Jean-Luc Guionnet

[FreakAnimalFinland]

About five years ago:

I had a feeling that Jean-Luc Guionnet was something very special. Was it because of good Groundfault CD? Perhaps. But after few attempts to appreciate for example "tirets" cd (hibari-05), well... If I can't really fully appreciate Herman Nitch organ music, this perhaps goes further into brain disturbance.
Whatever is being played, is random improv. It's not the crystallic minimalist tones of Nitch, but perhaps related to elegance of some drunk in corner of bar giving a try to bar piano. Tones and doodles hit here and there. Some random sounding patterns and a bit of Eric La Casa doing something. Most of these cuts are actually concerts. It sounds more of like test of how long you can show middlefinger on the stage, and get away calling it art? Perhaps the main problem I find is that the organ itself isn't that interesting. The quality it could have for deep tones and nearly brass-instrument like "prööött!!!" sounds.. well, it would have to be done very very differently than this. I know that "anyone could do this" is some argument what can be applied to anything, and is pretty much BS argument anyways. But well... anyone could do this. It has no interesting tonality, hardly interesting sounds. When things start to happen, it's just lame. Don't remember what was the name of the double CD of pretty much equal torment.

So question remains, if one is to give mr. Guionnet another chance, what could it be?

Now returned to "Non-Organic Bias" 2xCD, which is probably the one I was referring above, it is not bad. First disc has some of the most exaggerated bass frequencies, making it hard to be listened with speakers with heavy bass. 2nd disc is much better material. I've grown to like the feeling of space and natural flow of time in the recording.

While disc 1 is more odd, in terms of what exactly is used and how its processed, 2nd disc piece "Espace Bas" has very natural feel to it. Slow, airy, with plenty of space for church organs to sound good.

I noticed Guionnet and La Case has once again collaborated and released 4xCD box of conceptual recordings what kind of reek of state funded art project, but somehow I have liked what they do.

In 2010, Jean-Luc Guionnet and Éric La Casa were invited by Arika to the Uninstal festival in Glasgow (Scotland) to carry out a series of recordings with some inhabitants of this city, in their home spaces.

Based on predefined rules, including the single-sequence shot as a recording method, these people became the actors in a story about their everyday life. Guionnet and La Casa considered this work as a composition under the form of a score with four phases.

Have not invested to go through that piece, but sample found at youtube is quite bizarre. At times sounds really really good, but then again..  Moments what leave me wondering how much there is scottish people talking rubbish on this set?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4mktik41oQ


Never really heard Jean-Luc Guionnet saxophone works, improv stuff etc.

[Zeno Marx]

Cued up Non-Organic Bias, thinking it would be killing a couple birds with one stone. Never heard it. Something to throw on in the background for a couple hours and to at least be half-acquainted with one more part of Guionnet's catalogue. I've been thinking of him and his free jazz, and organs...love me some organ. CD2 is definitely the winner here, but it's all very good. I didn't wish CD1 would move into something else as it played out.  "Espace Bas" (CD2 version) is very much like something Stapleton would do with Nurse with Wound (Salt Marie Celeste), and it is some of the best ambient I've listened to in a while.  If ambient tends to hit you as boring, try this one.  There's an experimental and industrial richness to it that might change your mind.  I'm sorry this didn't have a third CD.