The French multi-instrumentalist and graphic designer Adrien Tibi has collaborated on several musical projects (Celestia, Mortifera, Dementia Ad Vitam, among others) but it is in the one-man-project Feigur that his fundamental work resides. Founded in 2007 as an attempt to express his own interpretation of the transition phenomena between death and what is beyond, its effect on memory, emotions, and spirituality, it is pretty incredible to see the evolution that Tibi imprinted on the music he has been creating as Feigur since the beginning of the project.
Words by Marco Guerra
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Photo credits: Joanna Stawnicka
III, Ascension is Feigur’s second album. It was released a month ago, twelve years after Desolation, the first one. There is also another release, Le mâne / The First Beauty, a split 7” vinyl with the band Lustre from Sweden that saw the light of the day in 2012. And it is really impressive to listen to the whole repertoire chronologically. Until the new album, Feigur was all about black metal, atmospheric, blackgaze, with bits of ambient. So, in III, Ascension the artist appears with a new outfit, in a process of mutation full of rigour and efficiency. It could be seen as a risky choice, or as "getting out of your comfort zone", but I dare say that Adrien Tibi knew and knows exactly what he's doing. Because, despite the stylistic differences between the pre and post III, Ascension era, Feigur's mood and pictorial universe have a guiding thread that connects all the music he created.
III, Ascension is organised into 3 chapters: Pain, Mourning (for oneself and others) and Healing. It intends to depict the soul’s post-mortem journey to resurrection. Each chapter has 3 tracks, in a total of 9 tracks that complete the album. Its musical richness covers fields such as noise, electronica, ambient, drone, with light touches of techno and classical. “I Déchirements: No. 1, Aboutissement” opens the act, with a subtle and at the same time experimental intro, which gives way to a distorted electric guitar riff. Perhaps the track where the guitar's presence is most noticeable, but there will be more. “I Déchirements: No. 2, Séparation” it's a song that starts intense, heavy and cavernous. Perfect for amplifying sensations in any science fiction film, it has the particularity of transmuting itself when it is halfway through, relieving the initial dramatic load. “I Déchirements: No. 3, Immobilisme” features Joanna Stawnicka's vocals and brings an irresistible melancholy, of unprecedented beauty.
It's not easy for me to choose my favourite song, but “II Deuil de soi, deuil de l’autre: No. 1, Sous le marbre” will definitely be one of them. A single-string guitar melody, full of reverbs, fills the entire song. Then we have the underground loop of the bass, the synth repeating the guitar melody, the distorted voice, the feedback. As if that weren't enough, suddenly we have a piano appeasing the crescendo. Ladies and gentlemen, we have just entered chapter 2 of the album. “II Deuil de soi, deuil de l’autre: No. 2, Ascension” it's a sweet, dreamy song, with a breakbeat in the background and occasional hints of noise. Drama and melancholy reappear with “II Deuil de soi, deuil de l’autre: No. 3, Immanence” the last track of the second chapter, another magnificent piece of music, with futuristic synths and noise in all its splendour.
As we reach the third and final chapter of the album, we are surprised by discharges of more noise, which shortly after give way to a sublime pad and an incredible minimal guitar melody (again, a single string doing the honours). Next, we have “III Apaisements: No. 2, Au dessus des villes”, and we must say hello to a fulfilled drum kick. And finally, we arrive at the end of the journey: “III Apaisements: No. 3, Ascendance” is a divine piano piece a la Erik Satie style, sprinkled with occasional bits of experimentalism, which closes III, Ascension with mastery and elegance. One of the great albums of 2022, a must-have. It was released in all possible formats (cassette, vinyl, cd and digital formats).
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