New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Fraternal Parisian duo, WuW, return with their sophomore album - Rétablir L'Eternité - an invitation to slow down and immerse yourself in their offering of experimental, progressive instrumental missives.
Composed and recorded between January 2018 and June 2019 in their own studio just outside Paris, brothers
Benjamin and Guillaume Colin's writing for Rétablir L'Eternité was more instinctive than ever. By embracing experimentation, the pair were free to discard ill-fitting pieces and to develop only what they viewed as having artistic value. By allowing their unconscious to permeate their output, the music of WuW serves as a form of catharsis for its creators - letting the unknown be known.
On the recording, they enlisted the talents of Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Corrections House), to play saxophone on the track En Souvenir Des Jours Que Nous N'aurons Pas Vécus. Sam Kün (Welcome-X) lends vocals to Danser Dans Le Chant Des Battements Du Temps, with his voice being used as an instrument - a musical effect - rather than utilising traditional singing. Mixing was handled by Benjamin, before being mastered by Collin Jordan at Boiler Room in Chicago.
The album title translates approximately to 'restore eternity' which for the brothers means that they hope the album offers listeners a chance to take a moment out from the present and to envelope themselves in the moment; just a small part of eternity. Within a few generations we have switched from embracing eternity to living only for now, and WuW believe we have to restore eternity for ourselves: "it will be restored anyway - with/by us or without/against us," they say.
Once again, WuW have utilised numerous percussive instruments to build the layers of their music; with both musicians being classically and contemporarily trained percussionists they extract unique sounds from special instruments such as Tibetan bowls and African small bells. Alongside this are more widely used music-making tools - amps, keyboards, guitars - and pedals that
Benjamin built himself.
The classical-meets-experimental ethos of WuW means that Rétablir L'Eternité may be welcome listening for fans of Amenra, Anna von Hausswolff or Ben Frost, however they remain a band that remain elusive in terms of easy categorisation. Their cinematic soundscapes are heavier on the drone-ambient and metal elements compared to their debut, but the tracks on Rétablir L'Eternité retain a majestic and purifying quality. The artist Brian Cougar has captured this feeling of dark vertigo in the spellbinding artwork.
Rétablir L'Eternité will be released via Prosthetic Records on March 27.
