merle végétal, by pierre gerard

merle végétal

by pierre gerard

supported by

Christophe Lejeune (freezincurtain) thumbnail

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€3.50 EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
self - release (limited edition of 19 numbered copies) | 3"cd-r |

Includes unlimited streaming of merle végétal via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

€7 EUR or more

	1.	merle végétal 1 07:53	info	buy track
	2.	merle végétal 2 14:36	info	buy track

credits

released March 9, 2019

guitar, cello, electronics & abstract voice by pierre gerard
(2017_2018)
abstract voice recorded with_into environment
composed by pierre gerard (2018)

listen to on speakers ..
(ideally)

THE SOUND PROJECTOR

Enigmatic Belgian composer Pierre Gerard has released Merle Végétal (NO LABEL), a short item which if purchased arrives pressed on a mini-CD and affords 20 mins of cryptical composerly entertainment. We last heard him with the wispy Cavité Aérienne full-length album. On Merle Végétal, he is credited with playing guitar, cello and electronics and also supplies the “abstract” voice – the latter might be his way of describing the very subtle electro-acoustic treatments to which he subjects his fine larynx. Actually the credit goes on to say that the abstract voice was “recorded with_into environment”, another rather elusive way of describing his recording set up, but it indicates that he is very susceptible to the nuances of his surroundings, allowing them to penetrate and influence the quality of the sound in ways that only he can understand.
Some of the familiar Gerard elements are in evidence here in the structure of the composition, including the strategy of drip-feeding musical information to us in very short segments, and also the device of cutting off a sound well before it reaches the natural point of decay. These methods can be distracting, but it’s probably deliberate; a means of making us aware of years of conditioning that leads us to expect to hear recorded sound in a certain way. Such aural events as do reach us are surrounded in an all-white field of silence, or near-silence, and the sense of expectation is quite palpable. As ever, when I do reach the micro-second of musical incident, I find Pierre Gerard is evidently capable of creating extremely beautiful musical moments, and I sometimes yearn to hear them extended into a longer suite of continual music. But then he might end up as just another variation of the ideas of Morton Feldman.
The packaging for this item is also pretty neat; front and back cover have some details of photographs which are highly intriguing. One of them might be a subway map, or a section of a printed circuit. Inside, he has pasted half of a printed invitation to one of his own exhibitions (from 2008) called, I think, Dissidence. The card wallet has also been perforated as though a conductor on board an avant-garde train had punched our ticket. If we were all passengers on this train, it would be moving very slowly through a dark tunnel, allowing us to savour the very gentle interplay of the lights and ceramic tiles we can see through the windows. From 10th December 2019.

31/05/2020

Ed Pinsent

license

about

pierre gerard Belgium

a particular interest in intuitive improvisation ..
after a rather minimalist beginning ..

pierregerard.eu

contact / help

Contact pierre gerard

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like pierre gerard, you may also like:

60 Minute Relief
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 4 fans who also own “merle végétal”

If I told you an album recorded with pulse generators and a shortwave and distortion soars you’d be sensible to not believe me but this is a glorious noise in full flight. unruh2525
go to album
The Illusion Of Having Plans
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 4 fans who also own “merle végétal”

This was a dadaist event for me. The quiet flows and clicks made me wish my inner ears moved from my skull and closer to the diaphragms of my headphones. William Stryjewski
go to album
End Of The Year Tracks #2
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 4 fans who also own “merle végétal”

Yes. Waiting for the ten hour re-mix. biscuitgecko
go to album
RETURN
by GVSU New Music Ensemble

"Electronic chamber music" from this lauded ensemble, with the musicians "sampling" the notation for a stunning, innovative sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 8, 2017
go to album
Minimal Surface
by Thee Reps

The long-running NYC group's full-length debut explores the various guises of minimalism in music, from Krautrock to post-rock. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2019
go to album
Holographic Dreamtime
by Khôra

Less a solo act than a one-man megalith, Khôra builds impressive experimental soundscapes from modular synths, flutes, harps, and more. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 19, 2020
go to album
Less Than Half As Loud
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 4 fans who also own “merle végétal”

Orchestral uncertainity with the soundtrack of future days. William Stryjewski
go to album