DYSTOPIAN THOUGHTS

by INNOCENT BUT GUILTY & NLC Feat. WOLF CITY

The cover artwork created with the Midjourney AI software looks nothing less than dystopian. On the contrary, it seems to transport us right into a fantasy landscape of untouched nature and meditative calm. As the opening track starts, a beautiful day seems to dawn, the sound seems to confirm the cover images - but is it really that harmless? After all, “where the real world changes into simple images, the simple images become real beings and effective motivations of hypnotic behaviour” (Guy Debord). In other words, images can turn us into zombies, and isn't that in fact quite dystopian? And in fact, even in the opening track, ominous undertones seem to forebode that there may in fact be some danger lurking ahead. Then the next track launches a fully-fledged rock beat upon us. What was spacious one second becomes physical and claustrophobic the next – we wake up to reality, and we discover that reality itself is (already) the dystopia mentioned in the title.

The tension between mournful piano lines and vocals, cold dark ambient shrouds of electro, and a full-on fuzz/stoner rock set-up tells a story that may be about trying to find hope or, at least, momentary rebellious relief or poetic solace in the real-world dystopia of high-rise housing estates and street violence - or war, police brutality, exploitation, poverty, or any of the other myriad dystopian facets of the state of things which most of us, most of the time, all-too-readily accept as reality. (Incidentally, the album would be perfectly listenable as a soundtrack to any of the above-quoted Guy Debord's films – which of course would make him turn in his early grave; but then again, what wouldn't?) To create this expanded musical palette, three acts have joined forces: drone ambient/electro artist Innocent But Guilty from Bordeaux; the solo project Wolf City from the western suburbs of Paris, exploring the different sides of indie rock through noise, hard, ambient, and post rock; and – by now a steady presence on the attenuation circuit artist roster – NLC (Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites) aka Julien ASH and Aloïs L. with their regular guests P-Y Lebeau (guitars) and Liesbeth Houdijk (voice).

File under: dreampop, electro, psychedelic

ACU 1050

factory-produced CDr in cardboard sleeve

Released in 2023

limited to 100 copies

price: 7.00 EUR (excl. postage)

All music written and performed by Innocent but Guilty and Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites. Recorded from August to October 2022.

Mixed by Julien ASH
Digitally mastered by Aloïs L.
Guests : Wolf City : music, guitars, percussions
Pierre-Yves Lebeau : guitars
Liesbeth Houdijk : voices

nouvelleslecturescosmopolites.bandcamp.com
wolfcity1.bandcamp.com
innocentbutguilty.bandcamp.com
apocalypsesounds.bandcamp.com

wolfcitytheband@gmail.com
alois66@free.fr
julien.ash@wanadoo.fr

Also available here: http://www.discogs.com/seller/dependenz?sort=price&sort_order=asc&q=attenuation+circuit&st

Review

BAD ALCHEMY

Dystopian Thoughts (ACU 1050) ist der Brainstorm von INNOCENT BUT GUILTY (Arnaud Chatelard in Bordeaux) und NOUVELLES LECTURES COSMOPOLITES (Julien Ash & Aloïs L., hier mit noch P-Y Lebeau an Gitarre und Vokalisation von Liesbeth Houdijk), mit Unterstützung durch den befreundeten WOLF CITY, einem zur Revolte anstiftenden Tribalisten in Paris. Sie warnen vor einem Imaginären, das Idyllen vorgaukelt und viele so zu Schafen zombiefiziert. 'Dawn has no name' ist mit Piano, Violine, Gitarrengewaber und Houdijks Gewisper so eine elysische Verlockung, wird aber mit 'Sweet as the Devil's Home' als zweifelhaft enttarnt und durch postrockige Grenzpfähle abgetrennt. Ash hat sich zuletzt ja mit Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi zu „Gramsci says merry Christmas Motherfuckers“ zusammengetan, um nach dem Sinn des Lebens zu fragen. Nicht immer sind creating peace and hope and positive dreaming von frommen Lügen und 'Childish Behaviour' leicht zu unterscheiden. Wie unterscheidet sich 'March of the Unicorns' von naiver Fantasy? Durch die melancholische Geige, das dröhnende Moll? Macht schon die Bierassoziation zu 'Six Pack' dieses besänftigende Kaskadieren zu etwas anderem? Wieso 'Back to Albuquerque'? Wegen „Breaking Bad“ oder dem West Mesa Bone Collector als 'typisch Amerika'? 'Building new Strategies' schlägt weiter die postrockige Harfe. Houdijk singtDreaming a place to be. I am the architect. Bisher hieß der Architekt Paul Kersey. Aber Frauen wie die Alexandertechnikerin Houdijk würden wohl gern eine andere Zukunft bauen.

http://badalchemy.de/

Review

VITAL WEEKLY

The final CDR release has an AI-generated cover. In the past weeks, chat AI and imagine AI have been all over social media; apparently, it is the new lunchbreak activity. Ask a question and get a silly answer, but other than 'because you can', you can ask why you should. The two images on this cover are unremarkable at best. Maybe there is a dystopian tone in there; who knows? NLC has been featured a couple of times in recent months. I don't think I heard of Innocent But Guilty before, who are from Bordeaux. The featuring Wolf City is from Paris. I never know what that means; is that one track? A minor role, perhaps? To be honest, I am not sure about this release. The production is great, the music is played well, and there is some variety. The music is ambient-like but with rock influences. Guitar and violin play an important role, along with piano, whispering voices, and drums (or drum machines). Think ambient and post-rock with a lot of electronics, a dash of orchestral sounds, and heavenly singing. Maybe with that AI in mind, I thought that one could call this a soundtrack for dystopian thoughts, but maybe also as seen from the perspective of AI. If I have dystopian thoughts, I think of the sound of destruction, of leaking nuclear power plants and the death rattle of the human world. As such, maybe the musical effort here is too pleasant. Or maybe, it is just me...

http://www.vitalweekly.net/1371.html

Review

De Subjectivisten

Zo schrijf je 15 jaar geen recensie meer over één van je Franse projecten Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites en zo schrijf je er 8 weken later gewoon weer één. Achter dit project, dikwijls als NLC geschreven, gaat Julien Ash (tevens Maelstrøm, A Sparrow-Grass Hunt) en tegenwoordig ook zijn zoon, componist en violist Aloïs L. schuil. De muziek is veelal een blend van middeleeuws en klassiek getinte muziek, ambient, wereldmuziek en zelfs pop en trip hop. In het begin was Ash overigens meer industrieel georienteerd. NLC heeft nu samen met het eveneens Franse Innocent But Guilty de cd Dystopian Thoughts gemaakt. Dat laatstgenoemde project is het geesteskind van Arnaud Chateland, die doorgaans in de experimentele dark ambient en drones hoek opereert. Op de voorkant van het album prijkt in het klein ook nog de naam van Wolf City, een soloproject uit Parijs die normaal gesproken een mix van ambient, noise, post-rock en zelfs wereldmuziek laat horen. Verder mogen ze nog rekenen op het duo en Liesbeth Houdijk en gitarist Pierre-Yves Lebeau, beide uit Hide & Seek en A Sparrow-Grass Hunt. In een kleine drie kwartier leveren ze hier 7 tracks af, die zoals je bij een titel als deze ook verwacht. Ze brengen muziek die zowel filmisch meeslepend als onheilspellend is. De muziek past niet per se in een hokje, maar bevat elementen van neoklassiek, industrial, dark ambient, drones en experimentele muziek, waaraan de toegevoegde koorzang en immer mooie zang van Houdijk voor de lichtpuntjes zorgen. Soms gaan dissonante zij aan zij met serene en sacrale klanken, wat voor een bevreemdende atmosfeer zorgt. Het is ook de tijd om je zorgen te maken en waar een dystopie dichterbij lijkt dan een utopie. En toch klinkt er hoop uit dit alles; een beetje althans aan het einde. Het is een apocalyptisch meesterwerk geworden!

https://subjectivisten.nl/het-schaduwkabinet-week-02-2023/

Review

RADIO BRENNPUNKT

https://radiobrennpunkt.org/news/innocent-but-guilty-dystopian-thoughts/

INNOCENT BUT GUILTY & NLC Feat. WOLF CITY DYSTOPIAN THOUGHTS cover front
INNOCENT BUT GUILTY & NLC Feat. WOLF CITY DYSTOPIAN THOUGHTS cover back
INNOCENT BUT GUILTY & NLC Feat. WOLF CITY DYSTOPIAN THOUGHTS Inlay
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