DESTIINO Destiino LP

Back in 2017, Yuksek (né Pierre-Alexandre Busson) was invited to take part in a unique experiment: a residence at visual artist Xavier Veilhan’s Studio Venezia. The installation, a part of the 57th Venice Biennale, invited musicians to make use of its instruments in order to compose live in front of an audience. The Rheims-born electronic producer came back from his Venetian sojourn with a desire to explore new sonic horizons, to break with conventional creative processes and surrender to spontaneity by recording improvised tracks in one go on his armada of analogue machines. Thus was born the Destiino project, a sort of tormented alter ego for Yuksek. One that favours dark atmospheres, textures, and feverish flights of melodic fancy. But what came out of these experimental sessions (taking place both in Venice and Busson’s Rheims studio) almost didn’t see the light of day. By its own admission, the artist didn’t quite know what to make of the unclassifiable tracks, which comprised both pieces that were too moody for dance-music labels and others that were too clubby for more experimental imprints. It was with Lumière Noire, a label that is all about defying classification, that the project found an open ear.

Along with label boss Chloé, who shares the same inclination towards shifting away from club formats and telling stories with sound, he came up with an edit that kept these artistic experimentations' raw aspects. The result of these exchanges between the two artists will be a double release: EP Afsila (January 2021) and full length Destiino (March 2021). The former oscillates between electronica and acid-tinged techno (“Afsila”, “La Jungle”), while the second tome features a larger sonic palette that will strike a familiar chord with the versatile artist’s aficionados. Indeed, the album can be seen as the synthesis of his various musical experiments: from the discoid “Rodouard” to the electro of “C’est pas des oiseaux”, the opus also encompasses more experimental, lo-fi excursions like “Tropicante”, which calls to mind his recent scores for film, television and theatre. Through invitations to dance and more introspective movements, the album remains melodic and psychedelic, making it a confinement-perfect soundtrack to a living room dancefloor.

A1. Venezia (Opening)
A2. La Vrille
A3. O Pato
A4. Tropicante
A5. C’est Pas Des Oiseaux
B1. Rodouard
B2. Bald Trip
B3. La Vallée Des Corbeaux
B4. Venezia (Closing)