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




Heard In

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


  Bruno Duplant 
  Le Jour D'apres
  (Sublime Retreat) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2023-07-13
Bruno Duplant: Le Jour D'apres (Sublime Retreat)

Duplant's latest concoction is a rich, swirling mass of atmosphere, dreamlike in the best way, offering images that slide past each other, intersect, mingle and diffuse, constantly creating new angles of view and depths of immersion. Parsing out the elements, one hears low, fuzzy piano notes, muffled church bells, washes of static, string sections that sound almost out of early Gavin Bryars, snatches of conversation, footfalls, gulls, random clicks and rattles and much more. There's almost a sense of one of those wonderful 19th century amateur photographs of a countryside, perhaps partly over-exposed or out of focus, yet extremely evocative.

The piece lasts a half hour and the sounds stay fairly consistent throughout — shifting, always new but occupying the same general area. I doubt any specific allusions were intended on the part of Duplant, but I pick up a somewhat similar approach to that of Simon Fisher Turner in his soundtracks to the films of Derek Jarman, among others, a kind of vaguely romantic, slightly eerie atmosphere in which one's footing is never firm, an enjoyably giddy feeling. Odder still, some of the warped string passages recall, for me, the kind of spectacular synth washes Sun Ra would occasionally achieve in the late 60s and early 70s. The closing section, with simple piano notes buffeted by static is exceptionally lovely.

Whatever points of reference one may or may not pick up while listening, Le jour d'apres is a fine, engrossing experience, one that unfolds differently on each hearing. Duplant has been very active on the recording scene for the past decade plus — this is one the finest releases of his I've yet encountered.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


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

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







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. (4330)