I’ve caught this ensemble live on several occasions and have always dug them since they have figured out a way to improvise based on certain internal directions. For this disc, five of the nine members have contributed pieces. The opening piece, Tétreault’s Malgre tout Face A, begins with a moderate-paced repeating rock beat with a variety of sounds interspersed. Snippets of spoken word French, turntable samples and strings are woven together. SM has layers of record or radio static (synth?) and strings being selectively manipulated into a mesmerizing swirl of colors. Occasionally a disembodied voice will float through, half sung, half spoken but haunting nonetheless. These pieces don’t sound written although they do sound as if someone is directing since the changes in direction are so tight. What some of this reminds me of is a Zorn game piece from way back when (the eighties) although it is just as focused, it is not as quick cutting. Fascinating either way you look or listen to it.

Voici, enregistré en studio à l’automne 2012, le répertoire du plus récent concert de l’Ensemble Supermusique, Bruit court-circuit, créé au FIMAV 2012 puis repris à Montréal en octobre dernier. Six œuvres bruitistes pour un ensemble de neuf musiciens — des compositions impliquant partitions graphiques, opérations aléatoires, techniques étendues de toute sorte. Le bruitisme est ici acoustique, là électronique. Les deux pièces de Martin Tétreault opposent à bon escient rythme et déstructuration. SM: re-trait de l’abjection d’Alexandre St-Onge demeure une chose très étrange (et oui, c’est moi qui dis ça), qui n’arrive pas plus à me convaincre sur disque qu’en concert. Acouphènes en partage de Danielle Palardy Roger se distingue par la qualité de l’écriture et l’exécution soigneuse — du grand art actuel. Les deux autres pièces sont signées Joane Hétu et Jean Derome. Avec ce disque, Ensemble Supermusique repousse ses propres limites, poursuivant sa conceptualisation de la musique actuelle. Les œuvres sont déstabilisantes, souvent imprévisibles, et elles méritent réflexion.

The spark plugs at Ambiances Magnétiques have been energizing the musique actuelle field since René Lussier conducted 1983’s Fin du travail, and the label’s current catalogue is now overloaded with 229 releases. Long in sync with Victoriaville’s annual Musique Actuelle festival, it is no shock to learn that their latest project, whose title translates to “short circuit noise,” premiered at last May’s FIMAV.

Although core musicians remain, the Ensemble SuperMusique has transformed itself since its founding in 1998, spinning in new members with great potential. Joining stalwarts Joane Hétu (sax, voice, objects), Jean Derome (sax, flute, objects), Martin Tétreault (turntables) and the double-A battery team of Michel F Côté and Danielle Palardy Roger are relative newcomers Alexandre St-Onge (bass and electronics), Émilie Girard-Charest (cello), Guido Del Fabbro (violin) and Vergil Sharkya’ (synths). The latter recruits are equally able to coax sounds out of their instruments, and the ensemble remains grounded in free improvisation relayed by graphic, oral or written scores.

The CD features six tracks from five different composers. Previous projects included canoe trips and works about the seasons, recalling the earthier times before we all got lost in an electronic flux. Bruit Court-Circuit charges towards more modern developments, and, given past themes, can perhaps be heard as a warning as much as it is an embrace of technology.

This is most clearly suggested in Tétreault’s Malgré tout, face A, which starts out with a simple drum meter, quickly followed by bursts of impulsive and dizzying noise from the rest, but ends with Hétu’s vocalization of basic human physical and psychological qualities. Thus we cycle from corporeal beats to industrial noise and back to our natural characteristics, from which we cannot escape, regardless of progress.

It is sometimes difficult to source the sounds. Careful listening can provide clues based on placement in the mix, as each member is given their own corner, but puzzles remain. Is that drumbeat from Tétreault’s vinyl or Côté/Roger? Is the Beethoven cello sonata quote live or Memorex? Is that high-pitched wavering sound flute, sine wave electronics, amp/mic feedback or a fuse of all three?

This is classic actuelle from the inventors of the genre. Fighting against technology’s tendency to black out human ideals, a ceaseless spirit of positive fun pervades the disc. Electrifying music and a thoughtful message upon which to end the year.