MOLTO MORBIDI

String Cheese Theory
(No Salad Records)
Add date: 2.27.2024
Release date: 2.23.2024




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It is one of the greatest paradoxes of pop music: the solo artist, once she has blossomed, is never alone again. She has claimed the right to exist, to express herself, and nothing will ever be the same again for her or for us. This is even more shocking in the case of solo artists who are capable of conjuring entire worlds of sounds, sensations, aesthetics and impressions on a single record.

molto morbidi is the project of French artist Swan Wisnia

After a collective artistry experience with the band Shadow Motel, Wisnia is now building the foundations of molto morbidi on her own. Her interest is drawn to the music of the past, but her influences are hard to pinpoint, as they blur together into a coherent vision of invigorating originality.  

What inspires her is artists who stand by their influences while transcending traditions and pre-established formats, or in her own words, “those artists who are part of a history of music, who have obvious influences, but who manage to create something perfectly original, that doesn’t strive for smoothness, and that is recognizably their own.”

In this respect, String Cheese Theory, molto morbidi's debut album, sounds like emancipation sustained by a rich palette of references and sounds: vocal and progressive pop, synth rock, RnB from the past, antediluvian electronica, shimmering avant-rock... molto morbidi doesn't hold anything back, and is set to win the hearts of fans of Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, Cate Le Bon or Siouxsie & The Banshees.

Wisnia wrote and recorded the album in her home studio before entrusting the mixing to Alexis Fugain (Biche). Enhanced by the presence of distinguished guests (British musician Ed Dowie and Quentin Rollet’s saxophone), this album is filled with an organic warmth and has the feeling of quiet classics or cult records rediscovered years after their release. A certain sense of closeness, even intimacy, comes through the listening experience.

String Cheese Theory has to do with the status of the misfit, which it approaches with great sincerity. Wisnia explains: "The songs question the feeling of alienation between oneself and others, the inevitable relational asymmetries, what they reflect on us and back on others, how this generates asperities and friction with others even when a strong bond is shared, how we construct who we are in relation to those around us and those we love, how we often deceive ourselves about their expectations and desires and vice-versa, how this defines us in spite of everything, and the beauty, richness and sometimes sadness that all lie in the midst of it all. “

The album's first single, “Sorry Silly Girl” is a lyrical pop epic driven by Wisnia’s voice: synthetic percussion, hot and cold choruses, and catchy repetitive motifs. We witness the surprising syncretism of 80's Japanese pop and new wave tinged with French pop. “I'm Not There Yet,” calms the tempo down: a Casio-tone cajoling slow dance, though never naïve in its melancholy, and which offers a suspended moment in String Cheese Theory. “So Far So Good” combines dark library music with luminous pop, while “Leo” takes on accents of melodic, spacey disco. “You Can't Make an Omelette Without Breaking a Few Egos,” a comedic and rebellious track, is another highlight that lays claim to unbridled creativity, halfway between pop music and the avant-garde.