[preview] Raiden Béton Armé

Raiden - Béton Armé LP (OffKey) by Raiden

During the mid-to-late 20th century the predominant style in Architecture turned toward the stark and functional. Known as Brutalism, this typically modernist style is defined by angular, geometric forms, proudly expressing the poured concrete that the buildings were constructed from as a feature in itself.
The term, coined by British architects Peter & Alison Smithson in the 1950s, derives from the French, brut. In English, raw. Honest and for all to see. Truth to materials.
The movement took hold, not uniquely, in the United Kingdom during the postwar effort to rebuild and restructure the nation. The philosophy was of function, a utopian dream standing proud and imposing alongside the natural landscape. Brutalism was synonymous with the outlook of the United Kingdom during that time: utility over ornament.
When I began to think about this album—my first—the theme of Brutalist architecture was already at the front of my mind. A particular reason for this is that being a travelling artist one thing I would notice in any new place is the architecture, and the thread of Brutalism has been apparent to me all over of the world.
I envisaged this album in the same way I imagine the Brutalist buildings were by their architects: proud, imposing and direct. Like the buildings, the music is built to last and outlive trends.
There is an attempt at interpretation and re-presentation of Brutalist architecture behind this album, particularly with respect to the human relationship with the built environment. The marriage of organic and manufactured—of natural percussion and synthetic sound—is the prism through which Béton Armé represents Brutalism.
— Chris Jarman / Raiden
Drops 13 June 2011 on Offkey.

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