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.

Les deux premières parutions CD de la jeune étiquette électronique No Type, The Freest of Radicals (une éclectique compilation de 35 musiciens internationaux) et Chemin de fer (le tout premier disque compact de l’artiste sonore montréalaise Magali Babin), seront lancés à la Casa del Popolo (Montréal), samedi le 27 avril 2002. Une joyeuse soirée de performances en direct par Magali Babin et morceaux_de_machines, idéale pour se familiariser avec ces jeunes artistes électroniques No Type.

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.

Petite étiquette de Québec, Déluge est issue de la scission en deux groupes complémentaires du collectif «Alterflow». «Néon-magazine» intègre maintenant les éléments plus électro-pop du groupe, tandis que Déluge regroupe les efforts bruitistes et expérimentaux. Toujours soucieux de rendre accessible au plus grand nombre les musiques en marge, electrocd.com est heureux de proposer au catalogue les plus récents titres de Gabriel Dharmoo, Le Chien borgne, Malade Mojo et d’Arborisationterminale. Présentés dans des emballages uniques, faits à la main, Déluge est un point de départ idéal pour explorer la relève électronique québécoise.

Une nouveauté de l’étiquette Métamkine, Le luxe de la réflexion! du compositeur français Laurent Grappe est une fresque électroacoustique autour de la valorisation des paroles arabes. Distances et intimités de ces langues, articulées par des réflexions entre identité et langage, héritage et rupture. Conçu initialement pour bande et comédienne, Le luxe de la réflexion! est présenté sur cet enregistrement en version acousmatique.

C’est jeudi le 11 avril 2002, dans le cadre de la soirée «ElectroacousticWALES», qu’Andrew Lewis dirigera un concert célébrant le 50^e anniversaire du compositeur Jonty Harrison. Ses compositions Splintering, Surface Tension et Sorties, tirées de son récent album Évidence matérielle côtoient au programme des créations d’Ozzie Johnstone, Rick Nance et Stellios Giannoulakis. L’événement se déroule dans le cadre du festival de musique nouvelle de Bangor, du 10 au 13 avril 2002 à l’université de Wales Bangor (UK).