FARRÉ – debut album Above the Noise (release: April 4, 2025 Radicalis Music GmbH)
The present is undeniably loud; Above the Noise offers sonic retreat. The title started as a joke inspired by the audible passage of a streetcar in the background of an early demo recording. Yet as the development of the album intensified, the phrase began to sound like an apt description of the kind of space in which Farré’s music was conceived: beyond the roar of the outside world. That’s where Benjamin Noti’s guitar and Matthias Gusset’s piano meet in search of the proverbial signal amid the titular noise. The first sketches were created at dawn; Benjamin Noti picked up his guitar and took the initiative regarding composition and production. He then invited Mathias Gusset to join him on piano. Gradually, songs began to emerge from fragmentary jam takes based on Noti's blueprints. The resulting tracks eventually coalesced into an album: the 14-track Farré debut Above the Noise.
The title track is reminiscent of Brazilian virtuoso Heitor Villa-Lobos; Specter / Feast flirts with jazzy flamenco; Early Riser is a poppy electro-acoustic number; Carla’s Theme (Belle of the Ball) could serve as a soothing lullaby; Transference emphasizes the interplay between guitar and piano at the core of the album; on Reprise: Desert Birds swirling synth pads swell towards an inevitable drop; Heatseeker would fit right in on the soundtrack to the Netflix show “Narcos”; the journey ends with the deep blue ambient composition Encore, Adagio.
Call it contemporary chamber music, cinematic ambient pop or simply crossover – free interpretation is a feature, not a bug of this project. The blunt approach of self-taught artist Benjamin Noti – production, music and classical guitar – brims with admiration for what has come before, curiosity for uncharted territory and an infectious love of the guitar.
Above the Noise is an uncompromisingly beautiful instrumental album that manages to sound like escape and rebellion all at once.
FARRÉ performs live in a quartet with: Benjamin Noti (guitar), Matthias Gusset (piano), Georg Dillier (bass) and Benjamin Bürgin (drums).
