Inactuelles, Musiques Singulières (FR)

Known for his large-scale installations of orchestrated noise and movement, the Swiss multi-disciplinary artist Zimoun publishes a record with 12K that breaks with the tranquility and fragility of this record company’s productions (see the previous article about the duo Illuha, for example). Modular Guitar Fields I-VI combines the sounds of a Tenor Baritone guitar, a selection of elements from a modular synthesizer and a Magnatone amplifier from the 1960s. The short section IV aside, around a minute, the other five are amply developed, between ten and sixteen minutes.

Six soundscapes in perpetual movement, six immersions in grandiose spaces, populated by thick drones, dazzling flashes, hiccups, collisions. Six journeys to the heart of a density with multiple micro-variations, which the cover very aptly illustrates. Moreover, its motto, exploring complexity through simplicity, is part of the minimalist aesthetic, understood as a means of giving music a dimension that is both organic and spatial, mixing microcosm and macrocosm to catch us in the muddled nets. of a hypnotic plot. The universe of the record is in fact vague, a blur of dizzying psychedelia, marked by long, grainy, muffled streaks, brief and repeated short circuits: the music never ceases to recreate itself in a dark and fierce, magmatic boiling . The osmosis between the guitar, the modular synthesizer and the amplification games sometimes leads to shimmering sound tapestries, as in section III, particularly repetitive, more in the 12K genre with its elegant fragility, however little by little invaded by granulations, a densification and a darkening of the textures leading to a thrilling finale and the short, torn fourth section, devastated with echoes, itself a prelude to the fifth, epic and flamboyant, with sumptuous colorings. All sections are linked together, resulting in an exhilarating, fabulous continuum.

A masterful record, of astonishing beauty!