Art Zoyd/Musiques Nouvelles Ensemble - Expériences de Vol (CD)

All Music Guide

The chamber rock-cum-avant-garde ensemble Art Zoyd had a studio in Mons. The contemporary Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles was based in Maubeuge, just across the Franco-Belgian border. When musical directors Gérard Hourbette and Jean-Paul Dessy decided to work together they formed the Centre Transfrontalier de Production et Création Musicales and began to welcome composers in residence. Expériences de Vol is a triple-CD set of recordings featuring both ensembles performing works composed for this project by a wide array of artists ranging from contemporary composers to names more usually associated with the electronica scene. An Art Zoyd album this is not; instead what you get is a strong collection of challenging works. Some stay too close to the academic sphere to light up any sparks, although Kasper T. Toeplitz's "Biel" is delightfully minimalist and Christophe Jean Feldhandler and Dessy's pieces contain some beautiful moments. Gérard Hourbette and -- surprisingly -- David Shea provide t...he most Art Zoyd-sounding moments. Atau Tanaka and Ryoji Ikeda are the two unknown variables here, concert music not being known as their forte. They turn in impressive contributions. Tanaka makes extensive use of Laurent Dailleau's mastery of the theremin. Ikeda's "Opus 1" features a peaceful section of long string chords, unlike anything else he has done before. The stated intent of bringing together the worlds of acoustic and electronic contemporary music may not be completely successful, but the project has left in its wake interesting results. - François Couture, All Music Guide Read more Less