2001 studio album by Blood Axis and Les Joyaux de la Princesse
Absinthe: La Folie Verte (Absinthe: The Green Madness) is a concept album by Blood Axis and Les Joyaux de la Princesse. It is an homage to the cordial absinthe.
It was released by Athanor (Poitiers, France) in 2001 as a digipack CD. In 2002, Athanor released a special limited edition boxset of the same name.
Boxset contents
The boxset contained two 10" picture discs (with remixes of the CD's material on one disk; live recordings from the only performance of the material, in Sintra, Portugal, October 2001, on the other), an absinthe spoon with the album title punched in it, a dozen different inserts, color postcards, flyers, and a re-print of the 19th century book titled De la Liqueur d'Absinthe et des ses effets [The Liquor of Wormwood and its effects] by J. M. Ferdinand Moreau.
Precedent
Blood Axis' Gospel of Inhumanity (1996) contained the track "Absinthe" which used the same text as "Folie Verte (I Am The Green Fairy)."
The music was created by Blood Axis and LJDLP, with the participation of Eugénie Tudy (on piano, organ, and limonaire). All aspects of the album (including instrumentation, spoken recitations, and mixing) were executed under the influence of absinthe.
The collaboration of the Musée de l'Absinthe ([Absinthe Museum], Auvers-sur-Oise) is credited. A point is made of recognizing Madame Marie-Claude Delahaye, the museum's conservatrix.
The album combines musical soundscapes derived from Absinthe songs of the past (using elements derived from old cylinder recordings and 78s) and recitations of Absinthe-inspired poems of the fin-de-siècle (by Marie Corelli, Ernest Dowson, and Charles Cros).
Liner notes
The liner notes are replete with images of artistic representations of absinthe: advertisements for it, sheet music of absinthe-related songs, and anti-absinthe propaganda.
