The signal feeds into the synthesizers, transforming the sounds—bubbling, oscillating, bursting; and it all clearly demonstrates those ideas from musique concrète.
An exercise in retro-futurism
These days, French composer Philippe Petit is a modular synthesizer activist with many releases and collaborations. This new release is the start of a trilogy, which he calls an exercise in retro-futurism. He has some great gear at his disposal, the Buchla 200, EMS synthi A Pulsar 23, a Theremin and the inside of a piano. I thought that the retro-futurism aspect of the music might also relate to the original musique concrète. The inside of the piano being plucked, stomped, played with various objects and so on, being the start of electro-acoustic compositions. The signal feeds into the synthesizers, transforming the sounds—bubbling, oscillating, bursting; and it all clearly demonstrates those ideas from musique concrète. In that respect, Petit’s music is a homage to that, and building on a long tradition.
The way we once saw the future is also the way of looking at the way we saw the future of music back then. Perhaps not as electronic as the original soundtrack for Planet Of The Apes, with the piano playing a domineering role in some of these pieces. The piano’s playing gives the music a vibrant touch, as Petit isn’t all too careful in playing this grand piano from the national conservatory, and a slightly improvisational touch. I have no idea how much editing there was in constructing the six pieces on this disc—maybe they were all recorded in one take—but there is a good direct feeling in the music here. There seems to be little room for silence in Petit’s sound world. That means that for me, at least, the album is sometimes too much, as it also requires some attention to take in all the details, but it’s a damn fine album altogether.
Review by: Frans de Waard / Vital Weekly #1356. Reprinted with permission.
A Reassuring Elsewhere, Chapter 1 is available on Oscillations. [Bandcamp]
