with Les Joyaux de la Princesse. Released by Athanor and Storm Records.

 

“Life without absinthe? I cannot imagine it! For me it would be impossible! I should hang, drown or shoot myself into infinitude, out of sheer rage at the continued cruelty and injustice of the world — but with the divine nectar of Olympus I can defy misfortune and laugh at poverty, as though they were the merest bagatelles! Come! —to your health, mon brave! Drink with me! ” —Marie Corelli, Wormwood (1890). Recited in “Variations Sur Le Thème De Corelli (By Venus and Cupid).”


Absinthe: La Folie Verte is a sonic and poetic invocation combining mind-altering music and powerful recitations of Absinthe-inspired poems of the fin-de-siècle. These elements unite with a brilliant graphic presentation to conjure an emerald realm of euphoric delirium. It is also one of the most obsessive recordings ever made: the various melodies that float across these soundscapes derive from forgotten Absinthe songs of the past; actual elements of the latter, derived from old cylinder recordings and 78s, have also been carefully stirred and distilled into new formulations by Les Joyaux de la Princesse. Furthermore, all aspects of this album (instrumentation, spoken recitations, and even the final mixing) were executed under the influence of the drink. The end result is an impressionistic tour-de-force and the ultimate aural hymn to la fée verte, the Green Fairy.