“Immineo means the imminence of something to come. The anticipation of an unknown future that, whatever the cost, will be,” says French instrumentalist Loup Barrow about his new album (out today: June 7, 2024 via Sonic Ritual). Throughout the seven tracks that make up Immineo, Loup has captured the anticipation of that unknown future. Escaping from the chaos of Paris to Brittany’s western tip of Finistère – which the French call Penn ar Bed (translated to “The end of the world”) – with only the necessities and his Cristal Baschet, a very unique, rare, and delicate glass organ comprised of 56 chromatically-tuned glass rods. So scarce is this otherworldly instrument that only a handful of them exist in the world and Loup is only one of five professional musicians who perform with it.
“The landscape in Finistère has preserved its fierce beauty and authenticity which shaped the sound of the music I wrote,” he says. With Immineo, he explores the infinite power of the wilderness around us. From his walks at dawn on a wild coast battered by the elements, Loup drew a mystical inspiration for the album. Each piece is a call to transcendence, a quest, a sense of wonder in front of a formidable palette of landscapes, contrasting almost as much as the light that bathed them throughout the day. Take, for instance, “Passio,” the first single off the album, which saw Loup channeling emotional depths to deliver a unique and contemplative piece in which he says, “the acceptance of impossible love brings tender nostalgia.” Whereas the second single “Abdita Telluris” is a “call to the open sea, to creative reverie, a sense of wonder.” “De Profundis,” on the other hand, seems to cascade in to create a resonant, dynamic moan, what he calls “a pagan prayer.” Elsewhere, dueling strings alongside the Cristal Baschet drive “Harmonia Noctis” through a simple yet striking melody, one that navigates across intricate, occasionally jarring rhythms that sound like the mysterious bumps and knocks of a decrepit home during a quiet night. The spare percussion throughout the brief “Ex Tempore” –– and the entirety of Immineo –– echoes as if emanating from a velveteen chamber.
The first in an upcoming triptych of albums exploring the Cristal Baschet, Immineo is a realm where vast, imposing strings, muted horns and minimalist percussion drift as if untethered from earthly rhythms, recalling echoes of Charles Ives, Arvo Pärt and other impressionistic 20th century modernist composers, and the inspiration of 11th-century German composer, philosopher and Christian mystic Hildegarde Von Bingen.
With the slow tempo of the pieces inviting in introspection and deep listening, Loup has composed an album that musically exposes our paradoxes, our dreams, our losses, our internal struggles and our bitter sweetness. Through the unique and haunting tones of the Cristal Baschet, he immerses the listener into the powerful sound of the orchestra working in osmosis with the rich harmonics of the instrument. A profoundly moving work, those attuned to Loup’s Immineo will exit the experience carrying a newfound sense of wonder.
Immineo is available on all streaming platforms today June 7, 2024 via Sonic Ritual.