The most distinguished member of the quartet is computer artist Gilles Aubry, who has worked a lot in the experimental and improvised music fields. Among others, he has collaborated with Erik Truffaz, John Hegre (Jazzkammer) or Rachied Ali (who drummed for Coltrane). Other members are Antoine Chessex, a 23-year old classically and jazz trained saxophonist, Vincent Berberat on bass and Marc Fantini on drums.

What is striking on the first track is the huge, huge, huge bass sound. Sounds like Jah Wobble when he was in PIL… An electronic backdrop, some free drumming, a few sax sounds, quite a powerful song. Candle light technology is more ambient, more minimal, with electronic textures and a few cymbals and snare sounds as well as some bass and a little sax. Crack brained sees the return of that huge bass sound, more traditional and powerful drumming with subtle sax sounds. The computer effects on this one are not really adding anything, quite the contrary… Murumeur is a groovy ambient (if such a thing is possible) track, with delicate computer sounds, sophisticated sax bits and a nice bass groove. Very enjoyable, but not thrilling (and, alas, it’s quite often the case on this album). Contonuous is one of the most enjoyable tracks, an abstract soundscape crafted with Aubry’s computer, mixing bass, sax and drums in a way that makes them almost unrecognizable. Trail is a track that mixes the abstract side of Monno with more traditional drumming, and for the first and last time, it features vocals: a text read in a rather jaded way by Berberat. Footnote is again very abstract, very quiet. It actually sounds like the recording of a helicopter rotor far away in the sky.

This album is most certainly intriguing, probably interesting, but it’s not that impressive. Nice enough, but it won’t put the experimental world down on its knees.