Zoviet France

Vinyl-on-Demand is proud to announce the release of Châsse ∴, the definitive collection of :zoviet*france:'s seminal work, available for the first time in CD format. This monumental 34 CD box set accompanied by a cassette represents the complete transposition of the three legendary Châsse vinyl collections previously published by VOD between 2019 and 2022. After the extraordinary success of the three vinyl box sets that quickly reached "sold out" status becoming cult objects among collectors and enthusiasts, Châsse ∴ finally makes the entire early discography of :zoviet*france: accessible in a more affordable yet equally precious format. The collection comprises Châsse Vol. 1: The first 12 releases (1982-1987), Châsse Vol. 2: The maturity period (1988-1993), Châsse Vol. 3: Artistic consolidation (1996-2013), and a bonus cassette with two exclusive unreleased recordings.

:Zoviet*France: is an idiosyncratic group of anonymous music makers, gatherers of sound, and fabricators of unknown music. For nearly 40 years, they have explored and reported back from the liminal areas of music and composition, walking the margins where little is easily located and consensus reality melds with the hypnagogic and half-heard. Having wilfully obscured themselves in Newcastle upon Tyne since their inception in 1980, :Zoviet*France: has developed a radical relationship with cheap technologies, homemade acoustic instruments, primitive looping and sampling techniques, and basic dub trickery from which the group has crafted a distinctly unique vocabulary of sonic hypnosis. As founding member Ben Ponton once described their approach to field recording, they seek "the most difficult sound to find" - those barely perceptible sonic phenomena that exist at the edges of perception, like the mysterious hissing sound that occurs when Pacific fog rolls through ancient redwood forests, or the profound quietude found in spaces beyond human presence.

Châsse ∴ maintains the maniacal attention to detail that has made VOD releases legendary: 34 CDs remastered with extreme care, bonus cassette with exclusive unreleased material, limited numbered edition, deluxe packaging worthy of the work's monumentality, and special Wooden box set format. Just as the group's sound has alchemically reconfigured inexpensive technologies, the packaging of their releases has avoided standard formats with aluminium, steel, wood and porcelain among the materials that have been bent and cut to shape. This collection represents a journey through the evolution of one of the most influential and mysterious projects in experimental music, from the industrial ambient of the early '80s to the sophisticated sonic textures of the 2000s, documenting their continued exploration of what Ponton calls "the audiosphere, the world of sound we inhabit" - capturing those moments of deep darkness and silent stillness that reveal the profound connection between ancient sounds and our contemporary understanding of environmental composition.