Over the course of her career, spanning three-plus decades, Laetitia Sadier has never shied away from the hard topics, or stopped advocating for the possibility of self determination and emancipation in the face of the powers that be, conscious or unconscious. This is an essential part of the foundation she co-built with Stereolab, showcasing her spiritual, scientific and sociopolitical inquiries. She’s continued this process with Monade and under her own name and as a writer/singer/and musician whose every album acts as a report on her journey of the self through time, space and the collective.

On Rooting For Love, the report is set alight by the heat of a turbulent world, collapsing institutions and Laetitia’s fully engaged process of expression as well as orchestration. The opening number, “Who + What” elucidates the central issue of the album: a call for a collective striving for Gnosis – an inquisitive outlook that will lend clues to the traumatized civilizations of Earth, allowing us to evolve away from millennia of alienation and suffering and towards the achievability of healing. The musical arrangements help to embody the layers of the issue, as with “Who + What”’s combination of organ, synths, guitar, bass, trombone, drum programming, vibraphone and zither, all working along intricate paths of chord and tempo changes. Leading from the inside is the implacable presence of Laetitia Sadier, herself interacting with a vocal assembly of men and women billed as The Choir. The regular reappearance of The Choir throughout Rooting For Love is a reminder of this music being one of a people in critical mass, in addition to an evolution that continues to deepen the rich harmonic fields in which Laetitia plays.

Past wounds are addressed again and again in the libretto, as the music provides a transformational balm to aid the healing process. The melodic funk of bassist Xavi Muñoz leads a Chic-adjacent slink to the occasional dance floor vibes and no-wave rockouts, while Hannes Plattemier and Emma Mario take turns in mixing the tracks and informing the far reaches of the material, with vibes, additional drum programming and synths alongside a talented cast of players and singers from Laetita’s Source Ensemble and beyond.

Whether drawing inspiration from Zen Shiastu training, or the lyrics of Véronique Vincent, (lyricist and singer for Aksak Maboul, and once upon a time, lead singer of the Honeymoon Killers), Laetitia faces the truth without flinching. The shadows, whatever stuff they are made of - individual and collective, present and ancestral - need to be recognized and acknowledged, because the more we heal within ourselves, the more undivided we become in the face of looming Neo-fascist/Neoliberal narratives polluting the inner and outer landscapes. As with the cover image of the winter tree mirrored by the word patterns of Rooting For Love, Laetitia maintains that how we heal the world that’s coming, and what we make of it, will be a co-creation. The quality of our imagination, the orientation we give our thoughts and the capacity to bring love to ourselves and the world are a first step.

Alongside of her collaboration with Modern Cosmology, last year’s incredible What Will You Grow Now?, as well as her continued tours with a reformed Stereolab, Rooting For Love finds Laetitia back in the world, once again urging all our grounded inner alignment and heart power to make us better equipped for creating what’s to come.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A deeply psychedelic journey through whimsical french psych-folk, airy downbeat and hazy funk-adjecent groove. It's got the spirit of early Stereolab (for good reason) but lightened with a majestic, excitable pop sensibility. A really beautiful journey.

TRACK LISTING

01 Who + What
02 Proteiformunite
03 Une Autre Attente
04 The Dash
05 Don’t Forget You’re Mine
06 Panser L’inacceptable
07 The Inner Smile
08 La Nageuse Nue
09 New Moon
10 Cloud 6

Love Record Stores Edition available instore from 10am on Saturday September 4th, any remaining copies will be available on online from 9pm on the same day.
Limited to one per person.

Nanocluster Vol 1. is an album with some serious pedigree. It sees Immersion (aka Malka Spigel and Colin Newman of influential groups Minimal Compact and Wire respectively) collaborating with some of the finest left field artists of our era: Tarwater, Laetitia Sadier, Ulrich Schnauss and Scanner. The project was born out of a Brighton based club night, also called Nanocluster, run by Spigel and Newman alongside writer, broadcaster and DJ Graham Duff, and promoter Andy Rossiter. The club features a range of influential and cutting edge music acts. But the unique aspect of the evenings is that each show climaxes with a one off collaboration between Immersion and the headliners. The songs having been written and recorded in the studio in just three days prior to the performance - or one day in the case of Schnauss. “It could have just been a series of performances.” Says Newman.
 “But the fact that we had built the tracks in the studio for the performances means we had these recordings.” Says Spigel. The recordings have since been developed with Immersion heading up pro- duction duties. The result is a beautiful and unique album.
 “I think the really interesting thing is how different everybody is,” says Spigel. “Both as people and creatively.”
Immersion and Tarwater
The German duo of Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram have created an impressive body of work. Yet their involvement with Immersion has opened out their sound, creating a more panoramic soundscape. The opening instrumental ‘Ripples’ is a gentle breathe of optimism, all purring tones and sun dazzled synths. Meanwhile, ‘Mrs. Wood’ is a dubby psychedelic shuffle, Lippok’s vocal cool and assured over a fat bass line and skybound eastern melodics. It feels like a more spacious take on the Tarwater of albums such as ‘Suns, Animals and Atoms‘. The four musicians’ 3rd collaboration is Nanocluster’s most pop moment: with a heartfelt yet unsentimental lyric unfurling over feline rhythms, ‘All You Cat Lovers’ is a feel-good anthem for cat lovers everywhere.
Immersion and Laetitia Sadier
An original and distinctive presence in contemporary music, Sadier made her name with the inimitable Stereolab, but she’s also created several impressive solo works. The instrumental ‘Unclustered’ sees Sadier’s spidery guitar weaving through Immersion’s lush web of synths drones. The following ‘Uncensored’ has a subtle melodic tug with a classic Spigel guitar line underpinning Sadier’s sweet yet worldly wise vocal. ‘Riding the Wave’ is another feel good song, swapping between Newman’s plaintive vocal, and Spigel’s vocal and Sadier’s backing vocals. With its uplifting chorus: ‘Things have a way of working out’ ‘Riding The Wave’ feels like it might be the sound of the summer we’ve all been waiting for.
Immersion & Ulrich Schnauss
A highly respected solo artist, as well as being a member of Tangerine Dream, Schnauss’ skill with electronics is legendary.
The opening ‘Remember Those Days On The Road’ skips along on a rimshot rhythm with Spigel’s honeyed vocal telling a tale of life on tour. Yet it is far removed from such usual fare. This feels vulnerable and flecked with melancholy. ’Skylarks’ opens with a lattice of arpeggios before a gently nag- ging guitar enters and everything takes a turn for the sublime. ‘So Much Green’ is everything you’d hope a collaboration between Newman, Spigel and Schnauss could be. A constantly spiralling urban-kosmisch, with Spigel’s plangent bass anchoring the celestial sounds. The addition of her wordless backing vocals and recordings of real birdsong only serve to elevate the mood further.
Immersion & Scanner
Scanner - aka Robin Rimbaud - is one of the most prolific and diverse artists currently working in contemporary music. Spigel and Newman have of course collaborated extensively with Rimbaud before: alongside Max Franken in the art-pop group Githead. But this is something very different. Their opening piece together: ‘Cataliz’ is the album’s moodiest moment. With its serpentine synth drones it sounds like the soundtrack to a mysterious thriller. The rich pulsing ‘Metrosphere’ recalls Immersion’s early work whilst adding another layer of grainy uncertainty. The closing ‘The Mundane and the Profound’ opens with a “Rimbaud scanned” recording of an irritated flight attendant but this is eventually subsumed by a simple yet emotive piano figure: a gentle and touching end to a unique collection of songs.
Nanocluster Vol.1 is a testament to a remarkable synergy between a diverse assembly of strongly individual talents. The fact that it not only succeeds, but excels should be cause for celebration. 

TRACK LISTING

Immersion, Tarwater. 1. Ripples // 2. Mrs. Wood // 3. All You Cat Lovers
Immersion, Laetitia Sadier. 4. Unclustered // 5. Uncencored // 6. Riding The Wave
Immersion, Ulrich Schnauss. 7. Remember Those Days On The Road // 8. Skylarks // 9. So Much Green
Immersion, Scanner. 10. Cataliz // 11. Metrosphere // 12. The Mundane And The Profound

Nanocluster Vol 1. is an album with some serious pedigree. It sees Immersion (aka Malka Spigeland Colin Newman of influential groups Minimal Compact and Wire respectively) collaborating with some of the finest left field artists of our era: Tarwater, Laetitia Sadier, Ulrich Schnauss and Scanner. The project was born out of a Brighton based club night, also called Nanocluster, run by Spigel and Newman alongside writer, broadcaster and DJ Graham Duff, and promoter Andy Rossiter. The club features a range of influential and cutting edge music acts. But the unique aspect of the evenings is that each show climaxes with a one off collaboration between Immersion and the headliners. The songs having been written and recorded in the studio in just three days prior to the performance -or one day in the case of Schnauss. “It could have just been a series of performances.” Says Newman.“But the fact that we had built the tracks in the studio for the performances means we had these recordings.” Says Spigel. The recordings have since been developed with Immersion heading up pro-duction duties. The result is a beautiful and unique album.“I think the really interesting thing is how different everybody is,” says Spigel. “Both as people and creatively.” Immersion and Tarwater The German duo of Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram have created an impressive body of work. Yet their involvement with Immersion has opened out their sound, creating a more panoramic soundscape.

The opening instrumental ‘Ripples’ is a gentle breathe of optimism, all purring tones and sun dazzled synths. Meanwhile, ‘Mrs. Wood’ is a dubby psychedelic shuffle, Lippok’s vocal cool and assured over a fat bass line and skybound eastern melodics. It feels like a more spacious take on theTarwater of albums such as ‘Suns, Animals and Atoms‘. The four musicians’ 3rd collaboration is Nanocluster’s most pop moment: with a heartfelt yet unsentimental lyric unfurling over feline rhythms, ‘All You Cat Lovers’ is a feel-good anthem for cat lovers everywhere.Immersion and Laetitia Sadier An original and distinctive presence in contemporary music, Sadier made her name with the inimitable Stereolab, but she’s also created several impressive solo works. The instrumental ‘Unclustered’ sees Sadier’s spidery guitar weaving through Immersion’s lush web of synths drones. The following ‘Uncensored’ has a subtle melodic tug with a classic Spigel guitar line underpinning Sadier’s sweet yet worldly wise vocal.

‘Riding the Wave’ is another feel good song, swapping between Newman’s plaintive vocal, and Spigel’s vocal and Sadier’s backing vocals. With its uplifting chorus: ‘Things have a way of working out’ ‘Riding The Wave’ feels like it might be the sound of the summer we’ve all been waiting for.Immersion & Ulrich Schnauss A highly respected solo artist, as well as being a member of Tangerine Dream, Schnauss’ skill with electronics is legendary. The opening ‘Remember Those Days On The Road’ skips along on a rimshot rhythm with Spigel’s honeyedvocal telling a tale of life ontour. Yet it is far removed from such usual fare. This feels vulnerable and flecked with melancholy. ’Skylarks’ opens with a lattice of arpeggios before a gently nag-ging guitar enters and everything takes a turn for the sublime. ‘So Much Green’ is everything you’d hope a collaboration between Newman, Spigel and Schnauss could be. A constantly spiralling urban-kosmisch, with Spigel’s plangent bass anchoring the celestial sounds. The addition of her wordless backing vocals and recordings of real birdsong only serve to elevate the mood further.Immersion & Scanner

Scanner -aka Robin Rimbaud -is one of the most prolific and diverse artists currently working in contemporary music. Spigel and Newman have of course collaborated extensively with Rimbaud before:alongside Max Franken in the art-pop group Githead. But this is something very different. Their opening piece together: ‘Cataliz’ is the album’s moodiest moment. With its 2serpentine synth drones it sounds like the soundtrack to a mysterious thriller. The rich pulsing ‘Metrosphere’ recalls Immersion’s early work whilst adding another layer of grainy uncertainty. The closing ‘The Mundane and the Profound’ opens with a “Rimbaud scanned” recording of an irritated flight attendant but this is eventually subsumed by a simple yet emotive piano figure: a gentle and touching end to a unique collection of songs.Nanocluster Vol.1 is a testament to a remarkable synergy between a diverse assembly of strongly individual talents. The fact that it not only succeeds, but excels should be cause for celebration

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's a seriously talented lineup here, resulting in a wonderfully rewarding and varied set of pieces from the leading lights of the avant/electronica scene. I'm particularly taken with the Scanner pieces, but as a massive fan of Sadier as well, it's a no-brainer. Top stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ripples 
2. Mrs. Wood 
3. All You Cat Lovers Immersion, Laetitia Sadier.
4. Unclustered 
5. Uncencored 
6. Riding The Wave Immersion, Ulrich Schnauss.
7. Remember Those Days On The Road 
8. Skylarks 
9. So Much Green Immersion, Scanner.
10. Cataliz 
11. Metrosphere 
12. The Mundane And The Profound

A 4 song EP of remixes of songs from A Grape Dope's "Backyard Bangers" album. Featured remixers are Laetitia Sadier (of Stereolab), Four Tet, Jeff Parker (of Tortoise), and Roberto Carlos Lange (also known as Helado Negro).

Laetitia Sadier adds an air of whimsy, holding your hand as she guides you through the enchanted woodland of “Rat’s It Up”.

Jeff Parker's wobbly-refix reminds me of classic Derrick Carter! Shuffled and twisted to within an inch of toppling over; it's overlapping arpeggios, hushed robo-vox and multitude of intertwining melodies an overwhelming excursion into peak tech-house territory that'd make Suat squirm!

Side B begins with a more relaxed, jazz-indebted affair, Roberto Carlos' remix of "You Don't Have To" a traditionally informed, though rhythmically challenging number comprised of dry drums, piano, bass and some echo-drenched SFX.

Completing the record, Four Tet swirls the stems of "Rainbo Locals" into the stratosphere for a dizzying and highly elevating twist which seems destined to turn craniums inside out when unleashed on a mass of people.

Nice set of remixes to compliment a very nice album indeed. 10 outta 10.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rats It’s Up (Laetitia Sadier Remix)
2. Rats It's Up (Jeff Parker Remix)
3. You Don't Have To (Roberto Carlos Lange Remix)
4. Rainbo Locals (Four Tet Remix)

Another New Year, and new shapes are forming — if only we are fortunate enough to notice them! As we spin through this world, we are witness to all manner of combinations unfolding before us — familiar arcs and breaking waves alike, upon all of which it is our choice, our chance and our challenge, to possibly ride. Find Me Finding You, the new album from the new organization called the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, manages to strike new chords while touching familiar keys in the song of life.

From its percolating opening beat, Find Me Finding You locates new systems within the sound-universe of Laetitia Sadier. This in itself isn’t a surprise — Laetitia has relentlessly followed her music through different dynamics and into a variety of dimensions over the course of four solo albums since 2010 (not to forget her three albums with Monade and the long era of Stereolab) — but the nature of the construction here stands distinctly apart from her recent albums. Laetitia was inspired by a mind’s-eye envisaging of geometric forms and their possible permutations. As she sought to replicate the shapes in music, this guided the process of assembly for the album.

Part of the freshness of Find Me Finding You comes from working and playing within the Source Ensemble and exploring new sound combinations via a set of youthful and evolving musical relationships. Laetitia recognized the energy of the tracks in their initial form, and sought to preserve their vitality by not retaking too many performances — instead, the rawness in the tracks was retained and refi ned at the mixing stage, maintaining an edge throughout. When we hear synth lines diving, lifting and drifting, unusual guitar textures, the plucked sound of fl at wound bass strings or the bottomless pulsing of bass pedals stepping out of the mix with an exquisite vibrancy, this is the sound of the Source Ensemble.

A key to Laetitia’s music is her use of vocal arrangements. Throughout Finding Me Finding You, the shifting accompaniment creates space to bring this element gloriously forward. Arranged by Laetitia with Joe Watson and Jeff Parker making string charts that were subsequently transposed to vocal parts for several songs, richly arranged choirs of voices provide depth along with the thrilling presence of extra breath in the sound. Laetitia’s community-politic is well-served by the groups of voices lending support to the machining of the song craft, providing additional uplift to her quintessentially forward-facing viewpoint — as well as massed voices from three different countries sharing space in harmony!

Working in collaboration is Laetita’s traditions, and a key to this album’s view on being free together (it is necessary, preferable and right!). The designation of Source Collective implies a new togetherness phase; alongside long-time collaborators Emmanuel Mario and Xavi Munoz, keyboard and fl utes parts played by David Thayer (Little Tornados) were essential contributions, as well as further keys, synths and electronics from Phil M FU and several intense guitar sequences from Mason le Long. Chris A Cummings (aka Marker Starling, Laetitia’s favorite composer) graciously wrote “Deep Background” for her. The duet with Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor on “Love Captive” (not to mention Rob Mazurek’s distinctive coronet playing!) gives voice to an ideological cornerstone of Find Me Finding You — that, should we be responsible enough to endeavor into a world of basic incomes and open relationships, we would make astonishing strides as a society. These sorts of things can only be done in agreement with others.

Expressing great compassion and expectation with startling immediacy, as well as an abiding belief in an underlying unity that permeates and intimately binds all things and beings, Find Me Finding You combines a rigorous process for music-making with a deeply invested mindset, making captivating music that promises many stimulating spins to come!

TRACK LISTING

Undying Love For Humanity
Double Voice, Extra Voice
Love Captive
Pyschology Active (Finding You)
Committed
Refl Ectors
Deep Background
Galactic Emergence
The Woman With The Invisible Necklace
Sacred Project