ARTiST: Le Chat Blanc Orchestra
TiTLE: Theories Sur La Danse
LABEL: This Quiet Army Records
GENRE: Ambient
TiME: 34:45 min
SiZE: 45,6 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Jul-20-2007
RELEASE DATE: 000-00-2007
WEBSiTE: www.myspace.com/lechatblancorchestra
Track List:
01. She Left This Morning 08:14
02. Hibou (For Joseph Cornell) 06:50
03. Son Visage, DΘchu Et FatiguΘ 07:44
04. Everybody Dance! 01:34
05. RiviΦre-Du-Loup 10:23
Release Notes:
The history behind ThΘories Sur La Danse is almost
as interesting as the CD itself. Le Chat Blanc
Orchestra is Pascal Asselin (Millimetrik, Below the
Sea, Glider, Snowflake) and Mathieu GrisΘ
(destroyalldreamers, IXE-13, mΘta-mΘta), and
certainly one more project can't hurt the already
impressive resume. For those with an ear close to
the ground, you'll recognize the name Chat Blanc
from Chat Blanc Records, which is run by Mr. Asselin
himself. Chat Blanc has been making a name for
itself over the past couple years by releasing odds
and ends in the ambient/electronic world, including
works by Port-Royal, Yellow6, Electroluminescent,
and Stafraenn Hakon. By a strange twist of fate, Le
Chat Blanc Orchestra finds itself on Thisquietarmy
Records, run by Eric Quach of destroyalldreamers,
and the next Thisquietarmy release will be handled
by Chat Blanc. Confusing? Yes, I thought so.
Needless to say, we've tapped into a goldmine of
Canadian ambient/electronic music and there is
plenty to go around.
I think many listeners shy away from the
ambient/electronic realm because, depending on your
introduction to the genre, it can be very
unwelcoming. One of the common characteristics among
all the subgenres, and perhaps the only
characteristic, is a large appreciation for
subtlety. Whether this be one of the main concerns
of the music (Stars of the Lid), or relegated more
towards the background (Hammock), everyone needs
some of this to wrap their music in a shroud of
mystery. It's this mystery that allows the layers to
blend together as artists continually seek more and
better textures, and it's never really quite clear
who is making what sounds, where they are coming
from, or why they're there. The last part is
especially important, as the listening experience is
highly subjective, and while many instrumental
genres are happy to lead the way through
interpretation of the tracks, ambient musicians are
content to provide the basic tools and let the
listener sculpt his own journey. It is perhaps this
phenomenon that creates such varying opinions of
ambient music; a fantastic CD to one set of ears can
easily be boring and trite to the next, and vise
versa. However, this isn't to imply there isn't a
critical mode of thought that arises, as there are
certainly a few musicians who come to mind when you
think of the "best of the best" in this department,
be the smoldering drone workers, the celestial
stargazers, or the beat-driven electro artists.
Le Chat Blanc Orchestra (White Cat Orchestra) is a
master of the hypnotic arts. There is generally a
learning curve associated to such releases -- how
long does it take to truly pull the listener into a
comatose state -- and before the 2 minute mark
clicks by in "She Left This Morning" the listener is
in deep hypnosis. Long, ambient waves wash over the
landscape, gradually increasing and decreasing in
intensity and tone, and the listener is tightly
sucked into the album. "Hibou (For Joseph Cornell)"
is decidedly reminiscent of destroyalldreamers, as
the kaleidoscopic sounds emanating from the CD
gently percolate into our subconscious and the
subtlety defiantly resists succumbing to the
indicated rising action. Instead, the emotional
buildup is relieved by "Son Visage, Dechu et
Fatigue," which only deflates the sense of immediacy
by slipping into a mournful, depressively repetitive
melody. The control of emotion and total lack of
presence is outstandingly impressive, to say the
least, and it's the kind of brilliance we normally
credit to Stars of the Lid. "Everyone Dance!"
portrays a more hopeful side, as the sounds of the
ocean are juxtaposed with a relatively energetic
musical progression. At a short "1:33," it's merely
a snapshot of another world, one which Le Chat Blanc
adamantly refuses to visit, but perhaps is a
motivating force behind the scenes. Regardless, it's
a refreshing respite from the rest of the album, and
a reminder that a real world actually does exist
outside this surreal experience.
The five track CD concludes with "Riviere du Loup,"
the longest on offer at over 10 minutes. By summing
up the work of the previous twenty-five minutes of
music, "Riviere du Loup" effectively concludes the
album, and while the track itself is up to par with
the high bar of excellence maintained on this CD, I
can't help but feel like they took the easy way out.
The track effortless glides through an icy cavern,
building up an incandescent wave of ambience, but is
short to fade out and break the hypnotic trance. I'd
be happy to entertain the notion that the journey
hasn't ended, but rather proceeds cyclically in
nature. Evidently that is not in the framework.
For any who claim to enjoy ambient music, ThΘories
Sur La Danse is a must buy. It's quite rare to see a
release of this caliber without the added
pretentious baggage, but Le Chat Blanc Orchestra has
crafted a magical experience that is as humble as it
is transcendental. I challenge you to show me a
better poised release.