Montreal-based Frenchman Olivier Alary is a highly talented composer who has previously collaborated with Björk.

Having released albums on FatCat and Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label under the experimental pop guise of Ensemble, over the past five or six years Olivier has moved away from that song-based project to focus on composing material for a stream of films and artistic collaborations. In June 2016, Olivier signed to 130701, and his latest album—a compilation of film soundtrack work— marks his debut under his own name.

Olivier’s material sits somewhere among the likes of Jóhann Jóhannsson, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Stars Of The Lid, and Set Fire To Flames; but throughout the tracks are imprinted with Olivier’s own sound. This might be defined in the composer’s obsessive exploration of the “grey areas” between noise and musicality and in blurring the boundaries between what is acoustic and what is generated electronically.

“I am equally influenced by traditional music (from both Asia and Europe), acousmatic music (from composers of the GRM) and post-tonal composers (like Julia Wolfe, Julius Eastman)”, he says, citing his music as a fusion of elements from these genres of music. “For me the texture of sound is as evocative as a strong melody or harmonic progression. I also love to blur the boundaries between the geography of instruments and music genre.”

Largely self-produced, the material on the album was recorded at a variety of dates and locations, and utilises a range of instrumental setups. It features performances by the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, The Wroclaw Score Orchestra, Saint Stanislas de Kostka Choir, members of the Warhol Dervish String quartet, as well as pianist / arranger Johannes Malfatti, saxophonist Erik Hove and many other musicians from the hyper-dynamic Montreal music scene.

Fiction / Non-Fiction will be available on vinyl, CD and digital formats. The CD and digital versions will contain four bonus tracks unavailable on LP.

In advance of the release, “Nollywood” is streamable in full via the player above.