Fakear was at a loss. A pioneer of the French electro-chill scene among artists like Petit Biscuit, Møme and Thylacine, the Norman musician wished to cut ties with a scene he saw as overly influenced by American EDM. He therefore looked towards England for new inspiration and entrusted the production of this album to Alex Metric, Grammy-winner with Silk City (Diplo and Mark Ronson) in 2019, and writer of numerous remixes for La Roux and Daft Punk, with the aim of “breaking apart all that has made him who he is musically these last years.”
But of course, you can’t completely reimagine yourself simply by deciding it (as proven on the very chill Kaishi and Sekoia) but it is clear that the kicks are more emphatic and the melodies less conventional on this record. Fakear (who loosely cites the influence of Bonobo and John Hopkins) unleashes Bicep-flavoured UK house (Tadlo), weaves in some ambient Arabesque à la Four Tet (Linked), and gives a nod to club and festival programmers on Structurized, one of the most dance floor tracks in his discography. While many artists take pleasure in exiting their comfort zone, Fakear takes the risk of evolving and will perhaps lose some fans initially because of it. And as it he now seems to be working on techno tracks, he has in now way finished surprising us. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz