OuMuPo

Ici d'ailleurs… is proud to present its OuMuPo collection.
Several DJ's and electronic music composers have been offered to remix the whole label catalog. But there is a twist. They have to comply with constraints issued in the Ici d'ailleurs Charter.

OuMuPo is the French acronym for "OUvroir de MUsiques Potentielles", i.e. Workshop for Potential Musics. It is one of the many artistic movements derived from surrealist Raymond Queneau and François le Lionnais' 1960 OuLiPo (Workshop for Potential Literatures). At the time they aimed at putting together words and letters and following new rules to compose new works. This principle has inspired a lot of creators, especially in music, but also in comic strips. That's how OuBaPo was born in 1992 (Workshop for Potential Comics, BA stands for the French "bandes dessinées") with such illustrators as Jean-Christophe Menu, Etienne Lécroart, Jochen Gerner, François Ayroles, Anne Baraou, Gilles Ciment, Thierry Groensteen, Killoffer, Lewis Trondheim …

Ici d'ailleurs… is fond of OuBaPo and combination of styles. That's why we asked one of the OuBaPo movement leader, Jean-Christophe Menu, to join the project and be in charge of its graphic aspects. He is a founder member of l'Association, an independent publishing society which gave a fresh impetus to French comic strips. And the result is a totally new 16 pages comic book which comes along on top of each OuMuPo album, each time drawn by a different cartoonist. Again, these comics are ruled by a Charter to spice up the game.

Such great names as The Third Eye Foundation, Rubin Steiner, DJ Hide, DJ Krush ... are confronted with Ici d'ailleurs' rules of the game, for exciting Oumupo albums!
Neither DVDs nor hybrid CDs here, but a carefully produced boxed set, for a true original adventure: fun, experiments and a creative competitive spirit.

VOLUME 1
The first opus associates Jochen Gerner, one of the great names of the illustration's world (oubapian "Tnt en Amérique" or more recently "Courts-circuits géographiques" and "le Saint Patron", at l’Association), and the famous electronica composer The Third Eye Foundation, alias Matt Elliot. Matt already worked with Ici d'ailleurs in 1999. He was remixing Yann Tiersen's "La dispute". The Third Eye Foundation opened the Oumupo collection by delivering a first album as subtle and sublime as his 1999 remix was. 

VOLUME 2
Etienne Lecroart, a French surreal and oubapian cartoonist ("Cercle vicieux", "Le cycle") whose speciality is palindrom and multi-readable comics (horizontally, vertically and diagonally) faces Rob Swift, the incredible US turntablism master and X-Ecutioners member. After widening its musical horizons with Gravité Zéro's non standard hip hop, Ici d’ailleurs turns to the acknowledge master of the genre!

VOLUME 3
The first french musician to enter the collection is the great electro wizard Rubin Steiner. As comfortable on stage with his band than behind a laptop. He shakes, diverts and appropriates Ici d'ailleurs catalog as Luz invites us to a narcotic spleepless night.
Luz drawned for musical magazines Les Inrockuptibles, Magic & Tsugi.

VOLUME 4
It was inevitable (and to be hoped) that Jean-Christophe Menu, already responsible for the collection's packaging, participates to one of the volumes as the author. Who would better match as a partner than the former punk-activist Jean-Yves Prieur a.k.a. Kid Loco, who let himself be tempted by hip-hop, reggae and eventually downtempo ? Master of rythm and melody, he affords a great fade-in fade-out overview of almost the entire catalog of Ici d'Ailleurs.
VOLUME 5
Charles Berberian has already proved his love for music in "Playlist" (Naive) and "Night Buzz" (Nocturne). The duo he's been making with Philippe Dupuy since the mid-80s (they gather their talents for drawings and scenarios, an uncommon distribution of tasks) has become a must in the world of illustration, cartoons and comics, with the "Monsieur Jean" series (Dupuis) but also with odder projects. They took on the Japanese DJ Hide as a partner on this volume. As the "protégé" of his fellow countryman DJ Krush, he only has a single solo album to his name ; and yet in this mix based on short samples he offers a splendid deconstruction/reconstruction of the numerous tracks he completely appropriates... to eventually create a very personal work.

VOLUME 6
Abtract hip hop japanese master DJ Krush offers a wonderfull opus. Using almost only instrumental parts, progressively introduces his so characteristic own beats, and slowly makes us forget the rules and original songs. He uses the most exotic sounds from the label catalogue and manages to develop his proper language to offer a record which sounds like his own ones. Freedom by the constraints for our great lessoning pleasure ! The booklet is signed by Killoffer, one of the creators of the independant publisher l'Association and of the OuBaPo. He retranscribes in 64 squares, and the same number of oubapian collages, the chess game between the surrealist Marcel Duchamp and the promoter of the Belgian chess association during the first Belgian championship in 1923.

THE ICI D'AILLEURS CHARTER

1. The potential music reservoir is the Ici d'ailleurs Collection, and O1O1 is its electronic division. The basic framework for each piece will therefore be sought in the Ici d'ailleurs / O1O1 Catalogue. The composer must set out to appropriate the titles in this catalogue for himself, turning them to his advantage and adding whatever he deems necessary. All samples must be free of copyright or communicated to the Label for copyright clearance.

2. A passage no shorter than thirty seconds must be chosen to appear twice on the album. This passage must play the role of a theme or slogan, be it remixed or not, and must be in harmony with the album as a whole.

3. The exercise must last forty-two minutes (42').

4. The end of the album must lead into the beginning, thus enabling it to be listened to in a loop.

5. No more than two pieces from one album in the catalogue may be chosen. If the composer wishes to use a second, it must be at least two tracks distant from the first.

6. The composer must use the works of more than five artists on the Label.

7. The composer freely chooses his own constraint and must declare what it is.

8. The composer will refrain from using the lyrics of Dominique Petitgand out of their musical context, and will consider their use as a jingle or equivalent gimmick as a pitfall wisely to be avoided. Their use must extend to twenty seconds at the very least.

Nancy, 7 May 2003.

THE OUBAPO CHARTER

1. Each frame of the strip must contain at least one hybridisation with existing strips or drawings to be chosen by the artist.

2. One frame must be the subject of an iconographic repetition.

3. The booklet must be sixteen pages, square, and folded or stitched /stapled.

4. Each page will consist of four square frames.

5. The end and the beginning are to be the same, making the booklet a loop.

6. Extracts from the same book may not be used in two consecutive frames.

7. The artist must use the works of more than five different artists.

8. The artist freely chooses his own constraint and must declare what it is.

9. A common character (see him) must appear in each booklet.

Montreuil, 29 January 2004