Photo: Baptiste Dété

Aquaserge have been turning our heads for a long time, enthralling us with every single album they release. A wonderful and thrilling supergroup, featuring a revolving lineup of incredible musicians, they draw on their collective musical background and improvisational sensibilities to create kaleidoscopic and bold compositions which effortlessly transcend genres.

We’re over the moon to know they are gracing us with a new album, following 2021’s The Possibility Of A New Work For Aquaserge, which was one of our Album Picks of the Year. Entitled La Fin de l’Économie, the new album will see the light of day on May 24th through Crammed Discs. Described as an ecological poem where present and past collide, the album draws inspiration from sources aplenty. “Listeners will encounter traces of Oulipo (the famous experimental French literary movement founded in the ’60s), Dada and free jazz”, as the press release says. “They will cross paths with the ghosts of Ennio Morricone, Walter Benjamin and Marguerite Duras, with the shadows of Kim Gordon and Brigitte Fontaine”.

Audrey Ginestet, Benjamin Glibert, Olivier Kelchtermans, Manon Glibert, and Julien Chamla, who make up the current lineup of Aquaserge, were all involved in the recording, each bringing their unique talents to the table.

May seems like a long while away but lucky for us they have today shared the opening track, ‘Le saut du tigre’, which means “The Tiger’s Leap” and refers to a famous text by cult thinker Walter Benjamin. ‘Le saut du tigre’ is an exhilarating and infectious guitar-driven track, with the band’s “trademark touches of jazz, ’70s film music, and poetry reflecting their radical views on the state of the world.” Aquaserge are offering the track with an accompanying video directed by their own Audrey Ginestet. Here it is.

The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge, the much anticipated new album from Aquaserge has finally landed yesterday. Coinciding with its release, the Toulouse supergroup have shared a video to accompany one of the album’s heavenly tracks, ‘Nuit altérée (À György Ligeti)’. The track marks their second tribute to Ligeti, following ‘Nuit Terrestre’. As Aquaserge describe, ‘Nuit Altérée’ “is a vertical, ‘spectral’ approach to Nuit Terrestre, as if we were making cuts or freeze-frames on this body of water and unfolding them”. Featuring footage from their rehearsals at Le Lieu Unique in Nantes, the video was filmed by French filmmaker Marie Losier and was edited by Benjamin Glibert. Watch it below.

The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge is out now though Crammed Discs, as part of their celebrated composers’ series Made To Measure.

The musical universe of Toulouse’s supergroup Aquaserge is wonderful and thrilling, amalgamating various influences and genres, from pop and 60s/70s rock to free jazz and noise. We’re over the moon to know they have a new album on the way called The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge, set for release on October 15th though Crammed Discs, as part of their celebrated composers’ series Made To Measure.
The band set themselves a challenge, as the press release explains, “drawing inspiration from four major, atypical figures in contemporary classical music from the mid-20th century (Ligeti, Scelsi, Varèse and Morton Feldman), in order to write & record an album which joyfully blurs boundaries between rock and what used to be called ‘serious music’”. Named after a Morton Feldman piece, The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge is also the title of a music theatre show, which they will perform in contemporary music festivals across Europe, including Art Musica in Brussels and Aujourd’hui Musiques in Perpignan.

October might seem far but we can already hear ‘Un grand sommeil noir’, serving as the first glorious taste from the upcoming album. The track is Aquaserge’s interpretation of one of the earliest compositions by pioneering composer Edgard Varèse to a poem by Paul Verlaine. ‘Un grand sommeil noir’ comes with an accompanying video, filmed by Karine Pain and Gaëtan Chataigner and edited by Karine Pain. Take a look.

It’s no secret we love Toulouse’s experimental pop band Aquaserge, whose latest album Laisse ça être, made it to our 15 Picks of 2017. Like on the record, they are a wonder to behold live, each and all of its five members effortlessly displaying their outstanding musicianship and improvisational sensibilities. So we’re excited to hear they have a new record arriving this Spring, Déjà-Vous? (‘you, already?’). Featuring live renditions of eight tracks, including four from Laisse ça être, the upcoming Déjà-Vous? is the fruit of recordings the quintet made during several shows in 2016 and 2017, some of which accompanied by a 3-piece horn section.

Preceding the record release on April 27th through Crammed Discs, and serving as a wonderful introduction to Déjà-Vous?, Aquaserge have shared their impromptu version of the 30’s popular jazz standard ‘My Funny Valentine’. We simply can’t stop playing it.