Limited edition 7inches: ”Charles F. Bleistift EP”
 
This limited-edition 7” EP follows the release of Aksak Maboul's acclaimed new double LP 'Figures' (out May 22, 2020), which is the legendary experimental pop band’s first real new album in decades. These four tracks are reworks, which don’t appear as such on the album. They unveil the imaginative world of the Figures album, with its unique  instrumentation, its sound collages and diverse, enigmatic moods.   

Tout a une fin (short version)
A tight 3-minute track including a song part (in which Véronique Vincent’s voice performs sinuous variations around the words in the title) and a section featuring electronic, rock and orchestral instrumentation rising to a wild, crescendo finale.
 
Blaue Bleistift
Unveiling some of the more electronic and experimental aspects of the new LP, with its criss-crossing keyboard lines and sound collages. Kind of a mysterious, ambient cousin of Aksak Maboul’s Saure Gurke?
 
C'est Charles (edit)
An edited version of a song which ends on the sound of a crowd chanting slogans (“What we want… Is…”)

Silent Silhouettes
This almost-instrumental track might be evoking a kind of electronic tango, or a dream scene in a Fellini movie?
 
Tout a une fin also comes in the shape of a dizzying music video directed by  animator/collagist Yoann Stehr (whose recent work includes short films for fashion designer Paul Smith).

Just like the Figures album, this EP was written and produced by Marc Hollander & Véronique Vincent  (respectively founder of Aksak Maboul & Crammed Discs, and former vocalist with The Honeymoon Killers). The tracks were  performed by the protagonists with contributions by the rest of band’s current line-up of Faustine Hollander, Lucien Fraipont (Robbing Millions), Erik Heestermans, and by guest such as Fred Frith and members of Aquaserge.




From the press on Aksak Maboul’s Figures:

The long-running Belgian avant-garde band explore complicated gender dynamics on their ambitious new double album. (Pitchfork, US)

Hollander’s inventive arrangements and programming make Aksak Maboul’s music so exhilarating and durable. Mischievous and purposefully eclectic… wide-ranging appeal… (The Wire, UK)

A masterful lesson in contemporary pop. Across 22 tracks, Figures jumps from the craziest experimentations to irresistible pop songs, with joyful ease (Les Inrockuptibles, FR)

The focus is on playfulness and the joy of experimenting. And these delights are contagious. Album of the Week  (ByteFM, DE)