Tag Archives: InFiné

Switched On – Various Artists: InFiné Ambient (InFiné)

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What’s the story?

InFiné have been extending their reach with a clutch of interesting digital compilations of late, including Club InFiné and InFiné Rewind 2024.

The French label is largely known for its experimental strands, but they have a far musical reach – as this cosmopolitan ambient collection shows.

What’s the music like?

The mix immediately reaches its goals through the soft beats of Murcof and the beautiful sounds of Brian Eno refracted through the piano of Bruce Brubaker, whose take on Music For Airports 2/1 will soothe any fevered brow. The same can be said for Vanessa Wagner’s piano, Struggle For Pleasure viewed through the hazy viewfinder of GAS.

There are some long form ambient epics here too, in the form of Gaspar Claus with the slightly disquieting Inside, and an epic take on Carl Craig’s At Les from Abul Mogard. Elsewhere Loscil takes the slowly oscillating piano of Murcof x Wagner’s Avril 14th (Aphex Twin), opening it out in timeless widescreen. The track leads seamlessly into Cubenx’s Human Dilemma.

Does it all work?

It does indeed, especially when experienced as a 13-track whole. As a bonus, if you visit the compilation’s Bandcamp page you get helpful biographies of all the ambiently inclined InFiné composers and musicians.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. InFiné know exactly what they’re doing with this compilation, providing aural balm whenever the listener needs it.

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,527 – Thursday 8 May 2025

New music – Vanessa Wagner: Philip Glass – Étude no.17 (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood

Today brings us news of an important project from Vanessa Wagner, a favourite of these pages. Étude No. 17 is the first excerpt from her complete recording of Philip Glass’s Études for Piano, set for release later in 2025 on the InFiné label.

The InFiné press release goes into detail on Glass’s etudes, which are fast becoming the most recorded area of his music:

“Through her approach, Vanessa Wagner helps establish these two books as a major cycle within the grand repertoire, on par with the études of Ligeti, Pascal Dusapin, and, before them, Chopin and Liszt.

While the first book was conceived as an instructional manual to push Glass’s technical limits with a piano, the second book envisions an imagined virtuoso pianist, demanding both precision and dexterity. Glass himself has rarely performed more than a few pieces from the second volume.

Legend has it that while working on his final four études, Glass pulled a collection of poetry by Allen Ginsberg from his bookshelf. A mythical figure of the Beat Generation, Ginsberg inspired a whole generation’s desire for travel—journeys that took the young Glass across Europe (notably France) and India, infusing his work with a singular tone. As he flipped through the book, he reportedly rediscovered a personal manuscript for a piece titled Magic Psalm, which would later become his Etude No. 17.

Through her interpretation, Vanessa Wagner brings to light the delicate balance between serenity and tension in this mesmerizing composition, capturing both its poetic, wistful quality and its cinematic contrasts—inviting listeners on a journey that is as reflective as it is unsettled, much like the ever-shifting landscapes of the Hudson River.”

Watch it here:

Published post no.2,477 – Tuesday 18 March 2025

Playlist – InFiné Ambient (InFiné)

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from our friends at InFiné:

“We Are Emotional People.”

Ambient music lies at the very core of InFiné. We’re devotees of the great Brian Eno, raised on the 4AD label, and nurtured on KLF’s pioneering Chill Out and Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works on Warp. Ever-curious listeners, we soaked up the German vibrations of early Ash Ra Tempel before diving into the abyssal basslines of Moritz Von Oswald or the stark minimalism of Pole.

Later, we encountered other wizards around the globe: Murcof in Mexico, Loscil in Canada, Kaito in Japan, Biosphere in Scandinavia, and more recently Kmru in Kenya. This music forms a central thread in our catalog, sitting alongside more rhythm-driven electronic styles, innovative classical hybrids, and increasingly even pop. In Ambient, the role of sound is more vital than in any other genre! Each note needs ample space to resonate, and every piece immerses you in the pure essence of its sound. These tracks stretch time by using minimal resources to create a profound experience. Here, silence is part of the composition, offering a depth and richness unlike anything else.

What seems simple often takes hours in the studio to refine and place each note, adjusting the movement of a resonance like an architect shaping a structure. Everything must be perfectly calibrated, without artifice, like a zen garden where the tiniest imperfection disrupts the harmony. Ambient goes straight to the heart of music: emotion! Sound becomes a safe haven, a powerful instrument for resilience and introspection, bringing us together to face personal or collective challenges. Fueled by this conviction and countless hours of practice, InFiné developed its own “medicinal music” series. We’ve carefully selected audio potions from our catalog—often electronic, sometimes more organic or experimental—to guide you through beneficial emotional landscapes. InFiné Ambient is an invitation to travel without moving, a moment to reset our humanity in a world assaulted by outside turbulence.”

#WeAreEmotionalPeople

Published post no.2,471 – Wednesday 12 March 2025

On Record – Gaspar Claus: Un Monde Violent OST (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

In Maxime Caperan’s thriller Un Monde Violent, two brothers plunge into a spiral of violence, with uncomfortable results. For the soundtrack, he enlisted cellist and composer Gaspar Claus who has responded with a score in which he produces and performs.

What’s the music like?

In a word, tense. Claus has already shown a gift in his music to evoke scenes and emotions, and those qualities immediately come to the fore.

The Ouverture is laden with dread, its dark ambience creating waves of uncertainty, though it is still possible to admire the rich and fulsome colours Claus applies in his playing.

His Tancade album of 2021 showed how a wide range of techniques and skills with the cello can produce an unusually wide range of sounds, and that is again the case here, from the unsettling tremolo figures of Un meutre to the pizzicato thrumming of Moto joie or the existential dread of Moto Drame, with its widescreen panning.

Vers l’hôpital is a different story, its affecting chorale richly scored, and Claus moves from this to the flickering, wispy arpeggios of Le père, showing the sonic palette his cello has at its disposal.

The last two tracks are more substantial – Channel is a co-production with vocalist Caspar Clausen, but also features the disorientating appearance of a brass band in the middle of is cluster of chords. Peace is finally achieved in the closing credits, delivered in a concoction of softly voiced harmonics and drones.

Does it all work?

It does, provided you’re in a quiet room. Claus achieves a wide range of dynamics in his writing, and a silent backdrop will ensure all are brought to the fore.

Is it recommended?

It is. Gaspar Claus writes for the cello with great imagination and inventiveness, and this response to the story of Un Monde Violent is as dramatic as it is musically convincing. Strongly recommended.

For fans of… Julia Kent, Sarah Neufeld, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Peter Gregson

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Published post no.2,460 – Saturday 1 March 2025

On Record – Bruce Brubaker – Eno Piano 2.0 (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Building on the success of his first album of Brian Eno reinterpretations, pianist Bruce Brubaker goes deeper into the ambient master’s output.

In his explorations, Brubaker continues to use a Steinway concert grand piano with electromagnetic bows that help him create sustained drone textures.

Here he takes two sections from the 1978 ambient classic Music For Airports album alongside three others, using advanced IRCAM spatialization tools to create an “immersive acoustic experience, turning the piano into a supernatural synthesizer.”

What’s the music like?

The Music For Airports excerpts, not surprisingly, are incredibly calming – and beautifully played. The second version of 1/2 uses the electromagnetic bows to create a sound almost like the clarinet in timbre. Brubaker judges the critical elements like attack and sustain just right, a faithful recreation of the original Eno work but one that gives him plenty of room and space around in the acoustic.

The slow tracks work beautifully, especially Failing Light from Eno’s Ambient 2: The Plateaux Of Mirror, the collaboration with Harold Budd, which is lovingly shaded here. The big surprise, however, is The Big Ship, where he recreates everything by hand, including the shift of rhythmic emphasis that Eno originally performed with an organ drum machine. Here it is commanding and delivered with impressive poise.

Does it all work?

Very much so. Brubaker’s eye for detail and virtuosity work hand in hand.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. Eno Piano 2.0 is an obvious complement to the first instalment but shows Eno’s music in a new and enchanting light. Ambient music has lasted a lot longer than we dared imagine, and reinterpretations like this will only prolong its appeal further.

For fans of… Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman

You can read an extensive interview with Bruce on Arcana, where he talks about interpreting Eno’s work for piano.

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Published post no.2,349 – Friday 1 November 2024