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These recent CDs of Canadian sound poets Paul Dutton and Pierre-André Arcand show two artists operating in the same field, but at virtually opposite ends. While Dutton’s work is basically acoustic, being rooted primarily in the amazingly virtuosic command he has of his speech organ and the cavities directly connected to it, Arcand squeezes his voice through all manner of electronics for his pieces. Dutton’s work is as pure and austere as you can get. On Arcand’s Atlas Epileptic the voice is not the be-all and end-all as on Dutton’s album, but rather a starting point for hypnotic sonic excursions.
blogue@press-3040
press@3040
Atlas Epileptic is a multimedia experience; it comes with two discs, one of audio and one containing abstract videos ("visual poetry", as Quebecois performance artist Pierre-André Arcand refers to it) preceded by their cryptic, rather clumsily animated titles: Dividing by zero is good; Le Muezzin de Mayabunder ("The Prayer Crier of Mayabunder"); Nature Morte. Like the audio, Arcand’s videos are more atmospheric than articulate, but he conveys a wide tonal range. You can make what you will of the multiple neon-blue-hued television screens in Moultécrans, the expanding and contracting circle of daylight in Framexhibition (paired, interestingly enough, with a track that sounds like a railroad-crossing bell) or the kaleidoscopic close-ups of water glasses and (I think) dildos in L’érotique du désert. The audio disc contains several of the tracks from the video; it doesn’t engage multiple senses, so it’s not as engaging; on the other hand, it’s not as seizure-inducing, either. Paradoxal opens the audio disc with spare, echoing slaps of world percussion as a hoary male voice-Arcand ?--speaks, in French, of the "boucle". The vocal, like the instrumental, is sliced, diced and set to repeat with variations. The album’s first half seems dedicated to more percussive sounds, while the latter part is more "melodic"— not that there are any melodies, per se, but the last few tracks boast undulating synths (ww.org) and something accordionlike (Portuaire).
Atlas Epileptic’s liner notes include a quote from cyberpunk novelist William Gibson: "It looped back into itself and constantly mutated." It’s easy to see why Arcand chose that particular line: slowly-metamorphosing loops are a stated theme of his work. Like Gibson’s books, Arcand’s work is arcane and occasionally incomprehensible, but obscurely intriguing.
blogue@press-2797
press@2797
Another in the excellent series of recordings by Ambiances Magnétiques, this recording “offers several faces of Arcand: sonosaurus, singer, performer, DJ, visual poet and installer.” The package contains both audio and video CDs. Arcand is a multi-media mage whose sound-world is a colourful and often mesmerizing one, and the nine tracks on the audio CD are a testimony to his ever-curious, constantly adventurous approach to music creation. Using a visual and sonic evolution generator (Macchina Ricordi) to manipulate the sounds of his voice and “found/invented” instruments, Arcand weaves a remarkable and ever-changing web of sound.
As for the video component of this project, its a frequently hypnotic addition to the mix. Its segments are entertainingly clever, each radically different from the last, provocative examples of how extraordinary human creativity can be. While on one hand this project is time-consuming to absorb, and likely not for all tastes, it’s challenging and always compelling.
One small complaint: I wish that more information about this “sonosaurus” and his work had been included with the actual package, rather than on the record label’s website. I already spend enough time at a computer screen, and not everyone has one at their immediate disposal.
blogue@press-2784
press@2784
Le nouveau travail du metteur en son, poète sonore québécois, qu’est Pierre-Andre Arcand se presente a la fois comme un cd audio, Boucles sur boucles en constante mutation et un cd video Cristaux liquides interpréteurs. La référence à John Cage (Atlas Eclipticalis 1961) n’est évidemment pas fortuite. Dans cette pièce du compositeur américain, les parties instrumentales, au nombre de quatre-vingt six, sont constituées de sons uniques et de constellations de sons, plus ou moins longs et déterminent des événements sonores. Pierre-Andre Arcand en utilisant notamment son logiciel Macchina Ricordi (après avoir troqué son système analogique contre un système numérique) accumule, lui, des boucles sonores évolutives (souvent issues d’anciens enregistrements), les déconstruit, les confronte entre eux pour créer une masse sonore dense, tantôt élégante, tantôt plus bruitiste, toujours fascinante. Par ailleurs, son logiciel lui permet aussi d’agir sur les images vidéo (à basse résolution) récupérées, souvent à partir de transformations graphiques, qu’il recompose de manière plus ou moins aléatoire.
blogue@press-2796
press@2796
Se la memoria non ci inganna Atlas Epileptic dovrebbe essere l’ottavo album in carriera per il performer interdisciplinare Pierre-André Arcand. Dunque un veterano che opera tra design (elettro)acustico, sound-art e poesia sonora, una impervia zona di frontiera della quale questo doppio album (CD audio + CD video) rende opportuna testimonianza. Macinando loop su loop, frammento su frammento, minuzia su minuzia attraverso uno splendido marchingegno autocostruito (la Macchina Ricordi, compatto assemblaggio generativo tre-in-uno di software, campionatore e mixer in grado di processare al tempo stesso suoni ed immagini), l’autore canadese costruisce un edificio babelico e dai toni rugginosi, sovrapposizioni, sfalsamenti, lenti decadimenti della materia fonica.
blogue@press-2800
press@2800

blogue@press-2809
press@2809
CD-Audio + 1 Video-CD