This CD is not a trio disc of people playing together, but rather two composers, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay and Sylvain Pohu, who composed a piece of music which Martin Daigle performs. Tremblay’s La rage (The Rage) takes up forty-six minutes, and Beat , by Pohu, just over ten minutes. In both pieces, Daigle uses his drum kit and electronics. Sometimes these electronics are triggered by the drums (more in Beat than in La rage, it seems), but I think they are sometimes on a more stand-alone. I don’t know much about Pohu, but Tremblay is a composer of electroacoustic music, with a release on Empreintes Digitales and contemporary jazz.

Oddly enough, there isn’t much difference between both pieces. Both pieces sometimes sound like improvised music, especially in La rage. Both scores call for extended techniques and materials to play the drums. From both pieces, there are videos of Daigle’s playing on the website mentioned here, and these are great pieces to view. In case you are wondering, it may also clarify these techniques. Beat also uses trigged video material, creating a total experience. La rage is a wild piece, obviously with such a title, with the music going all wild and quiet in seconds. With the electronics brewing and steaming, the work has an additional layer which works great. It becomes more than some wildly improvised drum material. Beat comes across as a similar piece but more organized, seemingly calling for more control. Overall I found this an exciting release, supported by the electronic part. —— Addresses: https://www.martindrum.com/ https://www.ravellorecords.com/