Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » le GGRIL: Combines
le GGRIL: Combines
By"Jeu de cartes" (Card Game), is spread over the first side in two parts, an improvisational game based on a random distribution of instructions devised by label owner, electric bassist and GRILL founder Éric Normand. It highlights the surreal, even eccentric sonic palette of GRILLtwo electric guitarists, cellist, violinist, double bassist, electric bassist, two percussionists, trumpeter and accordionistall coming from different backgrounds. The arresting music shifts gently between experimental sonic searches, reductionist minimalism, abstract noises and intense, post-rock textures. The subtle interplay does not lose its delicate tension, emphatic sonic collisions, or its focus, balance and cohesiveness, despite the arbitrary nature of the game-like piece.
The collective improvisation, "Oui, cela pourrait commencer comme ça..." stresses GRILL musicians' rare prowess to structure detailed and multi-layered texture through non-linear, free improvisation. Again, the tension builds patiently and slowly through colorful timbral searches, minuscule sonic confrontations and changing tempos. "Situation à deux chefs," in it's studio and live version (available only as a bonus, with a download card attached to the vinyl} is another musical game. This time two conductors Normand and Bastiencompete on GRILL musicians' changing spans of attention, leading the orchestra into intense and aggressive collisions, even more so on the live version. Even in such a chaotic sonic situation, GRILL does not lose its poetic spirit and intricate, playful interplay.
Brilliant, provocative music.
Track Listing
Jeu de carte - première partie; Jeu de carte - deuxième partie; Oui, cela pourrait commencer comme ça....; Situation à deux chefs; Bonus: Situation à deux chefs {live}.
Personnel
Olivier D'Amours: electric guitar; Robert Bastien: electric guitar; Rémy Bélanger de Beauport: cello; Anna-Lisa Cone: double bass, voice; Tom Jacques: percussion; Antoine Létourneau-Berger: percussion, radio, clarinet; Éric Normand: electric bass; Alexandre Robichaud: trumpet; Catherine Savard Massicotte: violin, voice; Robin Servant: accordion.
Album information
Title: Combines | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Tour De Bras