Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Eivind Aarset's Electronique Noire: Light Extracts

251

Eivind Aarset's Electronique Noire: Light Extracts

By

Sign in to view read count
Eivind Aarset's Electronique Noire: Light Extracts
Although it is recognisably from the Jazzland ECM-with-beats mold, because of its bass-heavy rhythms and grooves, guitarist Eivind Aarset's follow-up to Electronique Noire (Jazzland, 1998) definitely sounds like a muso's album. Aarset is happy to discuss his roots in Hendrix, heavy metal, fusion and ECM—elements that combined with the Jazzland ethos to give his debut album its unique sound, and caused it to attract comparisons with electric Miles.

Here, those factors are more integrated into a seamless whole. Not totally though. Aarset cannot resist the occasional blast, and on "Self Defence" his Hendrix roots are showing, as he cooks up a distorted noise-storm of a solo. And "The String Thing" features wailing (treated) guitar in the manner of your favourite axeman. Such rockist excesses are not the norm, though. Far more common is a sustained groove with all the sounds in an electric melting pot of a mix, and individual instruments only occasionally recognisable—apart from the ever-present bass and drums.

Despite being rhythmically charged, this is not warm or engaging music. Rather, it is detached, even alienated, and alienating. One can imagine it as the soundtrack to the 2010 remake of Alphaville. Chilling but impressive.

Track Listing

Empathic Guitar; Wolf Extract; Dust Kittens; The String Thing; Between Signal & Noise; ffwd/slow motion; Self Defence; Tunnel Church

Personnel

Eivind Aarset, guitar & fretless guitar, electronics, electric bass on track 4, programming and edits; Wetle Holte, drums, drum machine, electronics and edits; Marius Reksjo, electric & acoustic basses, except on tracks 4 & 8; Reidar Skar mix & electronics; Hans Ulrik, bass clarinet on tracks 2 & 5; Arve Furset, Rhodes/Prophet on track 2, Prophet on track 5; Nils Petter Molvar trumpet on track 8; Nick Sillitoe, vital arrangement input on track 3.

Album information

Title: Light Extracts | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Jazzland Recordings

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.