BENOIT HONORE PIOULARD
Plays Thelma
PATHWAY003
Desire Path Recordings 2011
06 Tracks. 22mins54secs

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The universe created by Benoît Pioulard for his three albums, published on Kranky between 2006 and 2010, exists somewhere between dreams and reality. An elaborate sonic concoction which relies partly on hazy electronic soundscapes and field recordings, and partly on dreamy folk songs, his records have increasingly become poetic songbooks built around beautiful pastoral themes.

A former press officer for Ghostly International, Thomas Meluch adopted his French sounding alias for his musical ventures in the early 2000s, which first began to take shape with Enge, a single released on Moodgadget in 2005 Continue Reading »

BENOIT PIOULARD
Lasted
KRANK145
Kranky 2010
14 Tracks. 40mins02secs

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Despite a very French-sounding name, Benoît Pioulard is actually the long-running solo project of Michigan-born Thomas Meluch. After a few self-released albums, Pioulard’s first commercial release, a seven inch single entitled Enge, came out on Moodgadget in 2005, and was followed less than a year later by his debut album, Précis, on Kranky. Under its gentle folk exteriors, this album ventured into more experimental electronic territories, creating an overall complex and contrasted soundtrack. This album was followed by a second, Temper, two years later, on which Meluch continued to develop his particular blend of songs and instrumentals. Since, there have been a handful of limited seven inch releases for Type, Hall Of Owls and Blue Flea, countless compilations appearances, a collaborative album with Praveen and a cassette mini album, Valley, which was recently issued on FM Dust. Continue Reading »

The noughties have seen probably the most radical changes in the music industries since the advent of the record. Consumption habits have dramatically moved from traditional to digital formats, music has been increasingly seen as something to steal rather than to buy, and listening habits means that nowadays, the album is becoming increasingly redundant. Or is it? Whereas it had, at least in some circles, become totally acceptable to fill records with substandard music, it is now essential for artists to create consistent pieces of work if they want to retain the attention of their audience. The last ten years have delivered their fair share of hits and misses, and this list doesn’t pretend to be in any way shape or form exhaustive. This is just, in no particular order, the definitive list of the 20 albums that have defined the noughties at themilkfactory.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Musique Pour Statues Menhirs
ARBOU026
Arbouse Recordings 2009
21 Tracks. 123mins59secs

The musée Fenaille, in Rodez, South of France, is an archaeological museum which has in its collection a wide array of ‘statues menhirs’, or carved stones which are the first known life-size representations of man. Local record label Arbouse Recordings commissioned a number of artists to create a soundtrack for the museum collection, each providing one track to the project, and three of them were later invited to perform live in the museum.

The panel of musicians and sound artists invited to take part to the project is extremely diverse, with the likes of Fennesz, Benoît Pioulard, John Hughes, Sylvain Chauveau, Greg Davis, Schneider TM, Mapstation, Mira Calix or Jasper TX, rubbing shoulders with less known contributors such as ww.lowman, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Astrïd, Serafina Steer, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma or Orla Wren to create a truly evocative and sumptuous document Continue Reading »

BENOÃŽT PIOULARD
Précis
KRANK098
Kranky 2006
14 Tracks. 36mins52secs

Despite what the name and album title could suggest, Benoît Pioulard is not the latest French talent to make it to these shores. Instead, Thomas Meluch, who hides behind the Gallic-sounding moniker, hails from the South Michigan city of Ann Arbor. For years, he has been assembling precious little vignettes which he has then collected into very limited self-released albums and EPs, yet, Précis, released on Chicago-based imprint Kranky, is Tom’s first record to benefit of a wide release. The album follows Mr. Pioulard’s debut Enge EP, published earlier this year on Moodgadget. Continue Reading »