Contemporary musique concrète from Canada on Lames de fond (empreintes DIGITALes IMED 22178), credited to two Quebec musicians — the composer Martin Bédard, currently teacher at Montréal, and the flautist and composer Marie-Hélène Breault.

Bédard (he also made Topographies for this label in 2013) seems to be a real heavy-hitter; part of his philosophy is to “question the grammar of sonic organisation” in digital audio composition, and this sort of no-prisoners ethic might be detectable in the opening salvo Honey (Architectures From Silence No. 1). Prepare for about 18 mins of ruthless bombardment and remorseless sweeps of over-loaded, layered sound coming at you like 18 tidal waves. Apparently he drew inspiration from bees making honey; in the simple act of honey-production, he perceives a very lengthy and complex process, resulting in an elaborate structure. Plus it’s also rich in symbolism and a handy metaphor for various acts of transformation, which evidently occupy the mind and hands of any self-respecting digital composer today. Phew. I know I’m always asking for more “incident” in this genre of music, and now here it is in abundance.

Only slightly less exhausting is 𝄆Extensio:Warm:Up𝄇, co-composed with Breault, and showcasing her flute sounds — often radically transformed inside the digital workstation, reprocessed, recomposed and changed into something that’s both quite alien, and also amounts to a layered, impossible, hyper-orchestra of multi-dimensional flutes from beyond the Planet Jupiter. This one isn’t propounding a concept like the ‘Honey’ thing, and instead is mainly about technique and method — in this case loops and layers — applied to those moments when a musician is just warming-up before the main performance. (Fun fact: apparently this is how Marvin Gaye captured a great saxophone lick from a session man on What’s Going On, who thought he was just doodling away and yet ended up on the finished record.)

Another piece self-consciously drawing attention to its own method is Replica, drawing subtle distinctions between “pure instrumental sound and rebuilt sound” within its terrifying labyrinthine passages. It hopes thereby to make some philosophical point about being reborn and changed and yet remaining the same. A pretty overpowering, intense set, but these composers are working overtime to bring you profound sonic transformations, heaped up in abundance. From 2nd March 2023.

L’album Lames de fond de Martin Bédard et Marie-Hélène Breault et l’album Docu-fictions de Yves Daoust sont en nomination aux Prix Opus 2022-23 dans la catégorie «Album de l’année — Musiques actuelle, électroacoustique». Le 27^e Gala des Prix Opus aura lieu le 4 février 2024 à la Salle Bourgie du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.

Lames de fond di Martin Bédard e Marie-Hélène Breault ha invece una doppia anima: i due brani firmati dal solo Bédard si basano su un processo di densificazione e cristallizzazione del suono che raggiunge il culmine nei diciassette minuti iniziali di Honey (Architectures From Silence No. 1) a cui fa seguito la pareidolia — “tendenza istintiva e automatica del cervello a trovare strutture ordinate e forme familiari in immagini disordinate” — di Kissland, mentre nelle due composizioni firmate in coppia la materia elettroacustica stabilisce un costante interscambio col flauto della Breault, dapprima in volute di suono dinamico e fluente (???? Extensio:Warm:Up????) e poi nelle continue trasfigurazioni di Replica.

Released via the long-standing avantgarde imprint Empreintes Digitales on October 11th, 2022 is Lames de fond, the extended collaboration album conceived by the joined forces of experimental composer Martin Bédard and Marie-Hélène Breault. With four extended pieces composed and brought to life over a timespan of almost a decade rolled out over a total playtime of 61 minutes the opening piece Honey (Architectures From Silence No. 1) caters a thundering, highly compressed and twisted maelstrom comprised of both Digital Noize, heavy duty Industrial war drums as well as splintered fragments of Contemporary Classical music; followed by the fascinating amalgamation of grinding, tectonic Noize movements and Marie-Hélène Breault’s enchanted, yet still highly dramatic flute performance to be found in 𝄆 Extensio:Warm:Up 𝄇; before the cut finally resolves in waves of calming Ambient music. Subsequently Replica provides sonic shockwaves of buzzing, whirling, fluttering electrical Noize later accompanied by layers upon layers of tense off-kilter strings shortly interrupted by surprisingly calm, yet somewhat eerie breakdown sequences whereas the concluding Kissland brings forth a set of movements ranging from braincell crushing Digital Noize sequences to dynamic outbursts of scraping Noize paired with short fever’ish, micro-fragmented Modern Classical strings on the brink of madness. Probably the most spine-tingling, intense and captivating Empreintes Digitales release we’ve reviewed so far. Excellent. Go check.