Search Results for:

CORTEX

Cortex

Inedit

    'In 1977, it was love at first sight when Mireille and I bought a long 18th-century farmhouse in a remote hamlet in the Seine-et-Marne department called Noisement.

    The barn, with its majestic secular exposed beams, became an original recording studio where Alain Gandolfi settled behind the console.

    Free of any contractual obligations, between two advertising commissions, a regular jazz program on a Radio France FM station, and the recording of jingles and a few albums by neighboring musician friends such as Siegfried Kessler, Rosalie Dubois and Claude Giacomi, we recorded some twenty Cortex tracks here, which would remain unreleased long after our separation in 1981.

    Fortunately rediscovered 25 years later, when I decided to re-form Cortex, the first edition of the “Inedits 79” album had only a limited edition... Until its discovery and the use of a sample of my track “I Heard a Sigh” in Amnésie by Damso.

    This sample became legendary and was later used in the USA by Raekwon and Masta Killa from Wu Tang, Blockhead, Sopico, etc.

    The cover of this new edition by Trad Vibe Records is based on the original poster for Cortex's first concert, created in 1973 by my graphic designer friend Jean-Jacques Grand.

    Thank you all for your support!'

    - Alain Mion founder and leader of Cortex

    TRACK LISTING

    A1.I Heard A Sigh
    A2.Back To My World
    A3.Said I Don
    A4.A Winning Team
    A5.High On The Funk
    A6.Bring My Bonnie Back

    B1.Monin
    B2.Stand And Move
    B3.Hannibal March
    B4.The Sky Is Grey I'm So Blue
    B5.Maïlys
    B6.Emily

    Cortex

    Cortex - 2025 Reissue

    For the first time on vinyl a collection of experimental, spoken-word tracks by Cortex & Alain Neffe, originally released on Neffe's cassette label - Insane Music Contact - in 1984.

    Cortex was never intended to be a conventional musical project. From the very beginning it was centered around free live performances. These encounters were stripped down and highly visual: Alain Neffe constructed a trapezoidal fluorescent white screen lit by black light. The narrator - la récitante - was only illuminated in the face, while the rest of the stage remained in complete darkness. This created a ghostly effect where the audience could see only her glowing face and dark silhouette. She was a beautiful young woman, with a striking presence, and beside her, Alain Neffe played synthesizer and created sonic effects.

    The aim of Cortex was to deliver a minimalist and emotional experience, one centered on text and the voice of the narrator.

    Most of the tracks that exist today were recorded informally during rehearsals, using two microphones placed in front of Marshall amps, captured directly to cassette. La récitante could choose a text from a collection of hundreds. Then, the music was improvised in real time around her voice. That process, simple, direct, and instinctive produced a body of work that’s rough around the edges, but full of presence. It’s not polished, but that’s the point.

    Cortex was focused entirely on the connection between voice and sound. Demonstated quite aptly on this self-titled performance piece.

    Limited to 300 copies

    TRACK LISTING

    A1- X
    A2 - U
    A3 - Y
    A4 - Z
    A5 - P
    A6 - S
    A7 - W
    A8 - M
    A9 - I
    A10 - A

    B1 - AI
    B2 - AF
    B3 - AL


    Latest Pre-Sales

    136 NEW ITEMS

    E-newsletter —
    Sign up
    Back to top