Thursday 30 June 2022

Pascal Comelade – "Slow Musics" (Eurock – EDC06) 1981


Pascal Comelade likes his piano's upright,recorded ambiently by two mikes in a room,and accompanied by an array of toy instruments
,something that Steve Beresford was well known for at the time,and probably someone Pascal would have come into contact with through his association with David Cunningham,and the London Musician's Collective. Mix that with an obvious Erik Satie influence,and splashes of This Heat's quieter moments and you've got Slow Music.
Pascal has an obvious talent for a minimal melancholic tune,which also reminds one of those Daniel Johnston tapes,but without the awful whining. Lots of recognisable influences indeed,but blended together Comelade has created a distinctive style that verges on the sad but beautiful side of 'tings.
This didn't go unnoticed in This Heat HQ, as Gareth Williams' solo album sounds unerringly similar to that of Pascal Comelade's early work.
A lot of these tunes have that 'previously heard before' quality such is the direct simplicity of them.Why I could star at an empty wall for hours listening to these,dare I say 'Sad'(?)mini sonata's.The music of introspective loneliness.  

Tracklist:

Face A:
1. Le vérolé de Babel - 2’50
2. Ritmos del fedayin - 4’23
3. Harley-Davidson - 2’16
4. Music for sanatorium - 1’46
5. Gary Cooper, always here - 1’38
6. Distorsion molle (to K. Leimer) - 1’37
7. John Cage descendant un escalier - 1’50
8. Morena fatal (mambo) - 2’54
Face B : 
1. Fragmentes della Kairos - 2’00
2. Les partisans - 2’27
3. Justine - 2’00
4. Souvenir from diagonal - 2’25
5. La dialectique peut-elle casser des briques ? - 2’46
6. Nicaragua arumbaya - 2’31

    3 comments:

    Laurent Blain said...

    Lots of thanks for this and for Pascal. I don't know if there's cassettes of Fall of Saigon, but it was good too. Thanks

    Jonny Zchivago said...

    Fall of Saigon coming up.

    Anonymous said...

    insane creativity. thanks

    -psy guy