What: “le fils de la prophétesse” by Bristophe
Netlabel: Pan y Rosas Discos
With this release you get a total of about 2.5 hours of free improvisational music. That’s free as in the usual no-cost Creative Commons music you can download, but also free as in free-spirited.
Bristophe is a duo: Brice Catherin (based in Switzerland) and Christophe Schweizer (based in Germany). This release is actually two albums. The first “le fils de la prophétesse” is made up of over 50 short pieces, mostly clocking in at less than two minutes. However, if you’re not fixated on the clock, it really flows together as one long piece. The second album is “Ειρήνη, Χρόνος” and is made up of longer pieces. The tracks on this second album generally sound more individual to me than the flow of tracks on “la prophétesse” but definitely have a similar feel.
The PYR website says of Bristophe: “They improvise. Occasionally both halves meet in one place, and that’s when sound happens.” They play numerous instruments from the classic (cello, piano, flute, etc.) to the less traditional (toys, bird calls, etc.). Bristophe also says “We can’t always promise exactly who is going to play which instruments.” Check out this photo of their “tools”:
So, I guess everything but the kitchen sink (although I think there may be one of those in there too).
Overall this is quite good if you enjoy improvisational music. At times things are very quiet and you almost have to strain to hear what is happening; at other moments it can be quite jarring. It’s a fun ride that keeps the listener on his/her toes. There is even humor evident in some of the titles. The longest piece, clocking in at 22:55, is entitled “presque vingt-trois minutes auront passé.” This translates to “almost twenty-three minutes will pass.”
Chicago-based Pan y Rosas Discos is pretty adventurous label based on what I’ve sampled at their site. They focus “on experimental, noise, improvisation and weirdo rock.” If that’s your thing there is an awful lot here; they have been releasing music since 2008 and it looks like their next release will be their 100th. And I have to give kudos because this is another netlabel that provides lots of excellent information on their artists.