raison d'être blog

raison d’être – ‘The Empty Hollow Unfolds’ 2014 (expanded edition) / (special expanded edition) are now available as physical releases (CD and 2CD on Retortae label) and as digital download (on Yantra Atmospheres label).

expanded edition:
http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/the-empty-hollow-unfolds-expanded

special expanded edition:
http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/the-empty-hollow-unfolds-special-expanded

Press release:

The ambience of grim desolation: “The Empty
Hollow” in question seems to be the soul; a soul that has unfolded into a
vast, blasted industrial landscape, littered with warehouse debris that
solemnly clatters like wind chimes born of refuge. The darkened shadows
cast on ‘The Empty Hollow Unfolds’ are of an eerie, almost sinister
allegiance, as if the maw at the center of infinity is yawning wide and
the haled breath freezes souls. The expanded edition adds two previosly
unreleased tracks to the album, and, on top, there is a special expanded
edition limited to 100 copies only containing live material from
2000-2001.

raison-detre.info

raison d’être ‘Mise en Abyme’ is now released and available:

http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/mise-en-abyme

Press-release:
Transgredient Records is very proud to release the newest studio-work by
this well known Swedish ambient industrial project, continually
re-newing the dark ambient genre since 1992.’Mise en Abyme’ is the first
raison d’être studio album in over 4 years, following a very special
“initiation concept” with an emphasis on the experience of sequential
psychological states with cathartic effects – diving into the deepest
regions of the subconscious in order to return with a fresh and “empty”
mind. All the previously beloved elements of raison d’êtres music are
here: spacious deep drones, touching sacral choirs, ritualistic sounds
from gongs and bells and other awesome integrated field / object
recordings – all impressively enhanced to reach a new level of masterful
atmospheric composition. Moving from dramatic tension and threatening
uproar to meditative beauty, this near hour long album reveals various
changes and details, while always sounding monolithic (all of one
piece), expressing almost unbearable sensations of melancholy, vastness
and contemplation. The idea behind this album, in the words of the
artist: ” ‘Mise en Abyme’ is an inner journey down to the most hidden
and dark parts of the Self. ‘Mise en Abyme’ literally means ‘placed into
the abyss’ and conceptually the album contains ingredients from ‘The
Divine Comedy’ by Dante or any similar stories/myths around the
katabasis theme. Instead of being linked to religion, history or
morality, it is purely a psychological and therapeutic trip to the
underworld, investigating the subconscious. But even in the darkest and
chaotic places in the depths, there are small shades of light, hope and
understanding; one can be enlightened and purified upon returning to the
conscious world.”

raison-detre.info

raison d’être – Mise en Abyme now available for Pre-order!

http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/mise-en-abyme

Here is the official teaser for the forthcoming raison d’être album ‘Mise en Abyme’ (expected to be out in mid-March):

http://youtu.be/pmnvden-DBo

‘Mise en Abyme’ (placed into the abyss) is an inner katabasis journey to the most hidden and darkest parts of the Self. Conceptually the album contains ingredients from ‘The Divine Comedy’ by Dante or any similar stories/myths around the katabasis theme. Instead of being linked to religion, history or morality, ‘Mise en Abyme’ is purely a psychological and therapeutic trip to the underworld. But even in the most dark and chaotic places in the depths there are small shades of light, hope and understanding; one can be enlightened and purified in the return from an inferno.

Photos by Roberto Conte, info[at]robertoconte.net (except the door with the cross, part from photo by Martín Pels).

To be out on Transgredient Records mid-March 2014.

More info at raison-detre.info

Finally, ‘In Sadness, Silence and Solitude’
(expanded edition) is released. There is a normal 2CD edition and a very
limited special 7″+2CD edition (hurry up), and it’s also available for
download (including bonus tracks):

https://raisondetre.bandcamp.com/album/in-sadness-silence-and-solitude-expanded

Press release:
Mammoth stone walls stretching high into the unknown, dank cellars stewn
with bones and ashes. A chill in the lonely night wind disturbed by the
utterance of arcane phrases. This is music guaranteed to at least bring
about thoughts of mysticism, if it doesn’t produce mystical states
outright. This defines the term hauntingly beautiful. ’In Sadness,
Silence And Solitude’, first released in 1997, is the fourth fullength
album of raison d’être and is yet another astonishing dark ambient
industrial masterpiece.

This time, ’In Sadness, Silence an Solitude’ has been considerably
expanded with additional material and made it into a double disc set
featuring a bunch of unique, previously unreleased compositions, live
material and compilation tracks; everything connected to the same period
of time of the original album. In addition, an ultra-limited special
expanded edition with a bonus 7″ vinyl is released containig new
deconstructed versions of two tracks from the original album: ‘In
Absence Of Light’ and The Well Of Sadness’.

’In Sadness, Silence And Solitude’ (expanded edition) is released on 2CD
on the newly formed label Retortae and has been carefully mastered
according to the K-14 level standard for highest possible sound quality.
The disc set comes in a 6-panel cardboard sleeve with freshly designed
artwork, just as ultimately beautiful as the music, almost to the point
of being indescribable; one must experience it to fully comprehend.

Customers who buy ’In Sadness, Silence an Solitude’ 2CD (expanded edition) or 2CD+7″ (expanded edition special) directly from webshop.raison-detre.info
will get free download tracks; the content of the 7″ vinyl and an
early sketch of ‘Falling Twilight’ (original recording 1997, re-mastered
in 2013.)

raison-detre.info

raison d’être – ‘Live in Moscow’ is now available as download album.

A recording of the live performance in Moscow on the 12th of October
2012, with mostly unique material. Same content as the third disc on
ultra-limited ‘The Stains of the Embodied Sacrifice’ Expanded Edition
Special (100x), now available as separate download album.

Find it here:
http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/live-in-moscow

More raison d’être albums available as download:

– ‘The Stains of the Embodied Sacrifice’ (Expanded edition)
http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/the-stains-of-the-embodied-sacrifice-expanded

– ‘Prospectus I’ (Redux version)
http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/prospectus-i-redux

raison-detre.info

To celebrate xmas and the soon arriving new
year I hereby give you a free download album from my kind of strange
project Anonyma Alkoholister:

http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/moonshining

Press release:
This may be the most obscure project by Peter Andersson. Anonyma
Alkoholister first appeared in the late 90’s on a tiny compilation
called ‘Midnight Special 4’ with the track ‘Funcadelic’. Then there was a
long silence. In 2012 the project suddenly appeared live on the newly
established festival Hulterstad Sounds in the wild forest outside
Mjölby, Sweden. The Anonyma Alkoholister material are created and curated under
strong influences of alcohol, and this is mostly reflected in the
titles. The sounds from 2012 are really representing two worlds; both a
chill-out minimal electronic style and a more harsh industrial style.
Both studio versions and live versions of the 2012 tracks are included
here. The early material from the 90’s (track 5-9) are a bit different,
though still in the electronic field. Some tryouts in genres as funk,
club and dance music. I don’t tell you it’s good, it’s just different.
Not sure why I did this. Well, being drunk one does a lot of things one
should regret. But here it is and it’s free download!

raison-detre.info

raison d’être – ‘Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations’ (redux) 2CD is now available in my webshop:

http://webshop.raison-detre.info/album/within-the-depths-of-silence-and-phormations-redux

Press release:
Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations’ takes the listener deep
below the world of the ordinary into the catacombs of the subconscious,
the worlds lying within us so few ever live to explore. This is music
meant to stimulate the mind, to inspire one in their explorations of
self and solitude. Layers of ethereal atmospheres and the collage of
choirs, strings, bells and occasional voices slowly bleed together to
create music for society whose spirituality has been rendered impotent.
Soaking in this world, one is left with the impression of overwhelming
sadness and profound desolation. This is the sound of all hope
nullified.

‘Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations’ is an expedition into the
hidden parts of the inner self and is bridging feelings of deep
melancholy to blessful joy as it seeks for the true essence of human
existence. Original released in 1995 by Cold Meat Industry the album has
now been restorded, re-recorded and mixed to render the modern standard
of sound quality still maintaining the perfect balance between subtle
and harsh, dark and pure of the original mix. ‘Within the Depths of
Silence and Phormations’ is accompanied with a second disc bringing
tracks from various compilations from the period together to form a
strong twin album. A unity with double joy: Wallow in the melancholy!

The album comes in a 6-panel digipak with awesome photos by Martín Pels.

Customers who buy ”Within the Depths of Silence and Phormations’ (redux version) 2CD directly from the raison detre webshop will get four free download tracks; ‘Ascent of the Blessed’ (live in
Erlangen 1996), ‘Saifeiod’ (original version from ‘Death Odors II’),
‘Ascent of the Blessed’ (remix, from ‘Angels’ art performance 1999) and
‘Saivo II’ (original version, from ‘Angels’ art performance 1999). The
bonus tracks are original recordings and has been re-mastered 2013.

raison-detre.info