a r t i s t : Yannick Franck
t i t l e : Memorabilia
d a t e : 2011
l a b e l : Silken Tofu
g e n r e : Ambient/Drone
r l s. d a t e : nov/2011
t r a c k s : 07
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 61,0 MB
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"Yannick FranckÆs work is well documented on his personal
site. He runs the Idiosyncratics label and is very active both
as a solo performer and with his YERMO project. From what I
can gather he seems to be branching out into new areas, more
research based recording projects. Hopefully IÆll be able to
review some of the outcomes in the near future.
If you like his past work, youÆll enjoy this. But from what
IÆve listened to in the past, IÆd say that this new album has
a more refined or sophisticated quality and comes over as an
exercise in restraint. In terms of technical resources, things
are quite straightforward -the artist tells me that he mostly
uses analogue gear, æprocessing samples of my own voice and
real instruments, and of course some software based
instruments as well, but used only as a part of the
composition processÆ.
Diving headlong into definitions, the music is ambient in some
of the senses that Eno mentions in his Music for Airports
liner note though there is a quality in the production that
draws the listener in more than perhaps Eno envisaged. There
are also ædark tendenciesÆ, a cinematic concern with
atmosphere and mood brought about by the use of dense textural
layers. There are six pieces û one or two of the titles giving
away FranckÆs concern with the darker side, for example Urban
Disease and Self Loading Defeat.
So what are the most evident characteristics of the album as a
whole? Restraint first and foremost, most evident in Vides
Linja where the feeling is that of holding back from the big
overpowering gesture or texture which would break the spell.
Overall we find the same tonal (pitched) layered textures as
in earlier works, a preference for the low to midrange, with
the occasional gesture or contrasting layer, a light crackling
and high frequency tones in Invott/Elements, a digitally
modified birdscape in Helsingin Subterranean. We have looped
pulses of timestretched instrumental sound offset with the
occasional percussive flourish, as in Urban Disease. This
piece had me travelling back to early Pink Floyd, waiting for
a delicious Dave Gilmour solo to burst in. Very well balanced,
high production standards, all evidence of a profesiional
sound designer at work. Nothing too intrusive. IÆve heard
music like this composed by less adept listeners which
gradually starts to irritate as certain midrange frequencies
are left running.
Good use is made of the back to front perspective: normally
youÆd play at spotting the clever use digital reverberation
software, but in Invott/Elements and Helsingin Subterranean in
particular the illusion of large mysterious spaces is
beautifully fabricated û IÆm hearing the space and not the
software, if that makes sense.
A sense of narrative emerges at times, especially strong in
The Answer which introduces background voices over (mostly
pitched) modulating textural layers. The collage of these
different nationalities speaking in English is offset by
æstuffÆ crashing about in the background. Towards the end I
could pick out what sounded like quotations from various
films.
The only track that did break the spell was Self Loading
Defeat with its hint of synth and drum beats. But, and this
probably says more about me than the music, I had inner
visions of æbad thingsÆ being done to victims, perhaps
inappropriately clad virgins locked up in some crypt or
another. All this without the use of corny æscaryÆ clichΘs.
The cleverest thing that Yannick has managed to do here is to
make gentle statements within an idiom that doesnÆt really
thrive on gentleness. In a very unique manner, the music
manages to be dark without being harsh or unpleasant.
Personally (yes, I know that my personal likes or dislikes are
irrelevant) I liked this album the more I listened it. Yannick
Franck strikes me as someone who knows what he wants and why
he wants it. He also knows how to do it." James Wyness
http://www.silkentofu.org/
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01-Invott / Elements [05:41]
02-Urban Disease [05:13]
03-Viides Linja [06:25]
04-Helsingin Subterranean [03:13]
05-The Answer [08:11]
06-Self Loading Defeat [06:47]
07-Horsehead Nebula [03:26]
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38:56 min