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Ilitch, "La Maïeutique de la Quantique (Quantum Maïeutics)"
While electronic heavy krautrock inspired jams are far from obscure in this day and age, Ilitch is in the uncommon position of being one of the earlier practitioners of the genre who are still active, and with the vigor they always had.
Consisting of six songs recorded live in the studio in the span of a single day, there is a definite rawness to the sound that is, as far as I can imagine, completely intentional.Opening "La Maïeutique des Cantiques" even feels more like a warm-up than anything else, with sparse, plucked guitar notes eventually building into a sustained wall, while erratic percussion resembles more of a mic check than any semblance of rhythm.
Once "La Maïeutique de la Quantique" begins, the band is ready to go.Initially a tentative pastiche of nasal synths and stop/start rhythms, it finally opens up wide, letting in aggressive, raw guitar and stuttering analog synths.There is still a sense of pure improvisation going on here, but in no way like the scattershot opening:it is more deliberate and focused.
"Le Cantique de la Maïeutique" isn't quite as successful, focusing on clattering metal and keyboard sound effects.The guitar is still forceful, and eventually develops a big, heavy sound that punctuates its monolithicness with a dose of random noodling.Alas, the track really feels like it "clicks" in its dying minutes:the pieces finally fit together and the beast goes into motion, only to collapse upon its own weight moments later.
The second half feels like the flip side of an LP, as it goes in its own direction, placing a greater emphasis on the rhythms and the textures, a contrast to the more guitar focused "A" side.Even though "La Quantique Des Cantiques" opens with a guitar solo, eventually a rhythmic torrent becomes the focus, with the drummer doing his best Jaki Liebezeit impression for the full duration.While there are a lot of other things going on, my attention was locked on the rapid, evolving rhythms more than anything else.
On the nearly 15 minute "La Quantique de la Maïeutique," there is a culmination of both approaches to the Ilitch sound.Opening with simmering feedback and an insistent synth pulse, the melodic and traditional rhythmic facets stay hidden in the back.Eventually the song builds to a crescendo that sounds like a perverse marching band before retreating back to quiet, arid ambience, with a bit of chaos to close things out.
Given that it is essentially a single day's worth of studio improvisation, the album feels like it has its moments of indulgence and fat that could be trimmed, but even in spite of that it is a strong album.Personally, I feel Ilitch needs to spend more time locking into the groove that they dabble in on the first half of the album, but even with those portions so closely rationed, the disc still works.
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