Put out on the circuit via the Ambiances Magnetiques imprint as their cat.no. 281 on March 7th, 2k25 is Je suis calme et enragé·e, the second full length album conceived for the label by composer Nour Symon who delivers a total of six pieces over the course of 57 minutes, performed by an entire ensemble of artists on both classical and electronic instruments of which some are operating under the name of Ensemble SuperMusique, with lyrics written and provided by poet Roxane Desjardins which, given our admitted lack of knowledge of the French language, to us provide just another sonic layer without being able to dive deep into their meaning. This being said, the opening piece that is Nous étions masques, miracles, empêtrées dans l’enthousiasme opens on a pretty intense, brooding and dissonant tip with its rumbling, low end-heavy Dark Ambient movements, sharp and somewhat angry poetry citations and nerve-wrecking dynamic bursts setting the vibe for the subsequent cut J’espère être absoute following — as well as the rest of the album — on a similar path leading ever deeper into deepest depths and hidden subsurface vaults of what could be described as unsettling, explorative, nightmare inducing and unsoothing Avantgarde music, probably even crossing the fringes of sanity at times as far as proper ’ensemble music’ might go for the untrained listeners ear, bringing forth spine-tingling scrapings, warped sirens blown over from afar, crossing barren lands whilst regular instruments — or better: regularly used instruments — only occasionally emerge out of hyper-dense sonic swamps before disappearing into the dark once again where joined by skittish creatures and ominous entities never seen by anyone, yet still being anchored as tell tale factualities in stories our elders have been told about many many centuries ago. This album is a werkschau of contemporary Avantgarde of the highest order and sonic intensity, for a niche audience only and not to be consumed by fractured and broken souls for many a reason. Keep away from minors.
