morceaux_de_machines machen Lärm, das aber beherrschen die „B-Boys der Musique Concréte” auf exzellente Art und Weise, so das die mittelalterliche Folter — methode auf welche der Titel des Albums sich bezieht hier gar nicht so unangenehm ausfällt.

Das Duo aus Kanada, das seine Musik als „Anti-Style” bezeichnet, verschmilzt auf seinem aktuellen Longplayer improvisierten Noise und Musique Concréte zu vielschichtigen elektroakustischen Soundtracks und rabiaten Klangbastarden. Bei den live aufgenommenene Tracks werden sie dabei von den Turntable-Spezialisten Otomo Yoshihide und Martin Tétreault sowie Diane Labrosse, einem Urgestein in Sachen Sampling und Improv-Noise, unterstützt.

Noise-Loops, Drones, Scratches, verzerrte Drum-Breaks, übersteuerte apokalyptische Sounds, digitales Brüllen, scharfe, beissende Frequenzen, Vocal-Fetzen — all das sind Bestandteile ihrer extremen Tracks, die sowohl Aggression und brutale Dynamik als auch sphärische Parts spannend vereinen, wobei es ihnen dabei hauptsächlich auch darum geht mit Hörgewohnheiten zu brechen und herkömmliche Muster und Strukturen über Bord zu werfen.

Estrapade ist definitiv eine intensive (anti-) musikalische Grenzerfahrung und zugleich eine dicke Empfehlung für alle Noise-Liebhaber.

Closing out the evening at the National Arts Centre Studio Series was Ensemble en Pièces, a quintet led by pianist Alexandre Grogg and saxophonist/bass clarinetist Philippe Lauzier. The ensemble stretched the potential of classical composition, finding opportunities for more interpretive improvisation within a generally defined structural form. Its chamber-like approach, while sometimes atonal, was never sharp or hard on the ears.

The drummer (not Thom Gossage, as advertised in the festival programme) clearly referenced British free drummer Tony Oxley with his flurried approach and use of found objects; rhythms were rarely directly stated, being more about implication and colour than a traditional approach to the kit. Likewise, double-bassist Christophe Papadimitriou left much to the imagination, adding occasional counterpoint and carefully selected phrases rather than any kind of forward motion. Trumpeter Andy King demonstrated a Dave Douglas-like approach to the avant garde material, like Papadimitriou finding the right note or the right phrase to inject into Grogg and Lauzier’s oblique compositions.

The front line of Lauzier and King tended to dominate thematically, with Grogg layering abstruse harmonies underneath, but Ensemble en Pièces was less about soloing in the traditional sense-and more about everyone finding ways to augment the writing, which was generally abstract but did contain clearly-delineated melodies. After the relatively straightforward post bop of saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar the first night and guitarist Andrew Scott’s completely mainstream set the second, Ensemble en Pièces explored the kind of forward-thinking experimentation that the Studio Series is renowned for.

This trio features Antoine Berthiaume on guitar & percussion, Quentin SirJacq on piano & percussion and Norman Teale on electronics, mixing & engineering. This was recorded at Mills College where Fred Frith has taught for the past few years. Experimental guitarist, Antoine Berthiaume, has a fine guitar duos disc out a couple of years back with two older pioneers, Derek Bailey and Fred Frith (on AM). I had never heard of him before this, but I was most intrigued. He recently moved to New York and played a marvelous solo set here last month. This is his second collaborative effort on the AM label and I can’t say I’ve heard of the other tow players, but again I am quite surprised. Antoine has been influenced by Frith, Bailey and other more adventurous guitarists and has come up with his own sound, his own crafty bag of tricks or ideas. Leaves and Snows is a mysterious combination of sounds, often quiet, yet very selective and evocative. Quentin sounds as if he is playing inside the piano and creating subtle alien landscapes, as Antoine plays delicate, yet eerie slide and e-bow induced ghost-like sounds. I don’t quite know what Norman Teale is doing at times, yet we hear some distant electronics and subtle manipulations at times. Occasional percussion is also utilized, adding a bit of subtle spice to keeps thing a bit off balance. My favorite moments are when Antoine is his most Frith-like, playing magically melodic chords or sounds and adding just the right amount of suspense. Too marvelous for words, no, just marvelous enough.

A surprising cd from a new trio. The name of Antoine Berthiaume may ring a bell, as I reviewed his debut on Ambiances Magnétiques for Vital Weekly some time ago. On this album guitarist Berthiaume played guitar duets with Fred Frith and Derek Bailey. Not bads for a debute! On his new album we do not find him sided by veterans but accompanied by two other young musicians. This should guarantee a fresh approach and it does. Quentin Sirjacq is a pianist and composer from Paris. He studied in Holland and more recently at Mills College. It’s here that he and Berthiaume met during an improvisation class led by Joëlle Léandre. In the collaboration that grew Norman Teale (mixing, engineering, electronics) later joined in. And so this unusual trio of guitar, piano and electronics was a fact.

Their music is of a typical kind of modern music. Their music keeps lots of memories of a wide diversity of influences: jazz, rock, free improvisation, noise, ambient, touches of eastern music, etc. But the result is nothing of it all, but a very open improvisation based music. Atmosphere and mood are important in their soundscaping exercises. Sometimes their music is almost sounding like filmmusic echoing Morricone (Staring at a western time) or Ry Cooder. This means that they do not intend to discomfort the listener. Although their music is of course of a experimental kind, it is on the easy listening section of the spectrum.

A track like Freedom fried surprised me, as it was new for me to hear improvised music sounding so ‘romantic’ as it does here. A track like 40 Pills shows their good taste for coloring. It sounds like some gamelan music played on toy instruments.

In most pieces the guitar of Berthiaume is in a prominent role. Tracks like Leaves and snows and Nuclear Times are built around the piano playing of Sirjacq. The electronic treatments by Teale a harder to identify on the one hand, but that they are omnipresent is not to be missed. Quietly and slowly the three unfold their ideas in their poetic approach of improvised music. A nice one.