Label: Cathnor Recordings - Cath018

大所帯サクソフォーン・アンサンブルUrban Saxにも所属、自作楽器の実験から即興系の分野でも活動するフランス人作家Pascal Battus。個人名で出した作品はAnother Timbreからの[Chantier 1]以来3年振り。自動演奏系、また物音ファンなら間違いなくツボに入ると思われる、なんだか良く分からない自作オブジェの「バタバタバタバタ.....ギッ...ギッ...」という回転？動作？音8パターンの収録。この突き放したハードコアな感覚は本当に素晴らしい。限定150部。





'Per the sleeve, Battus uses only 'rotating objects' for this set of eight tracks which, at least as far as the number of occasions I've seen him perform in the past two years, represents a fairly small portion of his potential activity. A good thing, in my opinion, as he has a tendency sometimes to range widely through whatever he brings to a concert and I've often found myself wishing he'd concentrate on a particular aspect for longer periods. You can pick up the rotational attributes of the sounds here without much difficulty and, given the abstract nature of the sounds, they provide a certain kind of structural grammar to the pieces, again very welcome. That said, it remains a tough one to crack, Battus' sound coming across as rather thin and brittle (often the case and, no doubt, intentional) offering few handholds much less solace to the ear, sometimes generating whines that carry a mosquito-like irritation factor. I found myself most attracted to the lower key, more fluttery and airier tracks, still tough little kernels but with that buffer zone enveloping the sharp, sizzling electric flashes. A prickly, difficult set to embrace but rewarding more often than not.' Brian Olewnick