Frédéric Bigot — La Voix de la Route
La Voix De La Route is comprised of 5 tracks with the B-side of the vinyl version placed on 3 parallel grooves, causing the tracks to be played in random order. La Voix De La Route starts off with it’s lengthiest track, “Bon Voyage,” clocking in at 6 minutes. It unfolds rather unexpectedly with an upbeat, hand-clap inducing, repetitive beat. This drum machine foundation carries through the entire 6 minute track, mostly uninterrupted, while Bigot transfixes listeners with some mesmerizing psychedelic guitars that sound quasi-surfy at times. Processed vocals and some minimally utilized electronic chirps finish off the final product. I must admit, I get my fair share of releases featuring european solo artists doing the field recording/experimental thing and I was half expecting to this release to carry on that proud tradition. So to start things out with a, dare I say, “poppy” experimental track surprised me a bit. It was a happy surprise that compelled me to bop my hands on the steering wheel as I drove around jamming this in the car. The second track on the A-side, “Roule,” is a repetitive pulse, ending with a guitar drag finish, likely made by use of an ebow. Lasting only 57 seconds, the swift piece acts as a fitting outro to the first side.
Side B transpires a lot more to my expectations. On “The Last WAV,” Bigot utilizes field recordings of crickets chirping, metal clanging, and a sample of a woman speaking. It’s all manipulated to great degree with some trippy ebow playing over it and ending with the sputtering of a motorcycle engine. “Lost America,” follows with hypnotic, pulsing melody and a robotized voice uttering the word “America.” The album’s final statement is “Sample Trip.” The piece sounds like a recording of a dog, snorting and snarling all manipulated and processed. Buzzing insectoid sounds, some additional samples, and dubstep-esque fluttering, flesh out the piece.
This album was a very pleasant surprise. I was just expecting to hear the sounds of traffic jams, construction work, busy shopping areas, and subway trains, however, what Bigot presents is so much more. While he certainly toils in the field recording idiom, he also brings in a great deal of musicality not often found in this genre. It’s kind of a strange, but oddly fitting mish mash of styles found on labels like Night-People and Not Not Fun colliding with stuff from Gruenrekorder. I dig the collision!