Obaké

Description

After a final album dedicated to acoustic music and the vast American landscapes, Arman Méliès reinvents himself as an electronic composer and delves into a maximalist double album with synthetic textures and cinematic writing. For over an hour and a half, we encounter Japanese ghosts, the specters of Ennio Morricone and Christophe, and the memory of his own parents, who passed away 25 years ago. In Japanese, "obake" means spirits, and the apparitions here are logically omnipresent. Starting with those of the living. Although the album was recorded alone, Arman later shook up his habits by inviting an eclectic array of musicians. Throughout this album, we meet Swedish artist Fredrika Stahl, who illuminates the airy "Haunted" with her distinctive voice and spectral melodies. Jonathan Morali, the voice of Syd Matters (accompanied on backing vocals by Pauline Denize for this occasion), joins on "Neon Demon," for a nearly 7-minute piece that is both danceable and introspective. Abd Al Malik and his inimitable timbre enchant "Les Mondes Périphériques," another lengthy track that evokes the complex electro of Jon Hopkins. The ghosts are not always where we think. On "Vanisher," it’s La Féline who intertwines her voice with Arman’s. And of course, beyond these guests, there are the others. The absentees, the returnees. The Obake.