Romantic, Visceral is highly recommended for those who enjoy challenging music with semi-classical overtones and chilling stylistic pathways dominated by energetic electronic textures. Without neglecting its own originality and trippy, chameleon-like strength, this album stands as the missing link between Brendan Moeller, Burial, and Michel Portal.
Endless playful and expressive sonic dialogues
Christophe Bailleau O’Farrell is a multifaceted composer and sound researcher with a large catalog of releases, as well as skilled performances and written scores for a wide range of artistic media (theater, dance, etc.). His creative abilities are associated with a vast stylistic range, moving effortlessly from world acoustic sound ritualism to easy listening tinged with groovy atmospherics, abstract avant-gardism, and cinematic ambient with a chilling dimension.
People familiar with the key indie label Mahorka have definitely heard of him, as he has published a handful of releases over the last few years. Among them, we can highlight the highly recommended album Sonic Pool Hypnose Club for its deep-listening tendencies and remarkable work on timbres, which will delight fans of drone ambient music. O’Farrell has also released several collaborative albums, notably with Julien Demoulin, Julien Ash, and Pulse Emitter for the superb, glitch-esque, Dadaesque, spacious, and dynamic Gaz Giant. I actually discovered his sound production through that release.
A deeply evocative cinematic quality ::
Titled Romantic, Visceral, this new album embraces the panoramic and eclectic side of Bailleau O’Farrell, especially with regard to the vast array of musical ingredients carefully combined and beautifully orchestrated. The album includes several friends and musical collaborators, such as Julien Ash, who is also responsible for the mastering. It opens with the invigorating “Malek” and its tremendous guitar-centered, Eastern-inspired synthadelic vibe, punctuated by calming, floating, then pulsating electronic patterns. This track announces the colorful, composite, and richly sonic dimensions of the album.
Soothing and downtempo sequences also enter the mix, as heard in the mysteriously captivating “Fusion,” with its almost big beat-inspired groovy passages. The album delivers endless playful and expressive sonic dialogues. A deeply evocative cinematic quality is equally noticeable in the melodramatic, strange, and melodic “Phiphi, c’est toi, tu es là ?” There is a well-articulated sense of collage throughout, complementing the fractured and surreal appeal of the visual artwork.
Highly recommended for those who enjoy challenging music with semi-classical overtones and chilling stylistic pathways dominated by energetic electronic textures. Without neglecting its own originality and trippy, chameleon-like strength, this album stands as the missing link between Brendan Moeller, Burial, and Michel Portal.
Romantic, Visceral is available on Mahorka. [Bandcamp]
