of the Berliner school like Tangerine Dream come into mind, but also the minimal electronics and melodies of Jacno, repetitive sequences of Clock DVA and sound textures of Duet Emmo. But I’m also listening to Atom TM or Autechre so it probably has an influence too.

Q: I noticed you’ve been inspired by the book “Flatland“, which you tried transpose into music. Tell us a bit more about this concept and the way you worked on it? 

S~B: The word “Planisphere(s)” is an attempt of translating and explaining at the same time the title and a key part of the book. While recording my electronic experimentations, I was reading this fabulous book of the XIX century by E.A. Abbot and I suddenly asked myself if I was unconsciously recording the feelings I had when reading the book… or the book gave me ideas on how structuring my electronic ‘divagations’ into something more constructed with a progression and an atmosphere. So I re-organized the recorded tracks into something more ‘logical’ with the story of the book in mind and make them take shape this way.

Q: You also produced videos of all songs on the album that can be watched by using 3D-glasses and, which totally fits to the concept of the “Flatland”-book. How did you get this idea and how did it happened?

S~B: “Planisphère(s)” is a very visual project. Images come to mind when I listen to the sounds, so I wanted to transpose these images all along the album. I finally produced automatically triggered geometric animations for all the tracks, which somehow illustrate the ‘story’ of the album, or at least the moving atmospheres. And it goes to 3D stereoscopic vision on the 4th track “Revelation”, because that’s what happens in the story. I don’t think I could explain it more clearly. It think this has to be seen not explained. I hope it will be released soon, but it has a different planning than the CD release so keep watching the Signal~Bruit youtube channel.

Q: I personally experienced your album as an antidote to the current electro-underground productions, which all sound similar and without a real creative spirit. What’s your perception as an artist and label-owner about the current scene? 

S~B: I have no real statement about that. I think we all try to do the best music we can. Some people can make brilliant things at the first try,  some don’t and never will and in the middle some have good ideas or miss the point. It happens to all of us when we try to create. That’s why for BOREDOMproduct we release a very few albums. We always try to work and rework the tracks with the bands. We’re not just releasing the demos as they are when they go out of the bands studio.

I think it’s important that a label plays a role of advising the bands, adding production when it’s necessary, re-organize tracks if needed. It’s an important help for the band, which I’m afraid most of labels don’t do anymore today because artists don’t accept critics and labels don’t have time and budget for this long work.

Q: An interesting aspect about this album is that it will be the first release ever on Meshwork Music while you’re still running your own label (BOREDOMproduct)! How did it happen and what do you expect from a new label like Meshwork Music? 

S~B: When I was about to complete the album I realized that BOREDOMproduct was not the label for this type of music. So I searched for a label that could understand what I was trying to do, and that could market it properly (I had no idea how). Then I read on Side-Line the announcement of a brand new label who ‘wants to push the boundaries of electronic music to a new level’. Not that I am pretentious enough to think I will push any boundaries at all, but at least the label was open minded enough to give a listen to the whole thing!

And indeed… I sent a rough version, with no proper mix and unfinished versions to André who was really enthusiast about it. Some critics replied a positive way as well and especially about the second track (“Chromatistès”) that had to be re-organized. The final album has been reworked and mixed the way I wanted.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com