A felicitous confluence of two distinct sound worlds/whorls in a zone notionally adumbrated by texture-mappers.
Two distinct sound worlds
Francis Tremblay, finds inspiration for his ambient project, Grandbruit, in ‘the banalities of everyday life and his city’s landscape’ played out in a raft of works wrought with guitar, sundry FX and field recordings. This along with co-curating Florina Cassettes, hosting inter alia a first outing (La Première Sortie de Florina), with brother, Pierre-Luc aka Lamasz, a convert via an epiphany that led to ditching techno/house for pure texture, a wonderful world opening up at discovery of e.g. Taylor Deupree’s 12k and Richard Chartier’s LINE (MEFD [Interview] Grandbruit & Lamasz), since when it’s been Ambient all the way.
The recent Suivant prompts this hark-back, seeing it against a few, mainly discrete, works by the two, sighted in an early lockdown igloo-’view: Grandbruit’s Ruptures, Lamasz’s Natura Morte (both PITP), the previous Sédum and Midira (Rivière Rouge), not to mention Mes ennuis (Lontano Series), L’équilibre est nécessaire (Aural Canyon), Toile vierge (giraffe tapes) and Lamasz’s visual arts-inspired tape loop-driven lo-fi ‘scapes on Stereoscenic, Giraffe tapes and Florina Cassettes. The PITP connection is especially serendipitous, the label having released their albums simultaneously (Oct 2023), after Pier-Luc had fired off an exploratory shot (Étymologie) that hit (cassette courtesy of capo zakè), prompting Francis, not to be outdone, to record and relay Sédum to zakè to find its way onto digital sub-label, Healing Sound Propagandist.
Suivant, then, as eponomously suggested, continues this trajectory. It comes via élan vital, host to Grandbruit’s Adaptation—‘languorous, looping motifs accruing through judicious entrainment into an overall suite whose doleful resonance is as strong emotionally as timbrally’ documented in a ’22 igloo ’view. It builds on the tone set by the aforementioned inaugural label release in a felicitous confluence of two distinct sound worlds/whorls in a zone notionally adumbrated by texture-mappers from Chihei Hatekayama and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma on one side to Rafael Anton Irisarri and Christopher Bissonnette on the other.
Suivant is available on élan vital. [Bandcamp]
