FERRARI Presque Rien Nr.1, Societé II / Konstantin Simonovitch | 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.

Mastered & cut from the original analogue ¼ inch 2-track master tapes by Rainer Maillard and Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios.

Limited and numbered edition, featuring original artwork and a newly designed, beautifully crafted collector’s sleeve with new liner notes by Bradford Bailey, and pressed on 180g vinyl.