Expo Botanica DISCOGS

Description

Cosmic Analog Ensemble is the brainchild of prolific Lebanese music producer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane, a one-man musical force who writes, performs and produces all of its creative output. In little more than a decade, Megarbane has released over 100 albums, offering an experimental musical diary of his late-night improvised sessions, recorded across Beirut, Nairobi, Paris, London and Lisbon __ the various cities he_s called home. Released under CAE and multiple other aliases such as Trans-Mara Express, Tapeman No.1, Free Association Syndicate and Monumental Detail, Megarbane_s vast discography is archived on his own independent label and digital platform Hisstology, a window into his expansive yet insular musical universe, in which he plays (almost) every part.

Since 2009, Megarbane has released 31 albums under the Cosmic Analog Ensemble moniker, through which he_s developed his trademark sound of abstract analog library music for the 21 st century, soaked in the golden sunshine of the Mediterranean coast. _Expo Botanica_ is CAE_s latest offering, due to be released on vinyl via Hisstology Records on June 24th 2022 with a global physical distribution through Big Wax Records. Expo Botanica completes a trilogy of CAE albums, following the critically-acclaimed LPs _Une Vie Cent Detours_ and _Les Sourdes Oreilles_. _Une Vie Cent Detours_, was dubbed by Pitchfork as _A major landmark on Megarbane_s musical travels_ . The 2017 full-length _Les Sourdes Oreilles_, CAE_s first vinyl release, was hailed by Bandcamp as _a crate-digger_s dream, a magnum force of infectious grooves and sample-ready melodies that feel rare and familiar at the same time._

Fronted by an abstract painting by Megarbane, _Expo Botanica_ features 16 instrumental tracks, each one the theme for the imagined life of a plant. Capturing the carefree innocence of the playground in its meandering melodies, _Expo Botanica_ could easily be the soundtrack to a 1970s children_s film, harking back to an era when they were scored by legendary composers like Piero Umiliani. The album illustrates Megarbane_s mastery of beautifully simplistic melodies with the kind of hypnotic hook that sticks in the mind for days. An album of two parts, Side A sets a tranquil atmosphere with whimsical European-style cinematic soundtracks, while Side B serves up infectious organ grooves, funk-laden breaks and tumbling Oriental psychedelic pop melodies. A master sonic illusionist, Megarbane is the maestro of his own fictional orchestra.