The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!

The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales



Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Pascal Battus / Michel Doneda 
  Miracle
  (Potlatch) 


  
   review by Jeph Jerman
  2022-05-05
Pascal Battus / Michel Doneda: Miracle (Potlatch)

A handy disc of improvisations for Michel Doneda's straight saxophones (soprano and sopranino) and Pascal Battus' rotating surfaces.

"Miracle en Pointille" begins with a foghorn with wet cracklings underneath, and evolves over time into a rolling storm of hot tone and supple grind. Amazing how much sound power a couple of acoustic sources can generate. The saxophones here are mostly always recognizable as such, while Battus throws up a constantly shifting foil of gorgeous timbres and ephemeral grind. I hear voices and weird tonal arguments in the interplay between these two hard listening gents.

"Imprononcable" sounds like a chorus of reeds until it all falls apart and we're given a spate of massed sirens, bent and bending. Long sections of held tones which morph into sour bugle-like minutia and then scramble around in the gravel while a bag full of angry bees threatens to open up. Rude plasticity, goose honks and metallic sheen cohabit a seemingly vast space which occasionally narrows to a thin slice of dual whine.

"Natte" conjurs for me images of tiny devices protesting their slow death, while Doneda tries to match their plaintive tones and simultaneously play them a requiem. Door creaks and faucets left on. Bird song against sputtering and dry ice squeal. Frog and rainforest humming announce the final piece, "Hermeneutique", before the weather changes and gail force winds wrap around a sad monologue. Wheezing bagpipes? Flatulence and there's that bugler again. Let's try to sing together, shall we?







Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Kim Jae Jung:
Shamanism
(Relative Pitch)



Joe McPhee/
Susanna Gartmayer/
John Edwards/
Maria Portugal:
Monster
(Klanggalerie)



Signe Emmeluth/
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten/
Axel Filip:
Hyperboreal Trio
(Relative Pitch)



John Butcher/
John Edwards:
This Is
Not Speculation
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Izumi Kimura/
Lina Andonovska/
Dominique Pifarely:
Seven Dreams
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Jerome Deupree/
Sylvie Courvoisier/
Lester St. Louis/
Joe Morris:
Canyon
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Marc Baron/
Eric La Casa:
Contrefacons
(Swarming)



Francisco Lopez:
Untitled (
2021-2022)
[2 CDs]
(Bu Lang Tribute Cake)



Eventless Plot |
Haarvol:
The Subliminal Paths
[CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Innovo Editions)



Akmee:
Sacrum Profanum
(Nakama Records)



Karl Evangelista Quintet
feat. Bobby Bradford and
William Roper:
Solace Angles
(Asian Improv)



Sveio:
Latent Imprints
(577 Records)



The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters (
Rasmussen/
Mitelli/
Rezaei/
Koenig):
The Sleep Of Reason
Produces Monsters
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Dan Brown/
Dan Reynolds:
Live At
The Grange Hall
[unauthorized][CASSETTE]
(Sacred Realism)



Matt Mitchell:
Sacrosanctity
(Obliquity)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj/
Mike Majkowski/
Magda Mayas/
Tony Buck):
Love
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion/
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Mary Halvorson Septet:
Illusionary Sea
[2 LPS]
(Firehouse 12 Records)



Darius Jones:
Legend of e'Boi (
The Hypervigilant Eye)
[VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(Aum Fidelity)



Irene Schweizer/
Rudiger Carl/
Johnny Dyani/
Han Bennink:
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (17855)