Plies — Una Volta
The project, named Piles, is based in France and consists of three professional musicians who are fairly well known in the music world. We have Guigou Chevenier (Etron Fou Leloublan, Volapk), Anthony Laguerre (Filiamotsa, Club Cactus, Myotis), and Michel Deltruc (Isle-Adam 95, NAJA Nancy Jazz Action).
Una Volta is the debut album from this project will be released in September by the American label Aagoo Records in CD + BOOK/magazine format. At the moment, there is a Digital version of the album, which you can listen to and order on the site or on the Bandcamp page of the label.
The album cover is made in black and white, and it looks like a photocopy. This is an abstract texture image that is very difficult to identify. At the top of the cover is a horizontal black bar, on which the name of the project and album is written by a white perforated font.
The album with a total duration of just over forty-two minutes consists of eight compositions, different in length. It is worth noting that each track, according to the information provided in the press release, has its own history. So, I think it's worthwhile to look at each track in more detail. In advance, I must apologize for possible inaccuracies in terminology, as I have little experience with playing percussion instruments.
The album begins with a rather intense composition, called Drones and Piles. This track combines a rich rhythmic theme of drums and an electronic drone, with an almost Noise Background. The rhythm is not based on the classical drum technique - bass drum + snare, but rather focuses on toms and cymbals. Sometimes it brought almost jazz technique.
The second track is called Decay, and it is no less intense than the first one, but the drums, it seemed to me, lead a line closer to the tribal drums, despite the fact that the whole arsenal of the drum set is used. The backgrounds in this track are bells, which create an atmosphere.
The third track, called Ulrik, is the shortest track of the album. Its duration is just under two minutes. This is a mathematically adjusted rhythm, but again, not based on bass drum + snare. The drums play almost a melody at an average pace. There is no background here, just the work of the drummers.
Next is a track called Mort aux Cons. From the first second we hear a rather hard electric guitar, the sound of which reminds of punk rock, and, of course, we hear drums, the theme of which is made in the style of the first two tracks. The guitar does not play any particular melody, but rather plays the role of supporting drums, reproducing simply rhythmic chords. This track reminded me of the work of John Zorn on the likes of the Moonchild albums.
The fifth track is a dedication to kraut-rock in general and the legendary band CAN in particular. The track is called Kraut and Piles. This is a measured machine rhythm of percussion, typical for kraut-rock in the CAN version, which is overgrown with new sounds as the composition develops. The background here is an electric drone, which at first may seem static, but still slightly changes the intensity and tonality towards the end of the track.
Then we get the track Materials in US. This unexpectedly differs from the style of the previous tracks. It begins with a quiet mechanical cod, which goes into the rumble of cymbals, closer to the end turning into a cacophony of drums and percussion. Also in the middle of the track, we hear the old recording of a male voice, which speaks quite emotionally in French. This is an absolutely abstract and experimental track, devoid of rhythm.
The seventh track called Chambre d'Echo brings us back to the chosen style of the album. The track is actually divided into 3 parts. It begins with quiet, almost ritual toms, then comes the ragged rhythm of classical rock drums. The track ends with a kind of sublime rhythmic melody, played on something like a metallophone.
The album closes with a track called Marie. This is the longest track on the album. Its duration is almost 9 and a half minutes. Just like Materials in US, this track is knocked out of the general style. It's a quiet, insinuating, but still, sinister track. We hear metal drones, played, most likely with the help of cymbals. The sounds then subside, then increase the intensity. But throughout the entire composition, we still hear the rhythm - these are slow and light blows on the cymbals.
The album seemed a bit heterogeneous to me, due to the presence of two songs that contrast strongly with the others. Also, it seemed to me that these musicians, no doubt brilliant and professional, got too carried away and created the album not for a everyday listener, but for the musicians like themselves. A simple listener, who is not familiar with the techniques of playing drums, finds it difficult to assess the amount of work and technical skills of artists, as well as ways to extract some sounds from quite ordinary instruments. Nevertheless, this album is a very interesting phenomenon in the genre of experimental music.