Bouhalassa is a French composer of acousmatic music, and it appears that his name is widely renowned in experimental circles. Aérosol is yet another release from Diffusion i Media which belongs to their ‘short duration/half-price’ series. Bouhalassa’s talents are constantly in demand in the Montréal area, where he also teaches at Concordia University. Aérosol stands as a less abrasive and more «musical» release in comparison to the other DiM CDs. The artist’s attraction to cinema and science fiction is quite evident in the music — it holds a very atmospheric and suggestive quality. The track Constamment (autoportrait), really kicks in at the 10 minute mark. The techno flourishes are devine. Move 1 is a very minimal track which passes by like a strange dream. If you find many of the modern examples of noise too haphazard and experimental for your tastes, then you may just find this release to your likeing.

This is a lovingly produced tribute to musique concrète. According to the liner notes, this disc features twenty four short works by as many new composers from around the Western world. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of musique concrète and its subsequent development. I have never been a huge afficionado of noise and/or musique concrète, but for those of you who enjoy the more experimental aspects of sound and recording, then you really must give this fine compilation a try. Noise artists from countries as diverse as Canada, England, Australia, Sweden and France are featured, and the results are a veritable mixed bag of sound sculpture. Some of the tracks are frightening, others are mysterious, while others seem to hold no emotional content at all. I must applaud the daring nature of Diffusion i Media . Their releases are consistently unique and bold. Also, it must be said that the packagaing for this CD is absolutely gorgeous… some of the prettiest, most colorful liner notes and inserts that I have ever seen! Very well done.

Here is another intriguing release from the adventurous folks at Diffusion i Media. Apparently, Mr. Roy has been involved in the visual arts and the literary world for quite some time now, and he has also won several awards at various worldwide experimental music competitions. Plus, he currently teaches at Université de Montréal! Anyone with credentials as impressive as this obviously knows what they are doing, and this level of artistic experience is very evident on Kaleidos. This is electroacoustic music achieved by guitar, tape, and various other sources. It is pure sound chemistry which attempts to establish a fascinating sonic soundscape without any nod to convention. Roy succeeds in reaching this much strived for territory in which rules simply do not exist. A very bold work.

This is a two CD set of electroacoustic music by another artist on the Diffusion i Media label. Upon one listen, the listener can immediately notice the very obtrusively cinematic nature of this music. Barroso uses a variety of equipment (including a Yamaha DX7!) to create an intense musical climate. And calling it intense is putting it mildly. These CDs never come up for air… almost every second is soaked with an undercurrent of drama and tenseness. Just imagine the music that you hear in a film just before the monster jumps out from around a corner. That is basically the sound of Délirantes. En Febrero Mueren Las Flores features clangorous industrial noise, yet this is a fine distinction. Overall this is highly climactic music in the vein of Bernard Hermann, yet it very guickly reaches its peak and tires itself out. Very intense but somewhat one-dimensional.

A prize-winning trilogy of narrative pieces produced for German radio during 1996-97, and inspired in part by the improvising shills of panticipating musicians. All three stories articulate the experience of migration, with various voices woven through a mix of instrumental sound and environmental recordings. Silvia Ocougne’s guitar and voice ebb and flow with the rhythms of waves and wind, the mewing of gulls, sea traffic and whales calling. The multiple voices of Shelley Hirsch roam amongst nomads while children play hide and seek. The psychological contusions encountered at checkpoints and on border crossings are mirrored in Joëlle Leandre’s double bass. Compelling work, finely conceived and sensitively realised.

On the eight pieces presented on Anecdotes, composer Yves Daoust uses motifs from Western classical music as springboards to wholly original audio collages. Daoust further combines elements of musique concrète into these works. As the works of Beethoven and Bach are now culturally dissipated into commercials and film scores, Daoust diffuses these themes into a sonic kaleidoscope of environmental sounds and samples. The samples are truly mundane, but taken out of context and placed on the canvas of instrumental flotsam, they become mysterious and full of meaning. Each piece is composed for assembly from audio tape segments. Often, a solo instrument is present to provide the transmogrified melody. These instruments include piano, flute, and accordion.