With ACTUALLY, LIFE IS JUST A METAPHYSICAL EXERCISE, ISN'T IT? the indie collective definitively veers off the beaten track of mainstream pop. "This record no longer follows rules, but only the heart," attests mastermind and songwriter Robert Nouve. "In a time dominated by fake news, lies, and personal isolation, we wanted to make an album that is authentic yet not self-centered—something that, like a good spirit, can give meaning to life and people, something that connects and is bigger than ourselves.
In this respect, it was incredibly inspiring to have guests on board, including Jerome Avril (the mastermind of French Wave protagonists Mary Goes Round), Alison David (the voice of drum n bass legend Red Snapper), Craig Bethell (who has already lent his voice to electronic pioneer Mark van Hoen and his project Locust), and Ava Bonam, whom I have greatly admired and invited many times over the years (and who will also soon release her own new album, "Dreams"), whose own works have meant so much to me throughout all decades of my life."
And you can hear it: the production is so atmospherically dense and detailed, the ten songs on this album so tense and intense, that every second of your attention is worth it. Just like in life, many things come full circle here. The pre-release single, "KISSING THE NIGHT," represents just one facet of the album, which broadly combines influences from trip hop, electro, rock, ambient, and chamber music and—as the title suggests—also deals with topics that transcend the all-too-human.
The sound was crowned by the mastering by Chris von Rautenkranz – another favorite of Robert Nouve. "It's not just our fourth album, where we've just done everything differently than on the previous ones – it's an organic, self-contained work, with its own sound and its own meaning."
1. What Makes It Beat
2. Smile (feat. Alison David & Jerome Avril)
3. Kissing The Night (feat. Ava Bonam)
4. Lost (feat. Craig Bethell)
5.The Moon
6. Heart Enough (feat. Ava Bonam)
7. Julia
8. Still Not Winter Yet
9. The Gate
10. Elegy
