a r t i s t : StΘphane Rives
t i t l e : Fibres
d a t e : 2003
l a b e l : Potlatch P303
g e n r e : Avantgarde
r l s. d a t e : May/2006
t r a c k s : 07
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 56,9 MB
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Stephane Rives: soprano saxophone
Recorded by Nicolas Guerin in July 2003
Graphics by Octobre
Released in 2003
Fibres brings together seven circular-breathing soprano
saxophone solos, grouped by Rives into three categories. The
two tracks classified as Larsen et le roseau feature a stream
of breathy emissions underlying a separate continuous
high-pitched line shifting in frequency and intensity as a
result of what appear to be both controlled modulations and
the inevitable irregularities in the demanding process of
simultaneously breathing in and blowing out. In the three
Granulations the high-pitched line is dispensed with in favour
of an exclusive focus on the microscopic world of unpitched
respiratory flows through the interior of the saxophone. The
final group of two tracks that bear the title Ebranlement
(harsh) are rather more difficult to describe, and perhaps the
siren-like Ebranlement #1 and the stridulous Ebranlement #2
ultimately share little more than a certain quality of
harshness. However that may be, Rives' work across the CD is
uniformly excellent. Recordings of experimental solo saxophone
run the risk of degenerating into quasi-scientific reports of
isolated sonic effects divorced from any interesting musical
application, but Fibres fortunately avoids such sterility, not
least because of its incorporation of frequent, subtle and
engaging shifts of pitch, volume and texture within each
track. I was particularly taken with the Granulations, a set
of almost aquatic coursings and undulations that seem to
represent a signal advance in the peculiar poetry of
percolating phlegm that a small band of advanced reeds and
brass players have been developing over the last decade. This
is without doubt difficult and demanding music that demands
repeated close listening in favorable circumstances and may
well prove wholly inaccessible to many, but it is well worth
expending some time and attention on, for it holds out to the
sympathetic listener a rewarding intricacy of improvised
passages with which to engage.
Wayne Spencer l Paristransatlantic l January 2005
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01-Larsen Et Le Roseau #1 [08:43]
02-Granulations #1 [13:18]
03-Granulations #2 [06:18]
04-Ebranlement #1 [04:21]
05-Larsen Et Le Roseau #2 [18:17]
06-Ebranlement #2 [02:52]
07-Granulations #3 [05:33]
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59:22 min