Beginning with crackled sound, almost abrasive and entirely disruptive, Labrosse and Tétreault shake the listener into thinking that one is listening to a new work by the electroacoustic duo Interface. But things take an entirely different turn within seconds, and interspersing the sound-cackle-crackles with silence leads the listener to humming and resonating melancholic spaces that can only be properly described as underwater caverns. In these caverns are Cave People; and they are composing music. It is a peaceful time, and by the time track 5, sponger, rolls around — these are very short tracks, all about two minutes or so in length, except for track 11, a coal eye, which is 10 minutes — I am fully immersed in the sketches of sound which paint a visual aura to the impressively wide range of experimentation found from track to track. For example, track 6, insomnia of a bed-bug, disrupts underwater-land and introduces radio static-hum which, in a playful mood, dances with the clicks of a clock. That the elements are cavorting with each other should come as no surprise, for like Interface, Tétreault and Labrosse are a live improv duo; but unlike Interface, they manage to maintain my interest by moving through different phases of sound as well as conceptual environments, easily handling slight noise and static, tones, hums, and clicks. Labrosse, according to the liner notes, works solely with “abstract elements.” I am not sure what the entails in terms of gear, the hazy blue picture of the duo leaves the details indiscernible. Tétreault works directly with turntables: no records, just manipulating the sounds to be found in the decks themselves. Given this palette, both Tétreault and Labrosse manage to construct a dramatic and engaging topology of sound which, for the most part, is in the experimental ambient genre, and in moves of inspired stage magic, know exactly when to end a sound that has lost its ability to engage the listener. A succinct and playful album of experimental madness which, despite — and perhaps because of — its overwhelming undertones of intelligence, does not force the listener into obscurity.

No Type’s first two CD releases, The Freest of Radicals (an eclectic compilation of 35 international musicians) and Chemin de fer (the very first CD by Montréal sound artist Magali Babin), will be launched at Casa del Popolo (Montréal), Saturday April 27, 2002. A joyous night of live performances by Magali Babin and morceaux_de_machines, the ideal way to get acquainted with No Type’s young electronic artists.

Perhaps it was inevitable that David Turgeon’s mp3 label No Type would make the transition to releasing CDs. After more than 3 years of mp3 publishing (the site was launched late 1998), they present their first compilation 2CD set. The Freest of Radicals presents 36 tracks featuring just as many artists. It features contributions by Le Chien Borgne, themoonstealingproject, Napalm Jazz, V.V., Sluts On Tape, Kalx, n.kra and a host of others, all of whom have been participants on No Type’s online programme at some point or another. With so many contributions, I couldn’t possibly do justice to each one, and the styles certainly vary. From the microsound of Tomas Jirku and Claudia Bonarelli to the abstract digital sculpting of speech.fake, or the post rock sensibilities of Kanovanik and Idmonster, the hyperbeats of Books On Tape, the chaotic distortions of martindx, the IDM-inspired rhythms of Headphone Science… there’s certainly no end to the breadth of styles contained in this release. The challenging and more abstract moments are matched by tracks with more prominent and sometimes even conventional rhythms, beats and even a few melodies thrown if for good measure. Surely, there’s a lot to digest here, almost too much for one release. Almost. Taken as a whole, the compilation sits a little heavily and uneasily with me; with so much to take in, and being thrown in so many different stylistic directions, it lacks some of the focus I would have liked to have seen in such a lengthy compilation. And yet I also have to admit that a number of strong contributions seems to make up for it. Perhaps The Freest of Radicals is better regarded as a “who’s who” of new, not-so-new and/or emerging talents from the No Type roster; a quick thumbnail guide to discovering some new and adventurous music.

Small Québec City label, Déluge is the second half of the “Alterflow” collective. While “Néon-magazine” gathers under its wings the electro-pop ventures of this collective, Déluge promotes more challenging experimental projects. As part of its task of making difficult music available to the greatest number, electrocd.com is proud to propose the latest titles from Gabriel Dharmoo, Le Chien borgne, Malade Mojo and Arborisationterminale. All presented in unique hand-made covers, Déluge’s albums are a unique doorway to some of Québec’s best new electronic music.

Newly released on the Métamkine label, Le luxe de la réflexion! by French composer Laurent Grappe is an electroacoustic fresco centered on arabic dialects. Reflexions about distance and intimity are fueled by thoughts around identity and language, heritage and rupture. Initially conceived for tape and voice, Le luxe de la réflexion! is presented here in an acousmatic version.

Thursday April 11, 2002, the “ElectroacousticWALES” concert will celebrate Jonty Harrison’s 50th birthday. His compositions Splintering, Surface Tension and Sorties, from his most recent CD Évidence matérielle will be presented alongside new works by Ozzie Johnstone, Rick Nance and Stellios Giannoulakis. Directed by Andrew Lewis, the event will be held during the Bangor New Music festival, held from April 10 to 13, 2002 at the University of Wales Bangor (UK).