FERRARI Presque Rien No. 1; Société II / Avantgarde | Deutsche Grammophon

Luc Ferrari’s Presque Rien No. 1 (1967–70) and Société II (1967) stand among the most radical works of the twentieth-century avant-garde.  

With Presque Rien No. 1 (Daybreak at the Seaside), Ferrari pioneered the use of untreated environmental recordings as complete musical material – capturing the sounds of a Croatian fishing village at dawn to create what he called a “soundscape.” Stripped of manipulation or conventional composition, it marked a decisive shift toward sonic minimalism and ecological listening, influencing generations of experimental artists. 

In stark contrast, Société II (And if the piano were a woman’s body), scored for piano, percussion, and ensemble, embodies Ferrari’s politically charged, theatrical side. Written amid the social upheavals of the late 1960s, it stages a feminist allegory in which performers vie for dominance, blending structure, improvisation, and satire. 

By pairing these two works – one purely environmental, the other instrumental – on a single album, Ferrari collapsed the boundaries between electronic and acoustic music, redefining what composition could be and establishing a model of expressive multiplicity that continues to shape experimental sound today. 

The vinyl was mastered and cut from the original analogue 2-track master tapes by Rainer Maillard and Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios and features original artwork and a newly designed, beautifully crafted collector’s sleeve. It is released as a limited and numbered edition on 1 May and is now available for exclusive pre-order in the DG store.