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Erikm [Luc Ferrari] & Thomas Lehn, "Les Protorhythmiques"
This live performance was to originally pair Erikm with Luc Ferrari in France but due to health reasons, Ferrari was replaced by Thomas Lehn. The sounds were developed and researched prior to the performance by Erikm and Ferrari and a musique concrète improvisation was performed by Erikm and Lehn. The result is a chaotic but uncluttered sounding piece that combines Ferrari's fantastic ear with Erikm's turntablist approach (although in this case all the sources were played from CD as opposed to a traditional turntable).
Les Protorhythmiques goes on quite a journey; chopped up recordings of voices and instruments give way to massive drones and synthesiser pulses. High frequencies cut through the mass of sound, stretching out the feeling of empty space. In places the piece is not a million miles away from Nurse With Wound recordings like The Ladies Home Tickler. Indeed when the tribal sounding drumbeats kick in, there is a huge resemblance to "Yagga Blues." It is strange comparing a Ferrari- related piece to one of his bastard children but that is the way this piece leads my mind.
Although musique concrete may be more garde than avant garde, this is a nice example of 21st century sound composition. There is a definite feeling of Les Protorhythmiques looking both to the past at the old masters but also to the future in terms of approaches and sounds that new technologies will bring. It is a very satisfying and sonically exciting piece of music, it is too bad Ferrari never got to finish what he started.
