Torment is a quality piece of contemporary minimal synth. Makina Girgir takes the classic synthesizer sound of the 80s and adds new layers of modern-day despair alongside some more cloudless moments. Vocal wisps sit adjacent cold chords and warming electronics to create a sculpted work of concrete frigidity and emotional memories.
[Release page] La Forme Lente has something special to open their 2013 account. While the grey clouds hang over Europe there’s only one thing to do, relieve the symptoms of austerity with some minimal synth. The latest to grace the French/Belgian imprint doesn’t possess the frugality of spirit praised by politicians and bureaucrats. No, this fellow Francophile is filled with an analogue passion and the necessary musicality to express it. Makina Girgir first hit ears in with his excellent The Spell (Das Drehmoment, 2007). Since then, this vintage synth collector has been quiet. True, he has been busy with his F.I.R. label and served up some excellent mixes as aratKilo; but the Makina Girgir guise has been on extended holiday. Time for a return, and a full length return at that.
The difficultly titled “Тёплая Кровь/Sang Tiede” opens with broad warm synth lines and striking beats. Vocals echo but it is the analogue hardware that sits centre stage. Reverberations and clacking beats usher in “Смешной Человек/Homme Ridicule” before squirming keys are draped over the distanced lyrics. The title track is a multi-layered piece of modernised new wave. Elements of electro are present, but with that subdued and synth saturated wave element. Upbeat sounds are eclipsed by the downtrodden “Anosognosia,” laser strings cutting through the dense paranoia to alleviate some of the pupil darts. The flip-side rumbles into being with “Livides Clartés.” A red blooded, nostril flared, piece of minimal synth is the entity. Those hushed lyrics are again present, female vocals whispered over the central machines. “Oedipus Fin” is a charmingly uplifting piece. Makina Girgir snaps out a catchy melody and supports with cascading analogue chords for a wonderfully rich piece. The staccato and electrified sounds of “Тихое Горе/Chagrin Muet” are bright and brief before the alienated electronics of the finale, an “Untitled” track that toes the lines between Arpanet and Vangelis.
Torment is a quality piece of contemporary minimal synth. Makina Girgir takes the classic synthesizer sound of the 80s and adds new layers of modern-day despair alongside some more cloudless moments. Vocal wisps sit adjacent cold chords and warming electronics to create a sculpted work of concrete frigidity and emotional memories.
Torment is available on La Forme Lente. [Release page]
