Mort Aux Vaches

Lionel Marchetti and Jerome Noetinger, both members of the large-scale electronic group MIMEO, here perform as a duo, creating abstract soundscapes that tend to have underlying textures that serve as a cohesive bond. While making no explicit nods in a rhythmic direction, there is often an implied pulse or ephemeral throb beneath the seemingly scattershot surface elements filled with the sort of clicks and buzzes common to this genre, though applied with a special ease and grace. On the fourth track (all cuts are untitled, and the last consists of ten seconds of silence), there is even an Eno-esque backdrop of an organ-y drone, though that gradually mutates into a more sinister tone. Mort aux Vaches (incidentally, many of Staalplaat's releases are titled Mort aux Vaches, thus leading to some confusion) is a rich, solid representation of the state of electronic free improvisation at the turn of the century, and fans of musicians like Christian Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, and Stilluppsteypa will find much to enjoy here. Recommended.