"A couple months after releasing the "Metapop Complex LP" under his moniker deluge [THN069], Jean-Sébastien Roux publishes on Autoplate again. His new EP "from elsewhere to nowhere" is a conceptual work in best Roux tradition, derived from philosophic thoughts about mankind.
As always, the songs stick together to follow a particular concept, evolving it to define new questions. Questions, that remain unanswered, waiting for the listener to be felt and experienced. Musically, while tlons first autoplatian work "acoustic lazy dolls" was more of a minimalistic touch, his recent sound became more synthetic, stylistically developing a style with part reminiscences to early works of Plastikman.
Being asked about the origin of the tracks, Jean-Sébastien states: "From the beginning we ask ourselves how our being on this planet will end. Religous people conjure up the Apocalypse or predict the return of the Messiah. Scientific oriented people consider external activity to finish us up. But if you take a look upon worlds society, will the end be us? We destroy the planet, exploit its resources, exterminate the rainforests, it's animals and continue killing each other. Within the so-called 'developed' industrial societies, egoism plays a major role, where compassion is replaced with rational profit thinking."
"For sure, there is some defiant of this reality and what we do know about is our unconciousness. We care about the end of our own life and don't seem to realize that the world is actually ending because of us. It's our own fault that we seem to be lost, but do we know it yet? Is there a chance for us to wake up and realize that we are now at a certain turn of this planet. Are we able to make this place a home for everyone or is the Abyss closer than we can expect today?"
Let's change the perspectives and switch from the meta level to the musical point of view. Here, Roux predominantly combines carefully reduced beats with distant pads and echolot TB-303's. Clicky sounds and a warm carpet of sinebass introduce the preamble "may we be us?". Slowly a TB-303 rises, sustained by wispy strings in the background. The second piece "escaping the land" feels like a distant breeding environment, dark like our deepest fears, minatory and intensivly, like escaping from reality, that surrounds us every day and when it overruns us - silence remains. The epic "in the shadow of unexpactation" is set like the arduous march of the human race through time.
So what can we do? Who are we, arriving and departing "from elswhere to nowhere". What is the essence of human nature? Is it to create or to destroy - is this all "about us"? Are we aware of that? Once again we have to focus on ourselves. Like a central theme the TB-303 connects this track to "may we be us?".
Changing scenes with "do we belong here?" - distorted signals crossing the ocean, hampering communcation between whales and misguiding them so they end up stranding at the beach, awaiting a creeping death. Is it time to say "farewell" to this planet? Would earth cry for us and then slowly regenerate to awake again, covering the planet with endless green?
We don't know and so does the last track, fittingly entitled 'untitled' - soft and smooth string brawls like an ocean - just as if earth and mankind happen to come together ..." (From the Autoplate's release page)

"Initially the motivation behind our new compilation was to build a sequel to the 2003 'Silent Season Dub' compilation - to blend warm ambient with minimal dub concepts. But during the phasis of collecting tracks we figured that this compilation will turn out more experimental, more rough than than the reference. So we decided to put things into a new context, that would either underline the variety of concepts but also stand for each artists own formular of sound: 'Crossways'.
Herein, electronic music with rather minimal rhythmpatterns are crossed with spheric ambience, in different moods, different slopes and different colours. The listener is able to find warm ambient pieces like 'Warm Night Lullaby' by Transient or more dubbed out ambience with Zen Savauges 'Sunken Streetlights'. You can lose yourself in the organic cycles of Boris Heizmann's 'Azure' or drift along with 'Scrap of Truth' by Selffish. But If you feel like enjoying some darker felt material then you'd like to explore the realms of Sgnl_Fltr's chamber dub in 'All Form' by or listening to the crickets resting in Kenneth Kirschner's 'June 8, 2003 (excerpt)'. Generally said, if you're interested in the contemporary minimal electronics of 2005 you'll definately find the one or other piece within this compilation that will suit you fine.
As the music crosses the flash artwork of this releases does so, too - if you reload the page you'll figure changing background pictures of the cover artwork. The pictures were taken in several countries where Joerg (Digitalverein) has performed in a Thinner context. Note that this compilation is split into 3 parts, each part about 60 minutes of length. If you want to enjoy the compilation mixed then you can download the Crossways Mix by Selffish." (From the Thinner's release page)

"If you ever happen to visit Montreal one day and by times decide to go to a restaurant to have a good meal you might unwittingly enter the realm of one of Montreal's most secret musicians. At this particular place there's a good chance that the music surrounding you is Thinner and the creator of your meal is nobody else than Jean-Sébastien Roux aka deluge. Jean-Sébastien is not only creative behind the kitchen stove - after work he keeps being immersed in his work, but then it's in front of his computer with headphones on.
"Creating music is always dragging me deep into something I don't really handle; I like being tranported by the music and feel the abandon of creation. The reason why I create 'deluge' apart of 'tlon' is for this simple reason: tlon is my experimentation aspect, and deluge is my playful aspect. It's like reading a book by Deleuze and then reading a Marvel comic, it's about different moods and catching the train within. My new album 'The Metapop complex' is the result of an interior battle between mentality and body language." If last years first deluge release on Thinner called "Departure in affection ..." would be painted in soft orange then the new album "The Metapop complex" is painted into blurry blue. But how could that transition in colours being explained?
After "Departure in affection ..." Jean-Sébastien tried to focus on doing more accessable, clubby tracks that would be easier to get into. From this point of composition the "Metapop EP" arised, whose 4 tracks now form the basis of this conherent and homogene new album by one of Montreal's most reclusive musicians. Since Jean-Sébastien is more sort of the bedroom producer trying to find the sound behind the sound his current state of mind allowed to expand the existing EP into an LP while keeping the context.
Hereby, the title can be read as a division, or a certain level of creation, to search for non-mental music. Why a complex? Roux considers his music to be straight to the point, always subtle but yet intense. There is something brave and profound in the sound, that is like transposing a kid's dream about being a Superhero and saving people in music, just like in a Marvel comic.
Soundslike, this album works with many analogue-tinged elements that reminiscent to the mid-90s sound aesthetics, a certain level of technology that has almost died-out since most releases of today link to the most current dsp-plugins available. After Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and similar bands, Roux's total immersion into electronic music has been mostly accomplished with the Warp catalogue, Transmat and the essential Detroit stuff. And that's exactly with the idea of deluge with the Metapop Complex, a less sparkling and more direct sound. "I may want this project be an open mind creator, in opposition with tlon who's really into soundscape and research and intensity. Tlon looks inside - deluge looks outside."" (From the Thinner's release page)