A new label, a new album a quarter of a century after the first… If every album is a new beginning, this is especially true for Jérôme Didelot and Orwell.
Through his own musical projects (Orwell, Son Parapluie) and collaborations (Variety Lab, Cascadeur…), Jérôme Didelot has distinguished himself with dozens of tracks over the past two decades, songs that have traveled the world.
The last few years have been rather recreational, notably with the collective project Son Parapluie, which was presented at the 2023 Transmusicales festival in Rennes. A favorite of programmer Jean-Louis Brossard, Son Parapluie performed without the Scottish singer Isobel Campbell, who sings on the album and was unavailable for the festival; she was replaced by Armelle Pioline (Holden, SuperBravo). As for Orwell's last release, it was a mini-album of Simple Minds covers, Simple Minded (2024).
For Composite, Jérôme Didelot refocused on his songwriting to explore its foundations. Thus, the album's 11 tracks can be seen as a distillation of what makes Orwell so distinctive: demanding compositions where crystal-clear melodies vie with ambitious arrangements, unleashing a torrent of strings, brass, choirs, flutes, and vibraphones.
The French lyrics—with the exception of the track "Long is the Race"—continue the path laid out since the band's first mini-album released in 2000, where universal themes are hinted at behind cryptic phrases (Tout n’arrive qu’à moi, Tellement sans…). An ode to perseverance, the first single, Tout jusqu’au bout (Soltanto), takes the listener on a sun-drenched journey, guided by a haunting flute, where the contours are defined by layers of violins, vibraphone, and horns.
For this album, Jérôme Didelot reunited Orwell's usual collaborators: Régis Nesti, Emmanuel Harang, Sarah Tanguy, Jacques Tellitocci, and Renaldo Greco, along with several additional musicians to adorn these new songs with luxurious arrangements. Of course, long-time members Alexandre Longo and Thierry Bellia are also involved. And Yann Arnaud (Air, Syd Matters…) handled the mixing.
25 years after the release of the first mini-album, which was praised at the time by publications like Les Inrocks and Libération, Composite is conceived as a kind of compilation, but of new original tracks, revisiting the foundational elements of Orwell's sound.
