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Stephan Mathieu, "A Static Place", "Remain"
Recorded together using similar techniques, but vastly different source materials, these two releases feel like different parts of the same whole, with both of them emphasizing Mathieu's balancing of texture and melody, to excellent effect, through the use of processed, pre-recorded compositions.
Sourced from a mic’d gramophone playing 78rpm records from 1928 to 1932 with a cactus needle for a stylus, A Static Place has the more urgent, dynamic feeling to it.There is heavy use of hissing and layers of analog static to be heard on "Schwarzschild Radius", but it is used sparingly, burying processed choral arrangements and organ passages in its fuzzy warmth.
Vinyl surface noise is a bit played out in my opinion, which is why this disc excels in its measured approach to using it.There is far more overt use of the musical elements of the source material in the beautiful waves of sound, with the various forms of digital processing transforming, but not destroying, the music its created from.The two part title track clearly demonstrates this, with glistening, soaring melodies being teased out of the ancient vinyl, juxtaposing melody and texture, almost mimicking a journey through arid deserts and claustrophobic caves.The second part includes what must be piano tones and orchestra-like outbursts in its long journey.
"Dawn" seems to take even more of its source material to heart, intertwining jazzy melodies over what resembles rattling metal to create a slow piece that carries its beauty all the way to the final moments of the album.All five of the pieces display Mathieu's balanced hand in reshaping existing sound into beautiful new worlds.Probably due to their similar approach, I felt some parallels to Philip Jeck's work with turntables, but Mathieu is a singular artist that really sounds like no one else.
Remain, consisting of a single hour long track based upon Janek Schaefer's Extended Play, carries much of the same sensibilities of A Static Place, but instead projects it out into a long, sprawling work that has a slower, more deliberate pacing.Opening from quiet, open space, there are subtle vinyl clicks and pops that appear throughout, never being the focus but always adding to the album a slight sense of rhythm.
Early on there is a more pronounced leaning on the lower frequency spectrum, allowing bassy swells to appear abruptly, when they weren't as notable on A Static Place.There is an undercurrent of melody throughout the entire hour, but it doesn’t seem to be the focus; instead there is more texture and subtlety to be heard.There’s definitely "drone" elements, but I’m hesitant to say that since it has become almost a pejorative term, but here it applies in the most literal sense.
There is the same sense of comfort and warmth that carries over to here as well, with sustained notes that convey a familiar nostalgia that is universal.Throughout its full hour duration, the piece never seems to have a moment of filler, but slowly flows like a complex river of sound.It is haunting, with moments of sadness, darkness and triumph.
Both Remain and A Static Place share some definite qualities with one another, but each are their own album and focus on different compositional strategies by Mathieu.Remain is a slow building work, constantly evolving with a fluid sound to it, while A Static Place is more immediate, mostly due to the shorter pieces included.Both are gorgeous, evolving works of delicate melody and subtle texture, however, and I don't think I could pick a favorite between the two.
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