Description
Poire_z – presque_chic – Compact Disc
Presque Chic by Poire_z is an album that exemplifies the avant-garde and experimental ethos of the ensemble. Poire_z, known for their abstract approach to music, consists of electronic and acoustic musicians including notable figures from the European free improvisation scene like ErikM and Günter Müller. Their work typically involves a mix of live electronic processing and acoustic sounds, creating unpredictable and highly textured soundscapes.
The album Presque Chic continues this exploration, featuring a collage of sounds that range from minimalistic clicks and cuts to dense, layered noise. The title Presque Chic (almost chic in French) might suggest a playful or ironic take on what is conventionally considered stylish or elegant, reflecting the group’s interest in subverting musical norms and expectations.
Listeners of Presque Chic can expect a challenging yet rewarding auditory experience, where conventional musical structures are deconstructed and reassembled into new, often surprising forms. This album would particularly appeal to those interested in the cutting-edge of electronic and improvised music, who appreciate the innovative use of technology and sound design in music creation.
At a music festival at Nantes, France in 1998, percussionist Gunter Muller and turntablist Erikm were scheduled to perform as a duo. The same festival featured a performance by duo Voice Crack. The four musicians made an unscheduled collaboration, and afterwards formed a semi-regular quartet.
They recorded several albums and made a number of live appearances before disbanding. poire_z often invited a fifth musician as a guest: Keith Rowe, Phil Minton, Christian Marclay, Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M and others performed or recorded with the core quartet.
As with much free improvisation, poire_z’s music is generally focused more on a group sound, and given the musicians’ unorthodox approach to their instruments, it’s often difficult to discern who is generating any individual sound. Aside from glimpses of Muller’s occasionally unprocessed percussion, their music is nearly all electronic blips, clicks and droning like a shortwave radio tuned in to an extraterrestrial broadcast; critic Ed Howard described the group’s music as “all whir and purr and throb, the soldered electronic exclamations of the Voice Crack duo spurting around the steady rhythmic drive of Muller and eRikm … a dense cycling drone with harsh electronic interjections skipping over the top.” One piece is described as “delicate tones, crackles and light bubbling sounds, resting and intermingling with characteristic weightlessness, only occasionally being interrupted by glimpses of harsher textures.”
Voice Crack formally disbanded in about 2004, and poire_z have not recorded or performed since
Son Records
French Import
Track Listing
1 Untitled (26:14)
2 Untitled (21:53)
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