All pure concrete this one, a storming melange of sonics and environments, that writhe and shatter. It’s engrossing and perplexing, in that it always seems to be going somewhere, yet the clues are vague and you’re always left guessing. As sounds clunk and (again) shatter, they regroup in strange cacophonies, and I’m often reminded of late-1960’s works of Pierre Henry and Francois Bayle, yet it’s obviously 21st Century music, with a sparkling sound and clarity.

Cet album nous fait entrer dans un monde réfléchi et engagé qui utilise des éléments sonores du réel alliés à des sons synthétiques pour transmettre des atmosphères et des messages d’une grande subtilité. Créatrice d’une des Symphonies portuaires en 1998, Monique Jean détient assurément certaines clés importantes de la musique contemporaine, car elle est d’une originalité peu commune et d’une créativité sans cesse renouvelée.

[…] Speaking of the No Type-ers… After what has been some public critique of Mutek, even on this list, No Type presented a label showcase at the Studio yesterday that enraptured the crowd, sucking them into a vortex of noise and improv electronic performances. […] No Type held attention despite the soundsystem’s relatively quiet range, with Samiland travelling a wealth of minimalist and dub territories, from sparse and deep broken beats to ambience, leading into the madness that was to follow: two sets of collaborative & improvised performances featuring A_Dontigny, first with the precise workings of veteran improvisational artist Diane Labrosse — on what appeared to be a theraemin device, at times; this performance was intricate, yet harsh in its metallic clamouring of sound-events. Then came morceaux_de_machines who, after an enthusiastic shout-out from Aimé, did not disappoint with his collaboration: vitriolic improvised noise from strange devices, high-pitched and jagged waves, from this real beast of a man, getting down and into it — morceaux grabbed the crowd and spun them round degree by degree. To end was Vancouver’s Coin Gutter, the enigmatic duo of Graeme and Emma carving out one of their more delicate and restrained sets, and, although improvised, moving through a taste of their sound, from experimental electroacoustic to noise, field recordings, media samples, and dark soundscapes. […]

Une rencontre symbolique entre deux générations de créateurs, Télépathie fait le pont entre le cercle d’Ambiances Magnétiques et la culture mp3 de l’étiquette No Type. Diane Labrosse manie l’échantillonneur comme un poème: identifiables ou non, ses sons nous arrivent métamorphosés. Aimé Dontigny (du duo morceaux_de_machines) a une approche plus bruitiste, carrée. Son ordinateur crache plus qu’il ne susurre. Et ce disque voyage entre ces deux pôles. Atmosphérique, truffé de textures crépitantes au début, il se laisse pervertir par le bruit blanc et les hurlements numériques vers la fin. Dénué de rythmes et de mélodies, ce disque est néanmoins captivant, grâce à la télépathie des improvisateurs. 8/10

It’s not easy reviewing a record by one of the very fathers of acousmatic music: any word is useless in front of sound juxtapositions that cross boundaries through heart, brain and studio mastery, reaching for a pure beauty that’s just visible in front of you, almost tangible. Such is the case of Jalons, the newest collection of Francis Dhomont who — at 77 years of age — can still compete and dominate among the electroacoustic composers of our time. This work is made of tracks from various years, going all the way from concrete sounds to pure electronics (Drôles d’oiseaux). I particularly love Dhomont’s use of animal voices amidst the orchestral samples, for example the dog bark coupled with a string with arco in a marvellous piece — maybe the top of the CD — called Un autre printemps. The whole release is full of splendid moments and catching audio images; in a time where any young turk with a buzzing laptop is labelled “genius” I’m honoured to listen to Francis Dhomont and watch wonderful sunlight refractions through the diamond that’s his art.