Portail du journalisme et de l'activisme musical de François Couture.

Home of François Couture's music journalism and activism.

2014-08-20

2014-08-19: A Favola da Medusa, Fletcher/Brice/Jozwiak, Anne Waldman, Stefan Roigk, Bennett/Wright, Barzin

Journal d'écoute / Listening Diary 
2014-08-19

A FAVOLA DA MEDUSA / Dada Dandy (Slam Productions)
Créature de la harpiste Ana Isabel Dias, A Favola da Medusa est un groupe d’improvisation libre à géométrie variable. Dada Dandy regroupe quatre enregistrements réalisés en concert entre 2010 et 2012. Chaque fois, Dias s’entoure d’un assortiment de musiciens acoustiques et électriques: en trio avec deux basses électriques, en quintette avec deux pianistes, un bassiste et des pédales, en quatuor ordinateur, melodica et guitare, mais surtout, pour la première moitié du disque, en quatuor avec guitare/effets, piano et George Haslam au saxo baryton et au tarogato. Cette improvisation de 20 minutes a de la gueule, de la profondeur, de l’atmosphère aussi. La qualité d’enregistrement est très moyenne (prise de son ambiante), mais Dada Dandy documente une approche inusitée.
A creature of harp player Ana Isabel Dias, A Favola da Medusa is shapeshifting free improvisation group. Dada Dandy culls four live recordings from 2010-2012. Each time, Dias surrounds herself with a heterogenous assortment of acoustic and electric musicians: a trio with two electric basses; a quintet with two pianists, a bassist, and pedals; a quartet with laptop, melodica, and guitar; and mostly, for the first half of the album, a quartet with guitar/effects, piano, and George Haslam on baritone sax and tarogato. This 20-minute improvisation has character, depth, and mood. Sound quality is weak – it’s an ambient capture – but Dada Dandy documents a unique approach.

FLETCHER BRICE JOZWIAK / Nick of Time (Slam Productions)
Jazz improvisé par Mike Fletcher (saxo alto, flûte), Olie Brice, contrebasse et Tymoteusz Jozwiak, batterie. Belle session studio léchée, belle synergie. Je n’ai rien à reprocher à ce disque, en fait, mais la musique est plutôt ordinaire dans le genre. Les trios comme ça se comptent par centaines.
Improvised jazz by Mike Fletcher (alto sax, flute), Olie Brice (bass) and Tymoteusz Jozwiak (drums). Fine sleek studio session, nice synergy. I don’t have any particular quabble about this CD, except that the music is run of the mill. There are hundreds of trios like this one.

ANNE WALDMAN / Jaguar Harmonics (Fast Speaking Music)
La poétesse Anne Waldman récite son recueil Jaguar Harmonics sur fond de jazz improvisé par le saxo montréalais Devin Brahja Waldman, Ha-Yang Kim au violoncelle, Ambrose Bye aux électroniques et le multi-instrumentiste Daniel Carter (avec qui Devin a déjà enregistré). Les mots frappent et sont livrés avec conviction; la musique s’y adapte très bien sans en proposer une simple traduction. Et jamais, au cours de ce long disque (75 minutes), je n’ai souhaité que la poétesse ou que les musiciens se taisent. Personne n’est de trop, l’ensemble coule de source. Bravo.
Poet Anne Waldman recites her book Jaguar Harmonics over a background of freely improvised jazz performed by Montreal sax player Devin Brahja Waldman, Ha-Yang Kim on cello, Ambrose Bye on electronics, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter (with whom Devin has recorded previously). The words are often striking and delivered with conviction; the music suits them very well without getting into a literal translation of them. And never, in the course of this 75-minute disc, have I wished for the poet to stop talking or for the musicians to stop playing. It all fits together and flows naturally. Bravo.

STEFAN ROIGK / Unpredictable Fromberg mix (2013) (eh?)
Une pièce de 44 minutes qui, tout en s’inspirant ouvertement de “Fontana Mix” de John Cage, réussit à s’en démarquer et à intéresser pour ses qualités propes. Sources sonores disparates, comme chez Cage, mais assemblées d’une manière plus intégrante, moins provocante, au point de devenir une œuvre électroacoustique plutôt qu’un collage sonore. Les notes de livret se lisent comme une lettre ouverte à Cage, ce qui est bien sympathique. L’œuvre a capté mon attention du début à la fin.
A 44-minute piece that, though openly inspired by John Cage’s “Fontana Mix”, manages to run its own course and get interesting through its own means. Hodge-podge sound sources, as in Cage’s work, but assembled in ways that are more integrated, less conflictual, to the point of becoming more of an electroacoustic piece than a sound collage. Liner notes are almost in the form of an open letter to Cage, which is quite nice. This piece kept me attentive throughout.

 BEN BENNETT & JACK WRIGHT / Tangle (Public Eyesore)
J’ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à écouter Tangle, et je suis convaincu que les musiciens en ont eu autant à l’enregistrer. Improvisations percussions-saxo très vives et ludiques. Bennett utilise beaucoup d’objets et de petits tambours, tout se fait en mode étouffé et clinquant. Trois improvisations de 20 minutes. “Bogus Ferret” prend, dans sa partie centrale, un tournant cabotin qui m’a beaucoup plu. [Ci-dessous: Bennett et Wright en concert, extrait représentatif de l’album.]
I’ve had a lot of fun listening to Tangle, and I’m sure the performers had a lot of fun recording it. Lively and playful percussion/saxophone free improvisations. Bennett uses lots of small drums, objects and preparations, so everything from his part sounds muffled and rickety. Three 20-minute pieces. The second third of “Bogus Ferret” got loony and I loved it. [Below: Short live performance by Bennett & Wright, representative of the album.]

BARZIN / To Live Alone in That Long Summer (Monotreme)
Barzin a sorti un nouvel album en février, son premier depuis Notes to an Absent Lover, qui remonte à... 2009! Il était temps. Un disque court mais satisfaisant, qui maintient le cap par rapport au disque précédent, ce qui signifie que ses chansons sont lentes, douces et délicates, mais moins lentes, douces et délicates que sur son premier disque, Barzin (2003), un bijou de musique post-folk qui me démantibule le cœur à chaque écoute, encore aujourd’hui. To Live Alone in That Long Summer n’est pas de cette trempe, mais c’est un beau disque de chason folk alternative. Les textes prennent un peu plus de place (ce qui n’est pas un plus), il y a beaucoup de cordes (ce qui EST un plus), et dans l’ensemble je me laisse bercer par ce nouveau disque qui fleure bon la fin de soirée mélancolique. [Ci-dessous: Vidéoclip de la chanson “All the While”.]
Barzin released a new album in February, his first since Notes to an Absent Lover, which came out in... 2009! It was about time, I’d say. A short but satisfying record that stays on the course traced by his previous album, which means that songs are slow, quiet and delicate, but less slow, quiet and delicate than the ones found on his debut CD Barzin (2003), an unsung post-folk gem that tears my heart to pieces every time I listen to it, even after a decade. To Live Alone in That Long Summer is not at that level, but it’s an enjoyable record of alt folk. Lyrics take up more room (not necessarily a plus), there’s lot of strings (definitely a plus), and overall I let mysefl be gently rocked by this new CD that smells of melancholy late nights.  [Below: Music video for “All the While.”]


2014-08-19

Délire actuel, 2014-08-19

DÉLIRE ACTUEL

Réécoutez (streaming ou téléchargement) la dernière édition de Délire actuel ICI (cherchez Délire actuel dans la liste).
You can listen (stream or download) to the latest Délire Actuel broadcast HERE (look for Délire Actuel on the list of shows).

Édition du 19 août 2014
Broadcast of August 19, 2014

Portrait musical: Bob Drake : Bob Drake vient de publier Lawn Ornaments, son huitième album solo. Voici un portrait de deux heures sur ce merveilleux iconoclaste de la chanson.
Musical Profile: Bob Drake: Bob Drake just released his eighth studio album Lawn Ornaments. Here’s a two-hour profile on this amazing iconoclast singer-songwriter-producer.

(8:00 pm)




THINKING PLAGUE
A Light Is On and Name the World
Early Plague Years
01:32
THINKING PLAGUE
Etude for Combo
Early Plague Years
07:02
VENUS HANDCUFFS
Venus Handcuffs
Venus Handcuffs
04:29
BOB DRAKE
The 13th Animal
What Day Is It?
03:35
BOB DRAKE
The Cemetary Trees
What Day Is It?
4:44

(8:30 pm)




5UU'S
Well...Not Chickenshit
Hunger's Teeth
06:40
5UU'S
Comeuppance
Crisis in Clay
03:48
BOB DRAKE
Charge
Little Black Train
01:51
BOB DRAKE
The Graveyard Variations
Little Black Train
03:32
BOB DRAKE
Hideous Shrub
Medallion Animal Carpet
01:53
BOB DRAKE
Crude Internal Organ
Medallion Animal Carpet
00:40
BOB DRAKE
Detrimental Robot
Medallion Animal Carpet
01:29
BOB DRAKE
In the Tomb
The Skull Mailbox
02:00
BOB DRAKE
The Wig Screamed Murder
The Skull Mailbox
02:24
BOB DRAKE
You Can't Outwit That Thing
The Skull Mailbox
01:04

(9:00 pm)




BOB DRAKE
Chase
13 Songs and A Thing
02:04
BOB DRAKE
Pechan and Willy
13 Songs and A Thing
03:41
BOB DRAKE
The Shunned Country: An Introduction
The Shunned Country
01:23
BOB DRAKE
Something Was Wrong Down There at the Graveyard
The Shunned Country
00:26
BOB DRAKE
Just Ask Mr. Smith
The Shunned Country
00:18
BOB DRAKE
Toolshed
The Shunned Country
00:15
BOB DRAKE
Bad Reputation
The Shunned Country
00:18
BOB DRAKE
Hand of Saint Anne
The Shunned Country
00:29
BOB DRAKE
The Megalith of Forgotten Purpose
The Shunned Country
00:25
BOB DRAKE
Rot of the Stars
The Shunned Country
00:24
BOB DRAKE
The Tunnels
The Shunned Country
00:29
BOB DRAKE
Nobody Knows What to Do
The Shunned Country
00:28
BOB DRAKE
House By the Swamp
The Shunned Country
00:32
BOB DRAKE
By Then It Was Much Too late
The Shunned Country
00:53
BOB DRAKE
Ash Tree - First Movement
The Shunned Country
00:27
BOB DRAKE
Ash Tree - Second Movement
The Shunned Country
00:23
AA KISMET
I Love to Watch
What's the Use of Crying When the Wolves Have Arrived
02:09
Zzzzzz Records
VRIL
Supersonic Canteen
Effigies in Cork
01:28
THE SCIENCE GROUP
Timeline 5
Spoors
05:55

(9:30 pm)




HAIL
I Don't Know
Hello Debris
02:54
NIMBY
Tattoo Removal
Songs for Adults
03:07
Ad Hoc
BOB DRAKE
Everybody Wants to Meet My Raccoon
Bob's Drive-In
01:45
BOB DRAKE
Sad and Indifferent Animals Wearing Scarves
Bob's Drive-In
02:19
BOB DRAKE
Recreational Guide to the Solar System for Humans (Live)
Bob's Drive-In
03:08
BOB DRAKE
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Ornaments
02:28
BOB DRAKE
Park of the Mysteries
Lawn Ornaments
03:56
BOB DRAKE
Hyena Hot Springs
Lawn Ornaments
03:01
BOB DRAKE
Agents of Decay
Lawn Ornaments
02:25


COMPLÉMENTS
SUPPLEMENTS

BOB DRAKE
Son site Internet
His website
http://www.bdrak.com

Sa chaîne YouTube, où vous trouverez quelques extraits d’un rare concert de Bob Drake et son groupe Cabinet of Curiosities.
His YouTube channel, where you’ll find a few snippets from a rare performance by his “solo” band Cabinet of Curiosities.
https://www.youtube.com/user/bfwdrake/videos