Originally released on Chloë in 2002, this site-specific improvisatory experiment has been re-issued by Swarming, the label run by one of the participants, Eric La Casa (electronics and microphones), joined here by Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto saxophone) and Dan Warburton (violin). The trio descended into the Parisian Métro station of the title late one evening and spent a couple of hours wandering the environs, making music and recording the ambient sounds.

The result is not so much one of those events where the sounds made by the instrumentalists blend into the ambiance to such a degree that they become indistinguishable. Instead, they take on roughly the same amount of sonic presence as the incoming trains, the recorded PA announcements and the raucous laughter of children and scolding by their mothers. There are times when Guionnet and Warburton seem to be attempting a general imitation of urban sounds — the hissing of steam pipes, the squawk of train wheels, etc. — but just as often, more so perhaps, they're playing musical lines, abstract as is their penchant as contemporary improvising musicians, but recognizably of the instrument, not disguising it. It's an enjoyable affair, overall. While Guionnet is widely represented on disc, from his organ work to his muscular alto playing with The Ames Room, it's good to hear Warburton again, a fine violinist who's been under-recorded over the years. 'Métro Pré-Saint-Gervais' also serves as a reminder of how long Eric La Casa has been producing superb recordings of the Parisian environment, interacting with musicians.