electrocd

1. Grrr

Martin Tétreault, Otomo Yoshihide

Fiévreux et fascinant. emoRAGEi, Québec

Les amateurs du genre se sont déjà rués dessus. ImproJazz, France

In the spring of 2003, Martin Tétreault and Otomo Yoshihide toured part of Europe in a 15-date, 16-day marathon organized by Les Instants chavirés, in co-production with SuperMusique.

Out of these improv concerts, six were captured on various media: CD-R, DAT and MiniDisc. The thought of preserving these moments came naturally to the ears of our two turntablists and was motivated by the renewed pleasure of playing together and, of course, by the quality of the music, which, night after night, explored new forms, ranging from sonic economy to something much harsher. This spontaneous reaction from the musicians would come from the quality of both room and stage sound, the venue occupied — museum, auditorium, rock bar — or the attention of the audience.

Soon, the idea of releasing a live album was explored. But there was too much material to fit on a single disc. And so it was decided to put together a trilogy where each disc would focus on one aspect of the duo’s work on stage: the noisiest material on 1. Grrr (November ’04), the most fragmented on 2. Tok (February ’05), and finally the smoothest on 3. Ahhh (May ’05).

1. Grrr noisy, distorted, loud, larsen-laden, highly intense, no silence.

CD (AM 131)

Not in catalogue

This item is not available through our website. We have catalogued it for information purposes only. You might find more details about this item on the Ambiances Magnétiques website.

  • Label: Ambiances Magnétiques
  • AM 131
  • 2004
  • UCC 771028113125
  • Total duration: 74:11
  • Sympathique case
  • 126 mm × 126 mm × 5 mm
  • 35 g

On the web

Some recommended items
In the press

De zéro à disque

Stéphane Martel, emoRAGEi, March 30, 2006

Il y a deux ans, Tétreault et Yoshihide (un réputé musicien «bruitiste» japonais), partirent en tournée à travers l’Europe, leurs tables tournantes sous le bras, et revinrent avec six prestations improvisées toutes enregistrées sur support mini-disque, CD-R ou DAT. Sommes-nous en territoire Kid Koala? Pas le moindrement du monde. On a parfois l’impression que le ciel va nous tomber sur la tête en écoutant Grrr tellement l’assourdissant tintamarre devient à peine tolérable (particulièrement sur la première plage). Dense, cacophonique, distortionné à l’extrême, on peut comparer l’expérience à celle d’être enfermé dans un lave-vaisselle défectueux. Deux autres volumes, l’un plus «fragmenté» et l’autre «tranquille» (respectivement intitulés Tok et Ahhh) verront le jour au cours des prochains mois. Pas un disque à offrir à grand-maman. Fiévreux et fascinant.

Fiévreux et fascinant.

Critique

Luc Bouquet, ImproJazz, no. 121, January 1, 2006

1. Grrr: tenailles magnétiques, martèlements froncés, stridences hantées, fauvismes révélés. Principe du bruit pour révolver glacé. Extraction réussie. Durée de l’intervention: 74 minutes.

2. Tok: caresses flasques, appels sidérurgiques, bossa nava encombrée, suprématie du brouillage, traumatisme continu. Funny Games. Gencive à vif. Durée de l’intervention: 61 minutes.

3. Ahhh: phare sonique, sonar profond, indices craintifs, insectes brûlés, membranes déphasées. Douleur sourde et tenace. Durée de l’intervention: 61 minutes.

Soit trois disques reprenant la quasi-intégralité des six concerts que le duo donna en Europe au printemps 2003. Un premier disque hurleur, un second plus fragmenté et un troisième résolument hypnotique. Les amateurs du genre se sont déjà rués dessus.

Excusez-moi d’abréger de la sorte mais mon dentiste m’attend… La symphonie peut continuer.

Les amateurs du genre se sont déjà rués dessus.

Recensione

Enrico Bettinello, All About Jazz Italy, December 1, 2005

Tre volumi dell’etichetta canadese Ambiances Magnétiques raccolgono materiale registrato durante il tour europeo della primavera del 2003 dal duo di giradischi Martin Tétreault e Otomo Yoshihide.

La scelta è stata quella di spezzare il continuum delle singole serate per raggruppare la materia sonora a seconda del “clima” su cui veniva impastata: ecco quindi il primo volume 1. Grrr che raccoglie i momenti più “forti”, nel senso di rumorosi e aggressivi, mentre 2. Tok si compone di materiali più frammentati e 3. Ahhh concede alle orecchie - come suggerisce il titolo - la meritata quiete [sempre intesa con i benefici del caso…]

È chiaro da subito come questa scelta “classificatoria” sia la chiave d’accesso ai suoni contenuti nei tre volumi: quello che accade in un concerto è assai diverso, gode di un suo andamento dinamico, di una - per quanto peculiare - struttura narrativa, di una dialettica tra vuoti e pieni, di climax e anticlimax; gode ovviamente anche dell’energia del momento, del “vedere” come i due musicisti “trattano” i loro giradischi, del feedback del pubblico…

Non potendo su disco trasferire l’integrità della rappresentazione, specie questi ultimi aspetti, Tétreault e Otomo decidono di rinunciare del tutto alla coerenza della singola serata e “impacchettano” l’esito secondo coordinate che sono tanto banali quanto efficaci: non solo infatti si offre così all’ascoltatore una piena immersione nella gamma prescelta, ma gli si permette anche di confrontare come in differenti circostanze i due lavorino materiali analoghi.

Come è prevedibile attendersi da questi due “specialisti”, l’uso dei giradischi è ovviamente molto radicale, quasi sempre svincolato dalla loro funzionalità [suonare un disco] per ritrovarsi capovolto concettualmente [risuonare in un disco] e brutalizzato materialmente, attraverso sfregamenti, utilizzo di oggetti, colpi, feedback…

Stando così le cose, il primo volume, capace di accostare veri e propri muri di suono, sibili, lacerazioni uditive, è ovviamente il più “sgradevole”, ma anche molto efficace nell’offrire un doloroso spaccato del delirio tecnologico, quasi che tutte le macchine che ci circondano si fossero messe a funzionare male, al massimo volume, a pochi centimetri dal nostro cervello!

2. Tok svela una serie di sfumature particolarmente incisive [si ascolti il ribollire di Lyon no 3 / Kafe Myzyk 28.04.03] e permette di apprezzare meglio la contrapposizione tra i due artisti, mentre 3. Ahhh apre uno squarcio su un paesaggio emotivo che sembra l’unico esito possibile dopo il tuono del primo volume e lo sbriciolarsi del secondo.

Perché quello che sembrano dirci Tétreault e Otomo in questa decostruzione delle loro esibizioni è che alla fine di tutto non c’è il silenzio, ma il ricordo, lontano e struggente di una condizione di rumore primigenio… la musica è una pura illusione… Valutazione: ★★★ 1/2 [complessivamente]

… la musica è una pura illusione…

Critique

Roald Baudoux, Les Cahiers de l’ACME, no. 224, September 17, 2005

Si vous doutiez de ce que des platines tourne-disques sont des instruments de musique à part entière, Martin Tétreault et Otomo Yoshihide vous convaincront du contraire. Cette trilogie contient des enregistrements de concerts donnés par le duo en Europe en 2003. Les platines ne sont pas vraiment là pour nous restituer les sons d’enregistrements sur microsillons, mais plutôt les sons des microsillons eux-mêmes, ainsi que ceux des platines éventuellement couplées à d’autres corps sonores, le tout passé au travers d’un dispositif de traitement «lo-fi» (pédales, etc.). Craquements, bruits de surface, rayures et dérapages d’aiguilles, tels sont quelques-uns des ingrédients qui composent cette mixture, le tout avec une distorsion immodérée. Sur le premier disque, 1. Grrr, l’univers sonore évoque des appareils électriques qui dysfonctionneraient en permanence sans, pour autant, jamais se résoudre à réellement tomber en panne, soit une sorte d’agonie infinie d’un couple de mange-disques qui aurait consommé des substances illicites sans modération. On est dans le registre des événements brefs mais répétés. Le second volume, 2. Tok, est bardé de sons itératifs qui rappellent des machines en mouvement, mais on y trouve aussi divers craquements, petits et gros. Ce disque est traversé de sons distordus, de corpuscules bruiteux divers développant un ensemble très fragmenté et saturé. La trilogie est clôturée par 3. Ahhh. On peut considérer que le titre reproduit le cri de soulagement poussé par l’auditeur à la suite de l’exposition prolongée aux sons harmoniquement chargés des deux premiers opuscules (et d’ailleurs le mot «harmonique» est étranger à cet univers). On se retrouve essentiellement dans des textures moins denses, moins torturées, avec des continuums parsemés de craquements ou des passages presque statiques. Pour conclure, on peut dire que si l’utilisation des sons créés par de platines tourne —disques en création musicale n’est pas une nouveauté, rarement cette utilisation aura été aussi poussée et concentrée, à l’exclusion de tout autre instrument ou catégorie de sons.

Si vous doutiez de ce que des platines tourne-disques sont des instruments de musique à part entière, Martin Tétreault et Otomo Yoshihide vous convaincront du contraire.

Hudební

Karel Kouba, Literarni noviny, August 1, 2005

Critique

Éric Norman, JazzoSphère, August 1, 2005

Attention, cœurs sensibles, on a ici affaire à un produit dangereux d’improvisations électrisantes par deux agiles manipulateurs de tables-tournantes: le japonais Otomo Yoshihide, fondateur de Ground Zero, et le québécois Martin Tétreault.

Suite au succès de leur coffret Studio — Analogique — Numérique, le duo de platiniste le plus déjanté de la planète entame avec 1. Grrr le premier volet de la documentation d’une tournée qui les a fait traverser plusieurs pays. Ce sont donc trois disques «live» du duo qui sortiront cette année; 1. Grrr en est le versant agressif: noise, larsens, pas de silence; un voyage dans les tripes de la mécanique. C’est ce que l’on retrouve sur l’album; beaucoup de bruit, de sons continus et discordants. Utilisant principalement la mécanique des tables et très peu de disques, les deux platinistes dressent une musique faite de frottements, de moteurs et de feedbacks, qui s’approche parfois du scratch par sa frénésie gestuelle, mais qui s’attarde surtout à explorer avec bonheur les possibilités créatives d’appareil reproducteurs. Cette recherche ne se faisant pas sans douleur, comptons-nous chanceux que nos deux amis sachent varier les effets dans cette jungle de sons électriques. Les deux prochains disques, 2. Tok et 3. Ahhh, documenteront d’autres aspects de leur création commune.

… un voyage dans les tripes de la mécanique.

Review

Tom Sekowski, The WholeNote, no. 10:10, July 1, 2005

Let’s be honest, duos mining the so-called experimental music field are not new. But then again, can you really call the turntable a “new” instrument? People have “played” the turntable, on it, beside and inside it, for years now. Luckily for us (partially due to the popularity of rap) over the last two decades, there has been a resurgence of this neglected instrument. These three discs document the 2003 collaboration of two of the most innovative turntablists around: Quebec-based Martin Tétreault and Japanese Otomo Yoshihide. Together they create a maelstrom of turntable fury.

1. Grrr was meant to document the noisiest moments from the duo’s 2003 European tour. To be fair, it’s not the chaotic and obscenely ferocious acts of turntable mutilation that I take pleasure in on this CD. What excites me most are those quiet and pensive moments (such as on Nijmegen no 4b / Extrapool 25.04.03) that turn the preconceived sound of the turntable upside down. There is a definite pulsing beat to this piece. You hear a warm, glowing core here, not a human machine used to play LPs. This is one of the signs of a great duo, of a duo that is more than happy to experiment to get fresh results and unfamiliar sounds deep from their instruments. How many other turntable duos do you know that can make their instruments mimic a duo of a (high-pitched) alto player and a bassist? Final word of warning – 1. Grrr is not for the faint of heart. It is for those that need a huge jolt with their usual dose of mundane music.

I think 2. Tok was meant to showcase the more cut’n’paste approach to both musicians’ work. The album alternates between the obscure and the bizarre in a matter of a minute and the listener gets taken for a wild ride. The effect is quite spectacular. Tiny shifts in timbre, pitch and essence, this time around the music is about the texture rather than pure shock value. Pieces are dense but palatable to the ear. There’s more crackle than pop as the sounds are strangely pasted and layered in a fashion one could not imagine. This isn’t necessarily a sign of maturity (their work stands fine on its own merit – age has nothing to do with it). Simply put, both men needed to outline a part of their working relationship that didn’t get much exposure in the past. Abrasive to some, while welcoming to others, it’s best to let the sounds take their own course and declare a verdict afterwards. 2. Tok then is not about style, it is about the means in which an idea gets put across.

Finally, to close off this trilogy we get 3. Ahhh. Whether you’d like to take this literally or not (“Ahhh” could be a sign of relief as much as it is a declaration of restful state), the record is the most quiet one of the bunch. Now, the duo concentrates exclusively on the art of silence. It’s the state of the unheard, the art of the less explored that the duo are mining. Sure, you need patience for this record as the individual pieces develop slowly, often times leaving us without a resolution or a climax of sorts. Rather, it’s the journey that excites the two. Sound is suggested and implied. There is no direct over-the-top delivery here. You really have to listen to hear – to truly HEAR this record. Subtle pulsing heartbeats, huge machines revving up but never starting and that warmth are all here for the taking. In fact, the entire record proves that turntables can be very human, very organic and most obviously very lovable instruments.

If I had to pick a personal favourite, from a conceptual standpoint, 3. Ahhh turns out to be the highlight of the trilogy. Kudos go to the record label [Ambiances Magnétiques, distributed by DAME] that decided to push the entire trilogy as stand-alone releases to the market.

… turntables can be very human, very organic and most obviously very lovable instruments.

Review

George Zahora, Splendid E-Zine, June 14, 2005

Before we move forward, it’s important that you know the story behind 1. Grrr and the two discs that follow it (2. Tok and 3. Ahhh, respectively). Tétreault and Yoshihide are turntablists, albeit turntablists of a different stripe: above and beyond scratching, cutting and so forth, they favor modified turntables and heavily processed sounds, and are prone to applying their stylii to items other than vinyl records (1. Grrr’s liner photo shows Yoshihide attempting to “play” a small cymbal). In early 2003, the pair played a fifteen date tour, improvising a fresh set of turntable-derived aural extremity every night. Several of these sets were recorded, and their highlights were used to create three different live albums, each one based around a specific sonic theme. 1. Grrr, as its title implies, collects the loudest and most abrasive bits.

Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. If you’ve ever been put off by an album that was made with recognizable musical instruments, you have little or no hope of getting through 1. Grrr, a series of abrasive drones, grinding sounds, piercing squeals and other sounds from the angry end of the sonic palette. Even if you regularly listen to so-called “noise” records, and can detect the art in 1. Grrr’s assault - the textures, the nuances of physical manipulation, the fleeting moments of beauty - seventy minutes of this material is a punishing slog. It’s possible to play it as pure background music, but eventually some portion of it will get to you. In our office, the odds-on favorite is Grenoble no 1 / Le 102, 29.04.03, which adds a piercing, migraine-inducing squeal to the various low-register rumbles.

The thing is, albums like 1. Grrr are nuclear weapons for your record collection - it’s important to play them once, so that the world around you knows just how far you’re prepared to go. After that, you need merely threaten to play it again and watch how quickly people cooperate with you. Eventually, friends or your common sense will encourage you to get rid of 1. Grrr, but don’t; you’ll sleep better at night knowing it’s there.

… albums like 1. Grrr are nuclear weapons for your record collection…

Review

Mike Chamberlain, Hour, March 10, 2005

It’s too bad that this CD doesn’t come with an accompanying video of Tétreault and Otomo performing, for that would have made what the two turntablists actually do much more transparent to the uninitiated. The eight pieces on this album were recorded during a tour of France in 2003, and anyone who saw the duo in Montréal in October of that year can attest to the musical (and comic) genius of these two master improvisers. The turntables themselves are used as instruments, while whatever vinyl is used is apt to be employed as a weird plectrum or drumstick as anything else. Shoes and coats might serve the same purpose. One more thing-play loud!

One more thing-play loud!

Reviews — Improv & Avant-Garde

Eric Hill, Exclaim!, March 1, 2005

The first in a series of three discs featuring live turntable improvisations, 1. Grrr is the thrash punk equivalent of vinyl manipulation. Not that vinyl is used exclusively or at all in some cases. Industrial noise in the style of Merzbow is generated by the collision of surface and electricity. In some places this may be stylus on vinyl, elsewhere copper coil grinding a hand cymbal finds its way onto the turntable. Tétreault and Otomo explore levels of distortion and saturation frequently in the red, but frame the noise with beats and pulses to enclose the impact. Recorded during a week of shows throughout France, the pieces become more brutal and blunt as the tour progresses. The recording is superb and in early tracks minute details of sound can be isolated within the overall squall. 1. Grrr is to be followed by two other collections titled 2. Tok and 3. Ahhh, featuring other aspects of their live collaboration.

… the thrash punk equivalent of vinyl manipulation.

Review

Nilan Perera, Exclaim!, March 1, 2005

This CD marks the first in a series of releases by sound artists Martin Tétreault (Québec) and Otomo Yoshihide (Japan). The music has been drawn from a series of live gigs in Europe in 2003 and assembled into a series of 3 discs: 1. Grrr (distorted, aggressive, noisy), 2. Tok (fragmented) 3. Ahhh (smooth) and possibly 4. Hmmm (throwaways). 1. Grrr is basically full spectrum abrasion but not of the sometimes sterile world of more formal noise art, more reminiscent of drum oriented music and more specifically heavy rock, metal etc. These improvisers have managed to create music that has the integrity and compositional arc of songs and have done it pretty much with analogue tools. The tone of the sounds themselves remind me more of the crashing finales of the rock/metal world (Neil Young’s feedback-driven Arc comes to mind), stretched out and basted in the on/off schizophrenic babbling of electronics artfully malfunctioning at an incredible rate. The communication level between these musicians is incredibly high and this has given us a CD of some of the best moments of power and aggression since Never Mind the Bollocks. I can’t wait to hear the next instalment.

The communication level between these musicians is incredibly high and this has given us a CD of some of the best moments of power and aggression…

Recensione

Nicola Catalano, Rumore, March 1, 2005

Primo volume di una trilogia che documenterà per intero o quasi due settimane di concerti in giro per l’Europa nel corso della primavera del 2003, 1. Grrr mostra il volto più espressamente rumorista della coppia di manipolatori Tétreault e Otomo (i successivi capitoli si concentreranno su differenti sfumature del live set dei due). Come si evince peraltro dal titolo, i nostri qui digrignano i denti e ringhiano in un’opera d’intensità a dir poco siderurgica, estenuante assalto impro-noise condotto semplicemente a colpi di oggetti e giradischi manipolati: tanto è vero che nemmeno più vengono utilizzati dischi per concentrarsi invece su sibili, grattamenti, elettricità statica, maltrattamenti, puro suono fisico degli aggeggia

Chronique

Julien Jaffré, Jade, February 1, 2005

Lorsque 2 platinistes se rencontrent, ils évoquent des histoires de platines et de diamants, de révolution par minutes et d’acétate et s’inventent des lieux et des histoires imaginaires, des rencontres et des mises en scènes innocentes ou fortuites. C’est sans doute ce goût du risque, de la fracture et du bruit qui a conduit ces 2 hommes à se rencontrer. Le Premier Otomo Yoshihide, fondateur de Ground Zero, membre du collectif MIMEO et d’ISO en compagnie de Sachiko M, et le second, Martin Tétreault, québécois, qui a acquis au fil d’une prolifique carrière ses gallons de terroriste sonore en maltraitant à 2 mains ses platines. Voilà pour les présentations succinctes. Le cadre de leur première rencontre sur support s’est sans doute opérée vers la fin des 90’ sur le label Ameobic pour Four Focuses, album sur lequel on retrouvait déjà Sachiko M et Yasuhiro Otani. Leur dernière rencontre Studio — Analogique — Numérique, fort d’un certain succès leur a donné l’envie de prolonger l’aventure. En soliste, les 2 hommes se sont démarqués sur des labels heureux tels qu’Ambiances Magnétiques, For4Ears, Sonic Factory, Japan Overseas, FMN, Extrême ou encore RéR. Ce disque, 1. Grrr (le plus bruyant), premier de ce qui s’annonce une série, suivi de 2. Tok (+ fragmenté) puis en mai de 3. Ahhh (le plus calme) est un florilège d’enregistrements live, répartis selon les thématiques sus-cités; chaque morceau portant le nom du lieu et de la salle, et donné dans un temps très court en Europe fin avril 2003… Ces performances se sont ainsi tenues entre Brest, Nijnegar, Orléans, Lyon et Grenoble, soit la France et la Hollande. 5 villes, 5 salles qui ont 5 soirs durant recueillis l’intimité de créations de nos 2 duettistes, mais aussi leur complexité, leur savoir-faire et savoir défaire, leur complicité, autant d’adjectifs qui participent de l’audition de ce disque. 1. Grrr propose une architecture sonore conflictuelle où les grésillements, et les perturbations hertziennes saturées recouvrent d’un halo gris la membrane rythmique qu’on découvre par courts instant. Pourtant, à l’occasion de fébriles harmonies - perce-neige - trouent la calotte, offrant alors quelques instants de grâce pure et délectable au creux de ce capharnaüm saturé.

… une architecture sonore conflictuelle où les grésillements, et les perturbations hertziennes saturées recouvrent d’un halo gris la membrane rythmique qu’on découvre par courts instant.

Recensione

Stefano Isidoro Bianchi, Blow Up, no. 81, February 1, 2005

I canadesi Aimé Dontigny e Érick d’Orion sono i morceaux_de_machines. Il primo maneggia il giradischi, il secondo il computer (cioè l’ordinateur, come dicono i francesi e così gli sciovinisti canadesi francofoni, travisando come d’abitudine concetto e forma). Questo è il loro secondo album e rispetto al predecessore (liberum arbitrium) allenta la presa del rumorismo tendendo a farsi carne. E che carne! Una bistecca da cinque dita, una fiorentina pepata dalla collaborazione di Diane Labrosse, Otomo Yoshihide e Martin Tétreault, che con loro danno vita e anima a un coacervo strappabudella di scratch e schriiitch, perturbazioni acustiche organizzate con violenza e senza tregua ma anche con tanta creatività ribelle, con fantasia ‘industriale’, con profondo senso del ritmo (persino della ‘canzone’ hip hop) e neanche un’ombra di gigioneria. Sarà forse l’interazione tra i due elementi a dare risultati così rigorosi e massicci, laddove il computer di d’Orion limita la tendenza allo straripamento dell’altro proponendogli un calcolo a monte, una ragione ragionante e ragionata che sta a priori e che neanche volendo i due riescono ad evitare: una collaborazione pressoché perfetta.

Temevo invece per il duetto di Tétreault e Yoshihide, che fanno tutto da soli con due giradischi. Essendo autorità riconosciute dello strumento, si sarebbero potuti permettere di giocare al gatto & topo organizzandosi il festino con ammenicoli e pezzetti d’oggettistica varia attaccati alle puntine, ai microfonini, agli ampli-ini: a partire da presupposti simili abbiamo sentito spesso polpettoni indigeribili. Stavolta invece i due si concentrano solo sugli strumenti, li prendono e strapazzano con frugale brutalità e ne tirano fuori una girandola calorifera d’improvvisazioni bercianti, autentiche, prepotentemente ‘volgari’ e rigorosamente ‘punk’. Pare impossibile accreditare a due semplici giradischi queste evoluzioni e strutture, tanti sono forza e impatto ‘rock’ dei singoli episodi. Rispetto ai morceaux_de_machines la coppia punta proprio allo stomaco piuttosto che alla testa: a tratti parrebbe di sentire un redivivo Hendrix, altrove i Melvins polverizzati in una nebbia sulfurea. Quando si dice ‘uso creativo dello strumento’.

… una collaborazione pressoché perfetta.

Review

Paul Bijlsma, Phosphor, no. 116, January 1, 2005

The first part of a live trilogy has been released by Dame, a label from Montréal. The album focuses on the noisiest material during the European tour (spring 2003) of this duo. Glas splinters can hurt. Some people need this pain to feel something. Some people use glas spilnters to create something painful and beautiful. Martin Tétreault and Otomo Yoshihide are already known from releases such as 21 situations and the 3 Mini CD Box Studio — Analogique — Numérique (Ambiances Magnétiques). They use comparable short sound fragments, which are interrupted from time to time. There are some rhythmic moments to be found on their album 1. Grrr, but in general the sounds seem to come coincidentally and with precision. The two turntabilists delivered a cacaphonic mixture of noise fragments. The music is layered, extreme, harsh and loud. Sound snippets are catapulized with high speed into the musical orbit. Peeps and bass fragments keep the soundstructure together, while at the same time terrorizing your ears. Except in between tracks, the listener has no time to recover from this sound battle. Despite the inaccessibillty of the music one notices the quallty of the music. Both artists know exactly what they are doing. Let’s hope the next output in these series will be just as good.

Except in between tracks, the listener has no time to recover from this sound battle.

Review

Frans de Waard, Vital, no. 454, December 22, 2004

If I am not mistaken (and usually I am) this might be the third CD by Canada’s noise duo morceaux_de_machines, aka Erick d’Orion and A_dontigny, but here they are guested by Diane Labrosse (with whom Dontigny already made a CD), Otomo Yoshihide and Martin Tétreault. They play on some of the live tracks on this album. morceaux_de_machines are, I think, best described as a live-improv musique concrete noise outfit. They use records, cds, electronics and computers and cook up a steamy mix of cut ‘n paste sounds, taking apart the exisiting sounds (of vinyl, of cds) and putting them in this huge blender called mixing board and effects and rather go for the louder and nastier elements, than say, something smooth and soft. It was hard to tell that there were live tracks on this CD (I read the liner notes usually afterwards), but in hindsight, I think the studio pieces are a bit concetrated and denser and the live pieces something more loosely structured. There is a certain Merzbow influence to be detected here, but than of the Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets period (late 80s Merzbow). Overall a nice work, but at over seventy-five minutes also a lenghty experience. More = more seems to be their point. Nice one anyway.

The same Otomo Yoshihide and the same Martin Tétreault toured Europe in the springtime 2003, playing fifteen concerts in sixteen days, under which one I saw at Extrapool. Of course every concert was recorded and the results are thematically organised for release. 1. Grrr contains the noise aspects of the concerts, and to be released are 2. Tok with the more fragmented stuff and 3. Ahhh with the more smoother moments. Both Yoshihide and Tétreault play turntable and objects. As indicated this is indeed a disc full (very full at seventy four minutes) of noise. Yet, I am altogether not very sure if this was a good idea. In a concert situation the two go in one concert from loud to fragmented to soft and back again. That makes the concert by Tétreault and Yoshihide a breathtaking experience. But when they cut out, say all the noise elements of all concerts and isolate them on one CD, it’s a different thing. It may appeal to noise-fans alike, but for me (not always a noise fan) it was simply too much. I rather had one CD documentating all the various aspects of duo, the best moments of every concert.

More = more seems to be their point.

Caleidoscoop

Jan Willem Broek, De Subjectivisten, December 15, 2004

www.actuellecd.com en www.electrocd.com herbergen beide Canadese labels voor nieuwe muziek, jazz, musique concrète, elektro-akoestische muziek, noise en experimentele muziek. De eerste omvat onder meer DAME met sublabel Ambiances Magnétiques, Victo, Squint Fucker Press en Spool. De tweede labels als empreintes DIGITALes en No Type. No Type is het grappigste label, want daarop nemen ze de genregrenzen niet zo nauw en kan je elk van bovenstaande stijlen krijgen gemengd met pop, rock, techno of hiphop. Aimé Dontigny ofwel A_dontigny en Érick d’Orion bemoeien zich graag met andere artiesten, maar vomen samen de noiseband morceaux_de_machines. Op Estrapade staat noise, opgebouwd uit groovende lagen elektro-akoestische muziek. Het klinkt moddervet en vervaarlijk. Ik eet niet vaak vlees, maar bij dit kolossale geluid klinkt het bakken van kilo’s gehakt perfect. Industrieel vormgeven en martelen met dood vlees. Ze hebben hulp uit goede huize, namelijk de draaitafel buitenbeentjes Martin Tétreault en Otomo Yoshihide. U bent gewaarschuwd (indien de hoes al niet afdoende was).

De Canadees Martin Tétreault en de Japanner Otomo Yoshihide (ex-Ground Zero) hebben allebei in ontelbare projecten gezeten en hebben niets en niemand meer wat te bewijzen. Getuige 1. Grrr hebben ze misschien alleen nog wat aan de duivel te bewijzen. In 2003 zijn ze samen met hun draaitafels op tournee gegaan. Lange, slopende draaidagen, waarbij het publiek dat van een flinke pot noise houdt de vingers kon blijven aflikken. Acht live-opnames zijn vastgelegd op dit eerste deel van de live-trilogie. De lawaaierige improvisaties zijn meer dan indrukwekkend. Het piept, schuurt, kraakt, scratcht en blaast; het tweekoppige, kakofonische monster lijkt te spelen met vuur onder de hielen. Zeker met het volume hoog is het een groots en adembenemend hoorspel. Bewondering en prettig afgrijzen wisselen elkaar af. Als mensen nu tegen mij zeggen dat dit geen muziek is heb ik daar begrip voor. Hoewel? Deel 3, 3. Ahhh (te verschijnen in 2005), klinkt ook veelbelovend.