Rachel Langlais "Dothe" CS (2021)

Details: Rachel Langlais "Dothe" CS (2022 release, this format, Unjenesaisquoi, France). Comes packaged in a green-striped O-card. Clear cassette shell with black pad printing. Full-color matte insert. New stock, clear poly resealable sleeve. D/L included. New stock, import (EU).

Description: "Composed, played, recorded, and mixed by Rachel Langlais, Dothe is an album that was built around two upright pianos, which she tuned and played differently. In line with John Cage and his prepared pianos, Rachel Langlais relies on this broad practice which consists in modifying the very nature of the sounds a piano makes by applying various materials directly onto the strings (paper, metal objects, pieces of wood, adhesive tape, plastic…). She completes her approach to the prepared piano with diverse recording and digital processing techniques (cut, slowdown) turning Dothe into a contemporary experiment.

The title was borrowed from Ursula K. Le Guin’s science-fiction novel The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), in which “dothe” is a nervous hysterical strength that can be controlled and that is practiced by some inhabitants of a planet called Gethen. After using dothe, the body must take a rest called “thangen.”

A visual universe echoing the repetitive organic patterns that shape this album was conceived by graphic designer and silk-screen printer Damien Tran.
Damien Tran makes posters, animation short films, fanzines, and art books. His work has been exhibited around Europe, the UK, and the US. For Dothe, he imagined a back-to-front cover, credits thus appearing on the front with a choice of colors playing on harmonious and jarring associations, while the back cover is minimal, without any text."

Grade: M (new stock)

TRACK LISTING SIDE A:

A1. De belles jours
A2. Dothe
A3. Thangen
A4. Jogging à courre
A5. Comme le canard

TRACK LISTING SIDE B:

B1. En brasier
B2. Bal Fol
B3. Penché Percé
B4. Grandroit