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“Spoken Wor(l)d 1.1” :  

Celebrating One Year of Human Speech Electronica:

Phileas’ New Spoken Word Robotronica Adventure

Released for Free

Music is communication, the ultimate universal language. Now imagine creating music using more than thirty other human languages.

That is exactly what France-Based Peruvian electronic musician Phileas did on “Spoken Wor(l)d” (2008), his debut solo album, awarded in 2009 with the prestigious Vox Populi Award for Best Electronica Album of the Year in the 8th. Independent Music Awards. Now he presents “Spoken Wor(l)d 1.1”, a special anniversary edition of the critically acclaimed album, which includes the singles from the original recording plus some exciting previously unreleased material.

Phileas takes this anniversary celebration seriously: “Spoken Wor(l)d 1.1” was officially released for free download on September 1, 2009, on his official site phileasworld.com .

Taking his name from one of the most famous fictional travellers the world has ever known, Phileas himself spent three years wandering the globe collecting voice samples in more than 30 languages to create “Spoken Wor(l)d”. The theory behind this unique concept is that music unifies all these diverse voices, where the meaning of the words is less important than the sound that they make. And while this might sound a little high‐minded, Phileas’ music is still firmly rooted in fun.

Phileas’ infectious, foot‐tapping brand of dance oozes the kind of soulful feel so often lacking in this genre, bringing together these many voices and languages to sound as one. In the words of “Muse’s Muse” (Canada): “Spoken Wor(l)d is a powerful musical journey that’s littered with fragmented images, blurry conversations and immaculate melodies that illuminate every track with a gratifying sense of wonder and intrigue. It is a delicious mystery, and an album that will allow your musical consciousness to wander freely, encouraging you to explore the mesmerizing depths of the electronic worlds (Phileas) has created.”

As Phileas himself says, the “Spoken Wor(l)d” projects are more than music recordings: “They are a positive message about the diversity and similarity of the people of this world.” And it is a simply great electro-pop music project all at the same time, included by the UNESCO in the celebration of the International Year of the languages in 2008.

The Critic on “Spoken Wor(l)d”

“A sophisticated exercise of dance/electronica filled with exuberant hedonism” (Somos, PERU)

“A Babelic soundtrack that makes us believe that it is possible to imagine a world without frontiers” (La República, PERU)

“A patchwork that expresses the diversity of human race” (Ondefixe, FRANCE)

“Phileas is making his mark in the world of independent Electronica” (Catsask Music & Entertainment, CANADA)

“Quite simply, (“Spoken Wor(l)d”) is a must have.”  (Muse’s Muse, CANADA)

You can download “Spoken Wor(l)d 1.1” (the entire album) for free here.

“1.1″ includes the songs from the original “Spoken Wor(l)d” album that have been airplayed on radio stations across the web this last year plus 3 previously unreleased tracks.

 “1.1″ will include songs from the original album that have been airplayed on on radio stations across the web this last year. As a bonus, there will be 3 previously unreleased songs from the “Spoken Wor(l)d” sessions that didn’t make it to the album’s final cut.

See you then.

“Paris-based electronic music artist Phileas is among the diverse group of artists chosen as winners in the prestigious Independent Music Awards (IMAs) Vox Populi poll. The Independent Music Awards, the awards program for independent artists and fans is an international program that promotes independent artists, labels & releases to millions of music fans & industry insiders. (…)”

More information about the 8th. IMA’s Vox Populi Award here.

06.2006: Roger exhibits in Versailles “Bleu/Orange”, a short music video featuring voices in 18 languages, entirely recorded from his interviews with fellow students and teachers at the School of Architecture. The sound of the human speech had always been of great interest for him, since his collaborations with LOT Theatre (1998-2008). From 2003 he had began collecting voice samples from his travels.

09.2006: The success of “Blue/Orange” gives Roger the inspiration to begin composing for a human language electronic music project. Roger, until then only knew for his electro-acoustic experiments with LOT and his guitar based pop/rock verve from the project nun (with Peruvian singer Natalí Jimenez), found a perfect opportunity to dive into pure electronica to create the frame for his precious collection of voices from the world.

12.2007: Time for baptism. Roger decides to sign his upcoming language music project as Phileas, honoring his childhood novel hero Phileas Fogg, Jules Verne’s famous traveler from “Around the World in 80 Days”. By that time he also chooses “Spoken Wor(l)d” as the name of his debut album as a solo artist.

03.2008 - 05.2008: Phileas’ séjour at Lima for the mixing sessions of “Spoken Wor(l)d”, with sound engineer and close friend José Carlos Ponce. Phileas works simultaneously on the artwork of the album, choosing the photograph of a dry leaf he treasured from one of his trips as the graphic symbol of the project. The veins of leaf represent the ramifications in the formation and diversification of languages. The photograph of the brown dry leaf would be turned to blue to suggest with color a mental image of the earth, the world.

06.2008: “Spoken Wor(l)d” is submitted to the UNESCO to participate in the International Year of Languages. Shortly after, the project is selected as an “awareness rising artistic initiative about the cultural diversity of humanity” . On June 20, phileasworld.com goes online for the first time. The site delivers news and information about Phileas and his music in English, Spanish and French.

07.2008: On July 15 “Spoken Wor(l)d” is officially released on CDBaby.com.

08.2008: On August 24 “Spoken Wor(l)d” is officially presented live in Phileas’ hometown Lima, Peru. Two days after the album is available in stores nationwide.

10.2008: Phileas returns to Peru for promotional activities and a concert in tribute to LOT Theatre for their 10th. Anniversary.

11.2008: “Spoken Wor(l)d” is nominated Best Dance/Electronica Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards. The album would run for both the Jury Award and the Vox Populi Award.

12.2008: Veteran Peruvian electronic music critic Helene Ramos in her annual ranking places ”Spoken Wor(l)d” as Best Album of 2008 in the Samplings and Design categories. 

11.2008 - 04.2009: “Spoken Wor(l)d” goes radio: songs from the album are airplayed in Hawaii Public Radio, World Beat KMSU, The New Edge, La Otra Orilla, The New Age Reporter, Banana Peel Radio, 2001 Años Después, among others. Reviews of “Spoken Wor(l)d” appear in Muse’s Muse and Catsask (Canada), Somos, Revista Caras and La República (Peru), Synthtopia and Singing Coach (USA), Ondefixe (France), Junior’s Cave (Germany), and others.

05.2009: “Spoken Wor(l)d” wins the Vox Populi Award as Best Dance/Electronica Album of the Year in the 8th. Independent Music Awards. The Vox Populi is given to the productions that get the biggest amount of votes from fans all over world.