2021 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2002
The Alias Sessions
The Leaf Label 2021 - 2xCD / Digital / 3xLP
The Alias Sessions is the most ambitious and wide-ranging Murcof album to date. Though Corona created the music himself, the recent work is again the product of collaboration. This time with Brazilian-Swiss choreographer Guilherem Botelho and his dance company Alias. The double album contains music done for two of Alias' works, Contre-Mondes (2017) and Normal (2018).
This material is a bit more abstract than his previous works, with plenty of non-tonal sounds that sometimes take centre stage. And where conventional musical elements are used, they are often processed beyond recognition.
On the opening ‘Inner Hunt’, Corona samples and manipulates his voice, turning the plosive attack of various syllables into a digital flutter that hovers between the organic and the virtual.
Other tracks were built from experiments with modular synthesis, like ‘Underwater Lament’, which situates a bubbling sequencer against a backdrop of noise, and ‘Ideology Storm’, which builds tension from a metallic-sounding percussion pattern and an ever-shifting tapestry of hiss and static.
The field recordings of wind and thunder that move through ‘Inevitable Truth’, create an uncanny sonic space in which lines between interior and exterior and analogue and electronic blur completely.
The album will be available as a double CD and spread over six sides of vinyl, cut at 45rpm for best possible sound quality.The vinyl will be packaged in a deluxe spot-varnished gatefold sleeve, with initial pressings including an additional gatefold insert containing extraordinary images from the ‘Contre-Mondes’ performances. An edition of 300 on blood red vinyl will be available exclusively through Norman Records and Bandcamp. A concrete grey vinyl edition of 500 will be available from independent record shops worldwide, as well as a standard black vinyl edition.
CD1 LP Contre-Mondes
1. A1. Inner Hunt
2. A2. Dandelion Heart
3. A3. Unboxing Utopia
4. B1. Nocturnal Sunrise
5. B2. Underwater Lament
6. B3. Inevitable Truth
7. C1. Between Thoughts
8. C2. Dropped Soul
9. C3. Shadow Surfing
CD2 LP Normal.
1. D1. Surface Wear
2. D2. Ideology Storm
3. D3. Dividing Space
4. E1. Fire Thief
5. E2. Systemic Amnesia
6. F1. Unread Letter
7. F2. Void Glance
Lost in Time
Glacial Movements 2018 - CD / Digital
Casino Luxembourg 2014 - 2xLP
The original soundtrack of the film, blends the aria of the Goldberg Variations sung by Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal with a composition by Murcof.
Coproduction Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and Casino Luxembourg. With the support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts. Composed by Murcof, the soundtrack of the film Lost in Time was the subject of a previous double album co-produced by Patrick Bernatchez and the Casino Luxembourg in 2014.
"Harmonically complex and elementally powerful, each piece segues seamlessly as one cohesive, hypnotic whole."
-electronic sound #47
01. Introduction
02. Chapitre I
03. Chapitre II
04. Chapitre III
05. Chapitre IV
06. Chapitre V
07. Chapitre VI
08. Chapitre VII
09. Chapitre VIII
10. Chapitre IX
11. Chapitre X
12. Chapitre XI
13. Epilogue
14. Chapitre N
Murcof & Wagner - Statea
Infine 2016 - CD / Vinyl / Digital
Appearing unusual at first, this collaboration between Mexican Ambient figurehead Fernando Corona (better known as Murcof) and multi-award winning French classical pianist Vanessa Wagner surrenders a sublime logic. Both classically trained, their career paths took different trajectories, but converged toward the same enthusiasm when it comes to minimalism.
The project was initiated in 2010 at InFine's own creative retreat – the Workshop InFine festival in Normandoux next to Poitiers in France. Six years on from that initial meeting, and many captivating performances later, they’ve crafted a unique studio album that captures the essence of their concert.
01. In A Landscape
02. Variations For The Healing Of Arinushka
03. Avril 14th
04. Musica Ricercata No. 2
05. Gnossienne No. 3
06. Piano Piece 1952
07. Farewell, O World, O Earth
08. China Gates
09. Metamorphosis 2
EP01
Infine 2016 - Vinyl / Digital
01. What Arms Are These For You! (Vanessa Wagner Version
02. What Arms Are These For You! (Murcof Version)
03. Gnossienne 3 (Vanessa Wagner Version)
04. Gnossienne 3 (Murcof Version)
EP02
Infine 2017 - Vinyl / Digital
01. Metamorphosis 4
02. Piano Piece 1952 (Version 2)
03. Spiegel Im Spiegel
EP03
Infine 2017 - Vinyl / Digital
1. Avril 14th (Vanessa Wagner Version)
2. In A Landscape (Si Begg Remix)
3. Tyler In The Road (Vanessa Wagner Version)
4. Avril 14th (Loscil Remix)
Martes+Utopia
The Leaf Label 2015 - CD/Digital/Vinyl
Murcof’s 2002 masterpiece Martes re-issued as part of Leaf 20.
Now available on limited edition triple black and white vinyl, it has been resequenced with the original tracks from the subsequent Utopía CD, plus three rarities from the Martes era, in new, updated artwork. Includes a CD of the original Martes album. One of a series of ten landmark albums, reissued on vinyl to celebrate The Leaf Label’s 20th year. Packaged in new, updated artwork, it includes original Martes CD album in miniature Leaf 20 design card wallet, Leaf catalogue inner sleeves and spot varnished Leaf 20 logo on front cover.
A1. Memoria
A2. Marmol
A3. Momento
B1. Maiz
B2. Mo
B3. Mes
C1. Mir
C2. Mapa
C3. Minda
D1. Muim
D2. MFRelay
D3. Unison
E1. Ulysses
E2. Una
F1. Urano
F2. Ultimatum
Murcof & Erik Truffaz - Being Human Being
Mundo 2014 - CD / Vinyl / Digital
The collaborative relationship between French trumpeter Erik Truffaz and Mexican electronic sound sculptor Murcof (Fernando Corona) dates back to 2006, when the pair worked with percussionist Talvin Singh as a live pan-cultural hybrid trio. As a duo they issued the mini album Mexico in 2008, which wove together Truffaz's formal and post-jazz sensibilities with Murcof's fuzzy electronic abstraction.
While Being Human Being isn't an enormous departure sonically, it does hold another dimensional element; namely, the inspiration of French visual artist Enki Bilal, who did the cover especially for this release based on the duo's concept, which ultimately included a film, making this in essence a soundtrack. This is easily heard that way, but it is also more. Opener "Origin of the World" feels like a theme, with Murcof's ambient soundscapes providing a backdrop for Truffaz's emergent, intensely melodic and suggestive bell-like trumpet sounds. But the very next cut, "Warhol," is far more dramatic, with percussive loops, darker textures, layers of reverb, wind instruments, piano, and the implication of a minimally employed sequencer create the body of the tune as Truffaz enters and exits more sparingly. Here, seduction and dread walk hand in hand over nearly 15 minutes. Other highlights included the paranoid futurism of "Chaos," the propulsive "Human Being" -- which, despite its experimental nature, should work well on the club floor -- and the restrained approach of Eastern European post-classical music in "Skin," where cellos, pedals, synths, woodwinds, and a four-note theme dictate a frame for Truffaz on tuba. His trumpet solo, while luxuriating in Murcof's backdrop, is elegant and evocative of both the soundtrack work of Krystof Komeda and Miles Davis' later work with Gil Evans. Being Human Being is compelling and provocative, but lovely all the same.
Thom Jurek - AllMusic
01. Origin of the World
02. Warhole
03. Hybridation
04. Chaos
05. And Nina
06. The Eye
07. Human BeingSkin
08. Infinite Abstract
Murcof & Philip Petit - First Chapter
Aagoo 2013 - CD / Vinyl / Digital
Over the past years, Philippe Petit and Fernando Corona have regularly played live together, undoubtedly refining their collaboration with each new performance and finding the right balance between their respective sound worlds.
The result is this album which equally finds its roots in Murcof’s modern classical influences and Petit’s coarse post modernist soundscaping. The album may barely reach the forty minute mark, but in the space of three tracks, Corona and Petit create a magnificent soundtrack which teems with haunting choral chants, lush string work and unsettling atmospherics.
This album is rooted in ancient myths and legends, borrowing from Greek mythology for "The Call Of Circé", daughter of Helios and powerful enchantress, and winged divine horse "Pegasus", or from Nordic tales of giant squid-like sea monsters on "The Summoning Of The Kraken". This very much characterises the epic proportions of this album, echoing in parts the amplitude of Murcof’s "Cosmos" (Leaf, 2007), and in others Petit’s equally ambitious "Off To Titan" (Karlrecords 2010), but they temper this with much more delicate moments, for which they assemble incredibly detailed and refined atmospheric passages.
-Bruno Lasnier, Boomkat
01. The Call Of Circe
02. Pegasus
03. The Summoning Of The Kraken
La Sangre Iluminada
InFine 2011 - CD / Vinyl / Digital
Intolerancia 2009 (MX) - CD
This soundtrack produced by Murcof was originally released by Mexican label “Intolerancia Records”. InFiné`s reissues includes new editing of the original recordings, remastering by Rashad Becker.
"La Sangre Illuminada" is a feature film directed by Ivàn Dueñas in 2009 and inspired by Jose Carlos Becerra’s poems and It tells the story of six characters who mutate into new bodies. It is a metaphysical drama of intimate proportions.
1. Sangre y Mateo
2. Hugo 1
3. Hugo 2
4. Eugenio I
5. Eugenio II
6. Eugenio III
7. Eugenio IV
8. Paloma I
9. Paloma II
10. Paloma III
11. Paloma IV
12. Paloma V
13. Soriano I
14. Soriano II
15. Isaias
16. Soriano III
17. Isaias II
18. Isaias III
19. Isaias IV
20. Los Angeles Negros - Como Quisiera Decirte (Murcof Mix)
The Versailles Sessions
The Leaf Label 2008 - CD / Vinyl / Digital
GetSound 2008 - CD
In the summer of 2007, Fernando Corona completed a site-specific commission for Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes, an annual festival of sound, light and water at Château de Versailles in France. A suite of music was composed specifically for the grand evening fountain display in the Jardin du Roi. The Versailles Sessions is an aural document of the event.
The six compositions prepared for the project derive entirely from recordings of 17th century baroque instruments (including harpsichord, viola da gamba, flute and violin) and a mezzo soprano. GetSound, who commissioned the project, hired musicians specialized in baroque music in Paris.
“We recorded pieces by Lully, Couperin and others,” says Corona of the sessions. “They were played traditionally, but we also experimented quite a bit with the score and the instruments”.
The recording process may appear to be a departure for an artist known primarily as an electronic musician, but in fact it’s a continuation of techniques Corona has perfected over a number of years. “It’s more or less done in the same fashion as my previous work: processing of previously recorded acoustic material. The only difference is the actual source material being so specific to 17th century baroque music and instruments. And since the recordings are the starting point of the composition process it naturally took me to a different place.”
1. Welcome To Versailles
2. Louis XIV's Demons
3. A Lesson For The Future, Farewell To The Old Ways
4. Death Of A Forest
5. Spring In The Artificial Gardens
6. Lully's "Turquerie" As Interpreted By An Advanced Script
Murcof & Erik Truffaz - Mexico
Blue Note 2008 - CD/Digital
Truffaz, an improvisational jazz trumpeter and Murcof, a glitchy, classically influenced ambient laptop artist are an interesting pairing to begin with. Rather than structuring each piece in a completely democratic format, Truffaz and Murcof seem to take a jazz-like approach; playing off each other and allowing each other to dominate at the appropriate places.
Opener "Al Mediodia" bears the most resemblance to traditional jazz and is based on a simple, syncopated percussion track which Murcof augments with repetitive, glitchy samples here and there. Truffaz dominates the track. his improvisation slinking around and above the rest of the instrumentation.
"Good News From the Desert" is dark piece in which Truffaz takes a backseat, playing simple lines. Truffaz allows Murcof to build up a collage of samples and glitchy, suggestive percussion before he gets a little more involved with wah-effected lines that border on noise and then, finally, closes the track out with a soft, breathy melody.
"Avant L'Aube" is, however, the real highlight here and the most egalitarian, right down to the mixing. The first half of the piece is dark until the climactic modulation in the middle turns it around and it gradually fades out with subtle chord changes and soft, emotive trumpet improvisation.
At 27 minutes minutes long, Mexico is a surprisingly condensed and varied listen. Perhaps the only complaint to be made about it is that it feels like it could have been just as exciting at twice its length.
- br3ad_man, SputnikMusic
1. Al Mediodia
2. Good News From The Desert
3. Avant L'Aube
Cosmos
The Leaf Label 2007 - CD/Digital/Vinyl
Truly monumental in scale, Cosmos is composed almost entirely of recordings of classical instruments, a process which Corona describes as “expanding the sonic possibilities of acoustic instruments through electronics.” It’s a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer, and his seamless integration of these apparently opposed forms is almost unprecedented.
These new recordings were inspired by a very simple motion, the act of tilting the head towards the skies, or as Corona puts it: “Cosmos basically comes from that state of wonder and mystery and joy and humbling that you get when you let your mind wander freely on a starry night, away from the contamination of city lights. From the realization that there's an infinite universe outside the man-made world and how silly this latter one seems in comparison.”
His past approach involved mixing disembodied orchestral passages amidst microbeats, letting a song shift and mutate in a minimal environment. With Cosmos, he has progressed towards a more sophisticated compositional mode. The immensity of tracks like the monolithic twins ‘Cosmos I’ and ‘Cosmos II’ draw to mind the work of the German electronic pioneers of the ‘70s or the Hungarian composer György Ligeti as much as the visceral, low-end rumblings of SunnO))) or Coil. Murcof’s compositions have always been as much about the absence of sound as what you actually hear, and these techniques are further refined here.
1. Cuerpo Celeste
2. Cielo
3. Cosmos I
4. Cometa
5. Cosmos II
6. Oort
Remembranza
The Leaf Label 2005 - CD/Digital/Vinyl
Murcof's innovative approach reaches new heights with Remembranza, his second full album, a record that creates a storied, layered framework within strict micro-boundaries.
His revolutionary work saw him recontextualizing the work of his beloved European contemporary classical composers (including the likes of Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki and Giya Kancheli) within minimal electronic structures. It’s a trick that others have tried to pull off, but none with Corona’s lightness of touch, or widespread appeal. The pieces here incorporate traditional instrumentation recorded especially for the album (including strings, piano and harp), working in tandem with his passion for new and unexplored rhythms.
1. Recuerdos
2. Razon (en 3 partes)
3. Retrato
4. Rostro
5. Ruido
6. Reflejo
7. Resignacion
8. Rios
9. Camino
Utopia
The Leaf Label 2004 - CD/Digital/Vinyl
Utopía features reworkings of tracks from Martes, the two tracks from 2003's exceptional Ulysses 12", both tracks from the Utopía Remixes 12" (April 2004) and two further previously unreleased Murcof tracks, ‘Una’ and ‘Ultimatum’.
More a companion piece to Martes than a prelude to the second album, Utopía distils the essence of the first album into sinuous new forms.
Features remixes by Sutekh, Jan Jelinek, Deathprod, Colleen, Geoff White, Icarus and Fax, alongside four exclusive Murcof cuts.
1. Ulysses
2. Maiz (Der Abschied von Dawson City mix)
3. Ulysses (Deathprod mix)
4. Memoria (Sutekh's Trisagion mix)
5. Urano
6. Maiz (Icarus Mix)
7. Ulysses (Fax Mix)
8. MO (a.mo.re - aeroc mix)
9. Una
10. Muim (Colleen Mix)
11. Ultimatum
Martes
Static Discos, The Leaf Label 2002 - CD/Digital/Vinyl
Fernando Corona's classic debut album as Murcof is a masterpiece of contemporary electronic music, where, for once, soul isn't sacrificed for technique. Rife with a gooseflesh-inducing aura of mystery and suspense, it draws together the apparently divergent disciplines of classical orchestration and electronic minimalism. The result finds lush atmospheric layers of strings and piano restrained by poised micro-rhythms. Martes hovers with effortless grace, intimating untold, unapologetically spiritual depths.
1. Memoria
2. Marmol
3. Maiz
4. Mo
5. Mes
6. Mapa
7. Mir
8. Muim
9. Unison
