Laurent Pernice and Jacques Barberi ~ Drosophiles Et Doryphores
No background on this one, no prior experience of the players, no promo sheet from the label. The label’s website (http://www.rx-tx.org) doesn’t really explain anything. The digipak gives precious little away, except that:
- the label RX-TX “are supported in part by a grant from the ministry of culture of the Republic of Slovenia”;
- that Barberi plays sax, text, voice on track 6 and Pernice plays piano and electronics;
- unfortunately the track titles are in French and therefore prove mysterious: ‘au dela du miroir’, ‘sur la route encore’, ‘entourloupe’, ‘octave moins un’, ‘oiseaux mouches’, ‘le miroir s’observe’, ‘au board du centre’...
and the cover’s minimal floral design doesn’t communicate anything.
So there’s nothing left but the music...
Au Delà Du Miroir begins with the sound of comingling saxophone and
synthesizers. After a minute it’s succeeded by a forthright declaration
from Barberi’s sax (filtered in some way to make it sound a little
off-colour) accompanied by tinkling piano, preprogrammed beats and synthetic
treatments. The sax sounds on the edge of crazed, pealing off into wails
and squeals which are in fairly marked contrast to the beats/piano which
convey something of the the air of a polite jazzfunk track. The effect is
strange – more like two tracks running in parallel and by singular
chance happening to play in time.
Sur La Route Encore begins with noir chords sounded on electric piano with
Barberi this time sounding as though he’s playing from a rainlit doorway
down a neonlit alleyway. Pernice continues to provide atmospheres and comping
to support his colleague’s soloing. Entourloupe sounds strikingly
like a three minute version of Jon Hassell’s Charm (Over Burundi Cloud)
from Fourth World Vol.1: Possible Musics, whether this is deliberate or
not is unclear. Octave Moins Un maintains the noir feel with suspended tippytoe
piano and a slightly crunchier rhythm bed. Barberi traces long streamers
of saxophone over these elements.
Pernice and Barberi appear to be aiming at a form which allows for the exploration
of electronic tone colours and instrumental soloing and this they do with
some success. There are a few reservations however, namely that the feel
of the tracks is a little too similar and that, although an uncredited percussionist
appears on at least one track, the programmed percussion is a little limited.
This music might have been more powerful had a flesh and blood player been
employed. Overall though, Drosophiles Et Doryphores is an interesting hybrid
and it will be interesting to hear the direction in which Pernice and Barberi
develop this music.