Unless you have a ridiculously expensive stereo system, there’s no way to grasp the breadth of the dynamic material that comprises these five compositions. What’s shrouded by your crummy computer speakers or sub-par jambox is magically unearthed when you wrap a padded pair of speakers around your head. So, don your favorite set of headphones and prepare for a most unusual meeting of guitar virtuosity and electroacoustic improvisation!
Colombian-Canadian guitarist Arturo Parra commissioned several well-known electroacoustic composers to create stand-alone tape pieces. In turn, the wildly imaginative Parra took each composer’s portion, wrote complementary guitar parts and mixed it all into several dramatically transformed compositions. The result is Parr(A)cousmatique — a CD that delicately balances the six-string with magnetic tape.
Stéphane Roy, Francis Dhomont, Gilles Gobeil, Mauricio Bejarano and Robert Normandeau each fashion elegant works that fuse synthetic melodies with noisy electrical excursions. It’s important to note that when each composer wrote his respective piece, it was unclear as to how Parra would incorporate it into his own work. While it’s difficult to separate the electroacoustic parts from the guitar in the final product, it’s reasonable to believe that each composition was created with enough power and depth to stand on its own. Consequently, each composer plays a critical supporting role in Parra’s work instead of becoming an anonymous background studio musician.
After carefully studying each submission, Parra weaved his skillful and innovative guitar-work into the taped material to create the final product, switching effortlessly from Latin-influenced tonalities to frenetic runs to astonishing climaxes. When tape and guitar convene, an incredible reaction occurs. The two melt into a dense concoction of warm, melodic chords and expressive movements that oozes into your ear canals and coils around your grey matter like that creepy brain eating parasite from The Wrath of Khan.
Unlike many acousmatic releases, there is an amazing amount of poise and grace in the interplay between participants. Neither tape nor guitar is relegated to a secondary role; instead, a unique synthesis of moving melodies and swarming solos occurs, with each artist taking turns developing the mood or rabidly following a particular improvisational idea. La basilique fantôme begins with flamenco guitar that’s readily juxtaposed with Stéphane Roy’s trickling electronics and intense atonal rumblings. Eventually a friendly sonic fight of sorts develops between Parra’s thrilling abilities and Roy’s processed mechanical bleeps, and it remains unresolved until the tune’s final minute.
The most characteristic piece of the batch is the collaboration with Francis Dhomont, Sol y sombra… L’espace des spectres. Parra’s baroque style creates varying dispositions, ranging from romantic to frantic. While each artist takes turns being the aural focal point, neither is ever overshadowed by the other. You may assume that the electroacoustics would be sonically overpowering, but Parra holds his ground, attacking the fretboard with dazzling dexterity.
While chaotic in theory, this unusual coupling of electroacoustic tape rendering and intricate guitar works amazingly well; Parra and his collaborators are not only brazen musical explorers, but also quite conscious that melody and structure can work well in an avant-garde setting. Could this be the beginning of a new collaborative genre? Parra has certainly started off with a brilliant release. Let’s hope there’s more to come.
