Étant Donnés were an experimental French duo made up of brothers Eric and Marc Hurtado. In 2008, Vinyl-on-demand released a 6 LP box set comprising their early tapes from the late 70s to early 80s. Musique concrète practices were present even then and continued to develop throughout the 80s. This culminated in a trilogy of records—Aurore, Royaume, and Bleu—that Étant Donnés released in the early 90s. They were more nuanced and incorporated field recordings and whispering more purposefully than anything they had created before. The result feels very much like the musical embodiment of a fever dream.
Aurore, the first album in the trilogy, is out now. You can hear the first two tracks from the album above. Royaume, the second album in the trilogy, will come packaged with the tracks that ended up on Étant Donnés' split with D.F. Sadist School in 1992. Aurore is limited to 500 copies and comes with a fully-printed high-gloss inner sleeve. Rashad Becker handled the remastering. You can find more information on the album and purchase it over here.
