Les productions du collectif Ambiances Magnétiques restent fidèles à elles-mêmes et à leur éclectisme — Revue & Corrigée, France

Les bonnes histoires is an attempt to step out of the sound environments that I usually navigate. I imagined a composition that includes rhythms that are impossible for a human percussionist to realize, like beats so fast that they are perceived as complex tones, or multiple, simultaneous tempo changes. I experimented with virtual drum machines and was amazed by the textures they produced and the impression of hidden order that one perceives but cannot identify. I found that these ’bastard children’ of Conlon Nancarrow and Grandmaster Flash, despite their mechanical origins, could express the moods I sought. I also found that the subtle and clear texts of Montréal poet, Geneviève Letarte, sung so convincingly here by Gabriel Dharmoo, evoke similar states of mind. Geneviève generously let me manipulate her poems and even recited one of my rearrangements on this recording. The double bass, clarinet, flute, and saxophone parts generally introduce, answer, or support the sung texts, but I am very grateful to Jean Derome and Lori Freedman for their superb improvisations, usually heard between (but sometimes within) the composed movements. — Nicolas Caloia