Releases

[OKTAF03] - Marsen Jules - "Nostalgia"

In 2005, Marsen Jules won over the hearts of many Ambient enthusiasts with his CD début "Herbstlaub", released on the prestigious Berlin electronica imprint City Centre Offices. By that time, it was mainly Wolfang Voigt and his famous Gas project who was associated with elegic variations of orchestral sound fragments. Soon after its release, "Herbstlaub" helped to shape the sound of many aspiring artists such as Rafael Anton Irisarri and Deaf Centre and was considered to be a kind of blueprint for the now popular Neo Classics- genre. With "Nostalgia", Marsen Jules now delivers the eagerly awaited follow up to "Herbstlaub", six years after its initial release. The eight tracks on the CD all have a strong taste of yearning and melancholia that picks things up where Jules left them on his last album in 2005. Ever more than before, orchestral elements are now the centre of the elegiac sound tableaus. These fragments allow the willing listener to get a small, but nevertheless intense glimpse into the unique sonic array that Marsen Jules is capable of creating. Desire, rebellion and mortality are the three central motifs that get explored over the curse of the 43 minutes running time. The opener "A Moment of Grace" transports the listener deeply into the musical universe of Marsen Jules by marrying fragile strings with sparse electronic elements. With its dramatic strings, the name giving track "Nostalgia" oscillates between stasis and motion, between rebellion and resignation. With "Shadow/ Waltz" and "Endless Whisper Of The Old Brigade", Marsen Jules explores the darker side of his sonic continuum by painting ethereal, droning ambient soundscapes. After two dark and distortive tracks, the album finds back to its dreamier side with "Sweet Sweet Longing" and "Kunderas Dream". Finally, Marsen Jules releases the listener into a better, more peaceful world with the hauntingly beautiful "Sleep My Brother, Sleep". With his spherical compositions, "Nostalgia" offers the perfect soundtrack for windy spring nights for everybody only remotely interested in Ambient, Electronica and Modern Classical music.

[OKTAF02] - Marsen Jules Trio - "Les Fleurs Variations"

The self-proclaimed sound poet Marsen Jules generated quite a lot of buzz with his classical inspired ambient album "Les Fleurs" that was originally released on the Berlin based label City Centre Offices in 2006. Eight musical miniatures were carefully selected to appeal to fans of home listening classics such as Kompakt's well-known "Pop Ambient" series. Throughout the whole album, Marsen created a complex web of sounds, consisting of musical fragments of harp, vibraphone and classical jazz sounds. "Les Fleurs" was often described as a timeless piece of heartfelt music, whose title was always more to Jules' than just a reference to the simple beauty of floral arrangements. The tracks on the album were supposed to resemble the whole life-span of a flower from its beautiful blossom to its bittersweet decay. For his live act, Marsen Jules gets accompanied by his long term friends Anwar and Jan-Phillip Alam on violin and piano. Out of this cooperation grew the Marsen Jules Trio, which is now proud to present their first EP, "Les Fleurs Variations". The four tracks, released on Marsen's own label OKTAF, are only a small appetizer of what to expect from them in the near future. On "Les Fleurs Variations", the spheric ambient sounds of the original get enriched by the organic violin and piano play of the Alam brothers. The result is reminiscent of the timeless modern classical arrangements of the likes of Eric Satie, Olivier Messiaen and Claude Debussy. "Les Fleurs Variations" is an impressive cooperation that has both tranquil and frantic moments.

[OKTAF01] - Marsen Jules - "Yara (Remastered)"

With „Yara“, one of Marsen Jules' most important albums to date will now be made available on CD for the first time. With a completely reworked and remastered version, Marsen Jules fulfills his wish to release this gem from the backcatalogue of the internet-label Thinner in a way it will get the attention it deserves. On his follow-up to „Lazy Sunday Funerals“, Marsen Jules continues to work on his vision of blending other-worldly strings with fragile ambient sounds. The resulting compositions are reminiscent of the deep, atmospheric sounds of the „Pop Ambient“ compilations on KOMPAKT, but in their minimalistic approach also pay respect to experimental composers such as Steve Reich and Eric Satie.