Articles

Among all the sites I use to discover new sounds, there’s one that holds a really special place: everynoise.com. It’s a bit of a crazy project, launched more than ten years ago, that literally maps out every musical genre in the world, with an ultra-minimal interface but infinite sonic richness. Every Noise's genre cloud I use it a lot, especially to dig into styles like blackgaze and shoegaze, and all their dreamy or aggressive variations. Thanks to this site, I’ve discovered plenty of small indie bands that are often little known, sometimes self-released, but always interesting. ...

Lately I’ve felt like talking a bit about music. Because beyond command lines and servers, that’s also what feeds me. And today, I want to take you on a little detour through two genres that aren’t necessarily well known to the general public but that, trust me, are well worth a listen: shoegaze and its darker cousin, blackgaze. Shoegaze: a storm in the fog Born in the late 80s in the UK, shoegaze is a style apart. You’ll find guitars drowned in effects, almost whispered vocals, and that feeling of being swept along in a fuzzy sonic flow, somewhere between daydream and diffuse melancholy. ...

Alcest is a French band founded in 2000 by Stéphane Paut, known as Neige, initially as a solo project. Neige built the band’s identity out of his own experiences, notably memories he describes as belonging to “another dimension”. The project started out as pure black metal before opening up to shoegaze, post-rock and ambient: that mix is what gave birth to blackgaze. Discography Le Secret (2005): the beginnings, between black metal and ethereal atmospheres. Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde (2007): the album that lays the foundations of blackgaze, airy guitars and haunting vocals. Écailles de Lune (2010): poetic and melancholic, between rage and serenity. Les Voyages de l’Âme (2012): more introspective, a dive into the soul with every track. Kodama (2016): inspired by Japanese culture and by the movie Princess Mononoke, a tribute to nature. Spiritual Instinct (2019): a return to darker sounds, between introspection and raw energy. Les Chants de l’Aurore (2024): brighter, a mix of dreamlike sounds and powerful passages. Écailles de Lune Cover of the album Écailles de Lune (2010) by Alcest ...

Cortex is a French jazz fusion band, active in the 70s, founded by pianist and composer Alain Mion. Their music blends jazz, funk and soul, with a good deal of improvisation, and the band left its mark on jazz history in France through its compositions and live shows. Discography Troupeau Bleu (1975): their best known album, a classic of jazz fusion. Volume 2 (1977): a follow-up that keeps exploring jazz fusion with a more modern touch. Pourquoi (1978): jazz, funk and Latin influences. Theatre (1983): a more mature record, showing the band’s evolution over the years. Troupeau Bleu, my favorite album Cover of the album Troupeau Bleu (1975) by Cortex Troupeau Bleu is the Cortex record I listen to the most. The tracks blend softness and energy, and you can feel a real mastery in the way the band makes the styles coexist: the jazz rhythms are enriched with touches of funk and soul. ...