A
classically trained pianist, Laurent Girard discovered electronic
music only five years ago, when he made the acquisition of a
synthesizer. Two years later, he sent a first tape to London-based
label Tugboat, then a second a few weeks later. Label boss Glenn
Johnson passed them onto Static Caravan who released a first
7”. Followed a few more singles for a variety of labels
and a first album, QuietNoiseArea, published by Disasters
By Choice in 2001. These releases as Melodium have gained Girard
a lot of recognition around the world. However, his native country
still seems reticent, but all could be changing with this second
album.
Based in Nantes, South Brittany, Girard has teamed up with new
French label Peter I’m Flying! to release A Possible
Way Of Spending Time. Chronologically, this album is actually
his third, its predecessor being released later on this year
by New York label Audiodregs. The music created by Girard belongs
to a long line of melancholic electronica, fed with beautiful
sounds and acoustic elements. Reminiscent of Boards Of Canada,
Isan
or Múm, A Possible Way Of Spending Time is a
fascinating collection of warm melodic instrumentals, partly
built around guitar and piano sounds wrapped in blankets of
analogue waves. His crisp languorous beats and soundscapes might
not be entirely original, but Girard demonstrates here a truly
personal approach to compositions and textures. From the delicate
Miljo-Zon, Pause 5 or Modulo Pi to
the more upfront Anna-thema, Yesterday and
Trois Idées Fixes, his minimal structures seem
to develop in multiple directions at once, concentrating each
time on the evocative elements of the track more than on the
technical input. The closing track, Composé Organique
Volatil, is a perfect demonstration of the fine balance
achieved by Melodium. Here, Girard works simultaneously on electronic
and acoustic grounds, shifting between them at regular interval
by inserting new melodic lines, to finally amalgamate them.
If the album lacks variety slightly, it is however very consistent
and interesting all the way through. The music created by Laurent
Girard is refined and subtle; his classical background proves
to integrate perfectly with his more contemporary form of expression.
Melodium is definitely a name to remember.
4/5 |
