Culture Music

Everybody Listen! // La Liberte

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“True Confession Tuesday”…how’s that for a catchy subheading? Anyway, that’s what you’re getting today, because I have a true confession to make. And, like a Peter Jackson movie, it comes in multiple parts.

Part 1: I am not cool. I regard Radiohead with caution. I tolerate the Album Leaf. I actively dislike Sigur Ros. If ever I arrive at the party, it’s long after the cool kids have moved on.

Part 2: Unless it’s classical or jazz, I’m generally suspicious of music without words. Mainly because I don’t know how to talk about it.

Part 3: I don’t know how to talk about music, in general, beyond the “it makes me feel this way” level that any sweaty preteen can achieve.

So it’s with some conflict of soul that I confess my weird affinity for the quirky ambient tunes of La Liberte.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/77336521″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

If you like Sigur Ros, Album Leaf, or even Radiohead, you will undoubtedly like this music. If you don’t like those fellers, you will probably find yourself questioning everything you know about yourself as you make your way through track after track of “The Tide.”

Don’t be afraid.

Download “The Tide” on Noisetrade 

If you visit his site, you’ll find his ear is all over the place. “Lessons in Italian Cherries” is all acoustic, and very traditional-sounding. His score for the short film promoting “Frankie” magazine is constructed on the spindly tones of a toy piano.

The tracks selected for “The Tide” are a lot more complex. The record is a weird, intriguing amalgam of acoustic and electronic music, texture-rich like a woven blanket, shimmery like theatrical silk, with gauzy vocals and rhythms that invite purposeful introspection.

Sorry–I know I’m being vague. Like I said, I don’t really know how to talk about this music. But I wanted to, because I want you to hear it.

I suspect that La Liberte likes Sigur Ros, but since I don’t, I’ll go ahead and say that what distinguishes these songs is that they don’t merely set a mood. They go somewhere. And they don’t make you feel like a self-conscious stargazer for following them in your imagination.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/76580049″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Perhaps what I like best of all about La Liberte’s take on this genre is that it’s not over-serious. He reminds me a little bit of an artist I do like–Yann Tiersen–whose wordless tunes also convey a richly unpredictable story. The sense of humor inherent in his unconventional instruments and sharp left turns in melody make this music sound like more than a synthesizer with a head cold.

And like Takenobu–another ambient artist I can get behind–there’s a sad knowingness underneath it all that makes it feel like more than just visions, that anchors it in reality. I think that’s what lifts it beyond evocative to being actually powerful.

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Download “The Tide” by La Liberte.

Listen to more of his music.

Visit his website.

Got a hot tip on some free music? Email chelsea@cmedia2026.tryangled.online

Kona