At Home With... La Petite Chambre
WEDNESDAY 21ST MAY 2020
HIGHLIGHT / JOE MARCHENKO
Brasil is one of the (if not the) most amazing countries i’ve ever visited. I have nothing but love for this Portuguese speaking, caipirinha sipping, feijoada eating paradise (excluding politics and the 2002 World Cup of course). Tucked away in the backstreets of Belo Horizonte, a city subject to less international press than Rio and São Paulo (it only boasts a population of a mere 1.5 million), lies La Petite Chambre.
Self-proclaimed tiny dream makers, this Brazilian record label is a free and non-judgemental platform for the delivery of predominantly instrumental, ambient and electronic music. As all small spaces must be if they are to be discovered and appreciated, La Petite Chambre is very much outward facing, looking to gain listeners’ attentions through the release of open and creative music.
During the last week of March, when the majority of us were settled in at home, ready to ride out the Corona storm, La Petit Chambre embarked on a new project; “At Home With...(Songs for Solitude)”. Every week since then they have invited an artist to share two unreleased songs with the world in lockdown. Each of these weekly drops comes with a subtle image of the same façade set behind a different-coloured calming filter. There have been 8 releases to date - a crude realisation of how long we have all been sat at our computers for. Beginning with Brazilian artists signed to the label, two of the last three instalments have seen international artists contribute to this creative project.
La Petite Chambre was conceived way back in 2005. Over the past 15 years it appears to have stayed humble and has certainly not lost sight of its roots. This is reflected in the modest album artwork for its newest project. While the label has grown in stature and recognition - it has given birth to the music festival Pequenas Sessões and set up a European base in the heart of Paris - the imagery remains that of a simple, singular façade. No frills, no spills, no pools, no skylights. What’s more, all profits from this project will go towards helping out several different studios and practices in Brasil, all of which have been affected by corona virus and the subsequent lockdown.
If you were to place each release that makes up At Home With… (Songs for Solitude) in a circle and draw a musical Venn diagram, they would all be somewhat spread out. However, circles would begin to intersect where similarities in genre lie. And, right in the centre, you’d find an area labelled “Ambient”, where each and every one of them overlap. The 9th instalment in this atmospheric series comes to you on May 22nd courtesy of local lad Tropiques. This will be his debut release with an LP expected later in the year.
Self-proclaimed tiny dream makers, this Brazilian record label is a free and non-judgemental platform for the delivery of predominantly instrumental, ambient and electronic music. As all small spaces must be if they are to be discovered and appreciated, La Petite Chambre is very much outward facing, looking to gain listeners’ attentions through the release of open and creative music.
During the last week of March, when the majority of us were settled in at home, ready to ride out the Corona storm, La Petit Chambre embarked on a new project; “At Home With...(Songs for Solitude)”. Every week since then they have invited an artist to share two unreleased songs with the world in lockdown. Each of these weekly drops comes with a subtle image of the same façade set behind a different-coloured calming filter. There have been 8 releases to date - a crude realisation of how long we have all been sat at our computers for. Beginning with Brazilian artists signed to the label, two of the last three instalments have seen international artists contribute to this creative project.
La Petite Chambre was conceived way back in 2005. Over the past 15 years it appears to have stayed humble and has certainly not lost sight of its roots. This is reflected in the modest album artwork for its newest project. While the label has grown in stature and recognition - it has given birth to the music festival Pequenas Sessões and set up a European base in the heart of Paris - the imagery remains that of a simple, singular façade. No frills, no spills, no pools, no skylights. What’s more, all profits from this project will go towards helping out several different studios and practices in Brasil, all of which have been affected by corona virus and the subsequent lockdown.
If you were to place each release that makes up At Home With… (Songs for Solitude) in a circle and draw a musical Venn diagram, they would all be somewhat spread out. However, circles would begin to intersect where similarities in genre lie. And, right in the centre, you’d find an area labelled “Ambient”, where each and every one of them overlap. The 9th instalment in this atmospheric series comes to you on May 22nd courtesy of local lad Tropiques. This will be his debut release with an LP expected later in the year.