Refuge by Toh Imago
After spending his debut album exploring techno and mechanical sounds in the depths of the Pas-de-Calais mines, Toh Imago looks up to the sky, with an open breeze on his face, as tree branches and canopy filter out the sun’s rays on Refuge. All the machines used during the album recording are tuned at 432hz, carrying the mystical benefits of Earth’s resonance. Spending just seconds with the opening track, the listener is drawn into the safety that Refuge was intended to provide, and each subsequent piece pulls you deeper and deeper into the album’s forest.
‘Refuge’ was recorded on the edge of the Mormal forest, in the North of France. With nature as a setting and studio accomplice, the album features synthesizers, field-recordings, as well as the acoustic qualities of reverbs from the nearby forest. As the artist’s inner world and nature converge in moments of self-reflection, so the album’s 11 recordings harmoniously unfold in a cavalcade of machines and organic sonorities.
While the first LP 'Nord Noir’ explored his family’s mining past, ‘Refuge' is about being present and the desire to re-contextualize the relationship between nature and humans. It is a record of uplifting tones that is filled with optimism, imbued with the lightness of those who finally reconnect with nature, their roots, and the feeling of groundedness.
Tracklist
| 1. | Précieux Atavisme | 3:30 |
| 2. | Asile Sauvage | 4:03 |
| 3. | Sylve Barbare | 3:51 |
| 4. | Cité Peupleraie | 3:54 |
| 5. | Avril Mormal | 4:57 |
| 6. | Locus Neminis | 4:10 |
| 7. | Cosmos Intra | 3:38 |
| 8. | Komorebi | 5:01 |
| 9. | Monde Intérieur | 4:21 |
| 10. | Fugue [Digital Only] | 2:24 |
| 11. | Chiffchaff | 4:04 |
Videos
Credits
All tracks written, composed, produced & performed by Thomas Hennebicque
All forest field recordings on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 were recorded on April 8, 2021 in the Mormal Forest (North of France) during an artistic residency at Nuits Secrètes. Forest field recording on track 11 was recorded on June 16, 2021 at the Louvre Lens. All these sounds were captured with Olivier Vasseur.
Recorded & mixed by Olivier Vasseur @ Full Rotor Bass Studio in France
Mastered by Rashad Becker @ Clunk Studio in Berlin Germany
A&R Alexandre Cazac
MGMT Lisa Boissoles
Artwork & Design by Motoplastic
Published by InFiné éditions
iF1076 - ℗ & © 2023 InFiné
License
All rights reserved.
Toh Imago is a paradoxical producer. On the one hand, his records are constructed from “concrete” samples of nature, a siderurgical site, oceans or childhood VHS tapes, the very places they are meant to emulate. On the other hand, he fashions an imaginary place into which his creator and his listeners can transport themselves.