"La recherche de l'Absolu (I)" 1940, René Magritte

René Magritte’s La recherche de l’Absolu (I) (1940) presents a paradoxical image: a bare tree whose branches form the silhouette of a single large leaf. Painted during the dark years of Nazi occupation in Belgium, the work captures both the austerity of the time and Magritte’s commitment to creating “pure” images that transcend immediate reality. The scene, set against a horizon tinged by the fading light of the day, merges absence and presence—the tree is leafless, yet the idea of the leaf remains—forcing the viewer to question what is real and what is only representation. The title evokes an existential quest for truth or permanence, suggesting that even in moments of loss and uncertainty, the essence of what we seek may still be present, if only in altered form.

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Guidelines
To receive the official “Non-Contender” pin
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• The submitted track must be an original piece created for the occasion, with the above image as inspiration.

• The creative process is your own, there are no bad entry.

• If possible, please provide us with a little insight into your interpretation of the image alongside your track

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Deadline
11 of September- 0:00 UTC+1
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Should there be no voluntary act of sacrifice amongst (all) participants, next host will be randomly selected.

First pick is made between those who never hosted yet and, if for some reason it can’t be done this way, second and ultimate pick will be made with full pool.

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Nota bene:

For any member lurking in the shadows, maybe waiting for the “right picture” to show up, remember this is not a contest. There is nothing to lose, only to gain by participating. This is a unique occasion to maybe try new things, walk unexplored horizons, but also eventually do what you already know and can do. In fact, it’s totally up to you.

You are the only judge of your work, and self-critic is probably the most ruthless you’ll ever encounter.

There are still at least 3 dozen of containers full of “Non-Contender” pins… We all secretly hope to see you try, even if with just a small piece by length or effort because..

Have fun

Hall Of Remembrance:
#0 - The origins – https://audiosex.pro/threads/battle-for-everything-created-for-a-friendly-forum-contest.75670/
#1 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/a-friendly-contest-1.75684/
#2 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/a-friendly-non-contest-2.76333/
#3 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/non-contest-3-has-concluded.76618/
#4 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/not-a-contest-4.76970/
#5 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/non-contest-5.77309/
#6 ‐ https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-6.77712/
#7 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-7.78214/
#8 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-8.78700/
#9 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-9.79321/
#10 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-10.79693/
#11 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-11.80017/
#12 - https://audiosex.pro/threads/friendly-non-contest-12.80400/
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Submissions
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Last edited: Aug 17, 2025 at 5:29 PM

Here we go, i like breaking the ice, under 2hrs in total, mix wise not there but hey, i might sign up for starting the next #14
#NOTAI

 

Last edited: Aug 13, 2025

Hey guys, my interpretation of the image by one of my favorite artists.



I tried to recreate an surrealistic atmosphere as in the image, something there, but not really, something that exists, yet it does not make sense. Hope you like it.

 

@TimJackman I don't really know where it came from, but suddenly I had a strangely strong image of Blood Incantation at the Acropolis using this as part of their set. Felt kinda liminal, kinda reminiscent, but not really. So thats +1 evoke something to you. Really dig the momentum and how elements come around again. Love the sound choices. If I was tripping while listening to this I would be completely convinced that the portal key is near and they who were and yet are but never where are near.

@reticular I hear a solid bed of ideas in this, could build something pretty big out of this. Really like the piano and pad layer. There more than one piano layered in that? Or just the reverb giving those glassy attacks? Not necessarily the sound design, not necessarily the passages.. but together I do get a strong sense of neither working without the other (as in, a positive statement if that seemed other). No visions of Blood Incantation on this one, but maybe something, some kinda sense of 'something' on such a scale it gives that kinda awe/wondermint vibe.... now I've got it, its putting me in the same realm of what 65daysofstatic did on No Mans Sky.

 

@Usr4321 - thx!, checking the 65daysofstatic rn, but no, nothing has been layered on this one, 7 tracks. Sometimes if i manage to loop a part of the track i start considering it as a "short track" rather than forcing it to be 5-7 minutes etc, so there´s not much going on really, also mid 2000s vsts but yeah, as simple as possible. cheers

 

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so for this one, the first idea that came to me was that it reminded me of The Lion King. so i started off with sampling the opening scenes vocals, it made me laugh to start it that way. next was it reminds me of the southwest here in the U.S. especially like New Mexico and Arizona; those places in particular can have like this mystical vibe. almost every time ive traveled there some weird shit happens thats hard to explain

from that i got the idea to create a mystic vibe thats like a sunburnt mirage, to be relaxed but also uncanny and trippy. the image also reminds me of a peyote trip, so i created from the overall perspective of seeing this scene in a vision in the southwest. lastly i have a vocal sample in there from the song: “Somewhere Tonight” by Beach House - i picked that because the setting of the picture is in an in between place of sunrise and sunset thats hard to tell, like a hallucination confusing the subconscious and conscious; so i made the sample that way

thats all of the ideas i created from for this one. the genres as usual i thought matched, i played the electric drums and guitar like in past entries, everything else except the vocal samples i designed in phase plant

genres: psychedelic funk & drone

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Man, I didn't expect this one, that intro got me good.

 

@TimJackman yeah i was dying when that first popped in my head lol. id probably never get a disney sample cleared so, might as well let it fly while i have the chance

 

Art imitates life as life imitates art...
Till the end and from the very first start

Lois, Monday, August 18, 2025

Magritte's letter to André Breton exposed his desire in exploring hidden truths and wrote... ‘I am trying at the moment to discover what it is in a tree that belongs to it specifically but which would run counter to our concept of a tree’.

My short piece translates my own hidden truths and the existential angst that I find myself grappling with today, as tomorrow I begin treatment for CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) which I was diagnosed with about 5 years ago and of which the severity of disease has now made it important to quash else it quashes me in good measure. I've not been well and the sirens now sing their song for me.

I've tried to parallel Magritte's surreal gouach painting which he created in 1940 (which was the year of the Nazis invaded France) with my own battle come morn's dawn. In the beginning there was a dark undertow pulling aggressively much like the impending war on France's doorstep, of a tide that could not be abated or won, only tried, but then as a quietude stilled their minds perhaps, an interlude as the simple farmers in the countryside went about their daily missive while trying to put the bone chilling inevitable out of thought...but in the end as we know there was to be to no avail. Luftwaffe from above dropped explosive concussion armarment mean to obliterate all below in concurrence with that gray and frenetic army destroying that which was in front of their horrible methamphetamined eyes.

The zombie apocalypse on my white blood cells begins tomorrow with antibody therapy designed to kill those that will not die, cannot die and refuse to to so in their misshapen, misguided, mutated and homicidal will to survive...which is over 80% of those monsters at last count.

Fuck'm!!!.....
The sun also rises
●

https://whyp.it/tracks/302733/friendly-non-contest-13-magritteform-fucking-kills

 

Last edited: Aug 18, 2025 at 9:34 PM

Dear @Lois Lane, thank you for your song and your story, my thoughts are with you and I hope you feel better soon.

 

@Lois Lane great job, love to hear you step out of your comfort zone, also love the experimentation in your interpretation - more importantly i hope your treatment goes well. idk about the health care in Switzerland, especially regarding cancer treatment but i think youll be okay; at least they should be able to get it into remission, science and technology has advanced pretty well. you got this man

i wish you the best fam, if you have the energy and want to share any of your creations during your down time with someone else, dont be afraid to send my way homie; i know when my grandpa was staying with me during his treatment, staying creative helped him a lot. thanks for sharing and hold unto that strong will of yours, youll be alright

 

Thank you Grape Ape, I'll be sure to take you up on your offer as ear.

This kinda thing is definitely within my wheelhouse and well, well within my comfort zone. I love doing stuff like this but haven't mostly shared it here. I go wayyy out sometimes. I'll turn you onto some of it sometime.

 

Great work everyone! Thanks for sharing!

 

well i haven't read through this yet, trying to quit cigs currently, again. scattered thoughts. could also be i got really stoned to make up for cigs haha. ive been on an upbeat for feeling inspired to work on some tunes with singing lately so been honing in on reducing my 300 half done beats to 45 mins worth of good stuff. none of its done. so ive been "busy" with that and just pulled the trigger on putting this months contest up finally after getting stuck on it for a little while.

picture is dope. i found myself focused on the mystical aspect of it and tried to capture that, as much as you can with the style i was making anyway. ehhh i really like the first bass sound, maybe someday i'll go back and make another beat from just that part and the bells, which are also cool imo. the japanese flute i wish i spent more time on and changed more, drums are meh but ce la vie. i just slapped ozone onto the end. if i wanted to do this more justice i would scratch big parts of it out and redo them, but i already did that like multiple times and ended up here and didn't feel like committing more time to it lol.

 

@Lois Lane good luck with the treatment man kill those fuckers. your song was greatttt. the evolving bass and everything in the last half was amazing i wish it was mastered to 0 lufs or i had a big nice monitor system with a sub to listen to it. awesome stuff.

 

https://whyp.it/tracks/303197/bm-jam-2?token=B8tGW

toontrack drumz ; bass,rhodes,synth,leadsynth,violin,strings,trumpets all kontakt libz

 

I just want to wish you all the best, @Lois, keep on truckin' ledge!