Montréal Free
by Mathieu Bélanger
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“I start from where I am
which is not the same
as starting from nothing;
there is a lot in all/around us
all the time. Nothing
prearranged or anticipated.
It is just a matter of letting
whatever is necessary
come forth to be heard
which is not the same
as repetition of habits…”
… wrote Malcolm Goldstein of his own musical approach. Bursting from
the past and looking towards the future, improvisation is written in time on
the mode of instantaneity; oblivious of yesterday, not bothering about the
future, living a forever ephemeral existence. Improvisation is, nonetheless,
the primary engine behind the music of Balai Mécanique, ’Gypt Gore, Po
as well as the trio of Chris Burns, Nicolas Caloia and John Heward.
Improvisation being… fierce, visceral, disturbing, alive, many
adjectives which are also true of these four Montréal-based bands.
Po embodies improvisation on a tight rope. Sam Shalabi, Rainer Wiens,
Alexandre St-Onge, John Heward: when the ordinary transcends itself to become
extraordinary. These four musicians have each developed a distinctive
language with their instruments. Within this vague framework, sounds and
silences interlock to compose a pluridimensional mosaic. Sam Shalabi, Rainer
Wiens and Alexandre St-Onge fiddle with electric guitars and doublebass,
picking and preparing every conceivable aspect of their instrument, while
John Heward exploits the complete chromatic tonality of his drums and
cymbals. Po’s musicians redefine their instruments by restraining what
they are not, and by thinking differently of what they are.
Balai Mécanique is on the other side of this spectrum: six instruments
that assume their own identity to the point of radicalism. The guitar
screams, the alto saxophone yells, the bass trombone growls, while keyboard,
doublebass and drums are hit on pitilessly. Balai Mécanique’s six
musicians assemble a sonic vortex out of an incessant thread of notes. The
result is an explosion of great magnitude which thrice knocked the Casa del
Popolo’s audience on its seats. Balai Mécanique, or improvisation at
its most intense, and most violent possibly…
In a certain way, ’Gypt Gore is in direct lineage with Balai
Mécanique, particularly so far as ardour and intensity goes. The duo however
is different enough, if only because of the sheer speed and perpetual
entanglement of the notes. Like a torrent of sounds storming into your ears,
Sam Shalabi’s electric guitar and Philémon’s alto saxophone shout
themselves hoarse in unison in an ultimate detuned, grinding roar; a perfect
symbiosis between two musicians that constantly answer each other without
necessarily referring to each other’s words.
The trio of Chris Burns, Nicolas Caloia and John Heward takes the shape of
an appropriation of difference: three horizons, three ensembles, three
approaches, three musicians… Three parallel lines that cross in a
multitude of points. In the same way as John Heward explores his drums and
cymbals as a sculptor would, raw matter is a primary element of the
trio’s approach. In this sense, it is more about sound than music. In
fact, the musicality emerges out of the collage and disposition of sounds.
But it also emerges out of the disposition of musicians. From the empty
ensemble to the trio, not to forget duos and solos, Chris Burns’
guitar, Nicolas Caloia’s doublebass and John Heward’s drums make
real every possible combination a trio allows: 1 x 0 + 3 x 1 + 3 x 2 + 1 x 3.
The trio becomes an octet thanks to the art of combinations. Improvisation
here serves as a substrate to identities.
Four different models which illustrate the richness of improvisation
since, after all, it is none of this and much more than that all at once,
improvisation being… free!
Mathieu Bélanger, Montréal [English
translation: David Turgeon, xii-02]
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