“Bevor ich die Bedeutung der Worte verstehe, sind die Unterhaltungen meiner Nachbarn für mich nur Rhythmus, Bewegung, Geschwindigkeit. Mein Ansatzpunkt beim Zuhören ist die Musikalität des Klangs und ich versuche diese Eindrücke akustisch aufzufüllen.” So beschreibt der Gitarrist und Komponist Jacques Tremblay seine Musik und die Entstehung der Chroniques d’une séduction. Er arbeitet gleichzeitig mit instrumentellen und elektroakustischen Klangerzeugern, mischt Sprachaufnahmen mit Fieldrecordings und Aufnahmen von Musikinstrumenten, die wiederum wie Fieldrecordings klingen. Digital bearbeitet, arrangiert und mit Effekten versehen, ergibt sich daraus ein spannendes Hörstück.

«De l’autre côté de l’Atlantique et basé à Montréal, le label Empreintes Digitales édite depuis bientôt 20 ans des albums de références en matière de musiques électroacoustiques, acousmatiques et concrètes.»

«Chroniques d’une séduction est une œuvre de Jacques Tremblay conçue autour du principe d’altérité. Une altérité aux facettes multiples dans laquelle la notion d’acceptation et de reconnaissance de l’autre dans sa différence a été vécue par ce musicien alors qu’il était en pleine séance de composition et que sa concentration à été troublée par des passants, des bruits divers de choses et de gens. Une expérience banale qui conduit souvent à l’agacement mais de troublée, l’écriture musicale de Jacques Tremblay, sera très vite inspirée, nourrie et enrichie. Cette prise de conscience deviendra le thème même de ce nouvel album judicieusement intitulé Chroniques d’une séduction. Je vous propose de nous retrouver autour de la machine à café, lieu de rencontres et d’échanges et qui peut devenir, pour les plus sages d’entre nous un lieu propice à l’altérité.»

Tremblay brings us three well crafted works on this cd, his first in ten years. It was well worth the waiting!

Jacques Tremblay is of the same generation as Ned Bouhalassa, whose [disc] we reviewed a few days earlier. Tremblay is a different character, though. Where Bouhalassa brings the street into the studio, Tremblay, to me at least, is more the composer who regards the studio as a laboratory where he brews and distils all kinds of sounds and then places them under a microscope and then continues with determination.

Tremblay is the kind of composer who picks up a theme and then turns it inside out, sound wise. The first work on this CD, for instance, concentrates on the word ‘café’ which in French means both ‘coffee’ and ‘pub’. This offers of course an interesting combination where on the one hand we hear ‘sound’ ground or granulated like coffee beans and then brought under heavy pressure to produce a strong ‘espresso’. On the other hand there are the sounds that we associate with a cozy pub/cafe.

The center piece of this release is Empathies entropiques. I must say, it is by far the best piece of this disc and luckily it continues to be so for more than 47 minutes. The work is divided up into eight parts. An interesting mix of field recording, editing thereof and electronics. Constantly moving and revolving. Beautiful.

Tremblay at several points uses the typical editing techniques that are common with acousmatic composers, especially the ED composers, but in general his style is personal and strong.

Rated: 8/10

There is an interesting quote on the cover of Chroniques d’une séduction: “since I cannot grasp the meaning of the words, my neighbor’s conversation becomes beat, movement, pace” — that exactly happened to me last night, as I heard voices on the otherwise silent street. I vaguely heard it was about not being able to get in the house, but the finer points of the conversation were lost on me. So I understand more what Tremblay says. He’s a composer and classically trained guitarist and in the three pieces here on his second solo CD show his diverse interests in instrumental music, electronic music and field recordings. It’s on Empreintes Digitales, which guides the listener in a certain direction. Although I think Tremblay’s disc is more interesting than some of the releases I encountered from this label in the last year, also Tremblay doesn’t escape what I think is part of the overall Empreintes Digitales sound: the tumbling of sounds, the pitching up and downwards of the material — be they instrumental, vocal, field recordings or purely electronical. But Tremblay adds a certain element of anarchy to it I think, which makes this throughout more enjoyable than some of the more rigid releases. Children’s voices, street sounds and in some parts of Empathies entropiques even reminding me of Nurse With Wound. Quite a nice work.

Jacques Tremblay presents Chroniques d’une séduction, his 2nd solo disc. A composer who explores various types of approaches, from instrumental music to mixed music and purely electroacoustic music. “I listen… looking from the inside out… and rather than closing itself up, my perception tries to feed off these sonic imprints.” —JT