Frantz Loriot, Reflections on an Introspective Path (n/n 002) 

   
     









 

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'Reflections on an Introspective Path' is Frantz Loriot's first solo album. Exploring the instrument in an exclusively acoustic setting he creates stunning microcosms of electronic-like sounds and textures through the use of preparations and extended techniques that he has developed over the past fifteen years. This meticulous research was initially prompted by his interest in electroacoustic and acousmatic music and in time it developed into a profound and personal musical journey. The title of the album also finds meaning in Morgan O'Hara's drawing for the cover. The drawing is in fact a portrayal of Frantz's movements while performing in her studio. Her work obliquely reflects the movement, timing, shapes and form of Frantz's music.


Personnel:

Frantz Loriot - viola


Recorded and mixed by Aaron Nevezie on December 20th, 2014 at Bunker Studios, Brooklyn, NY. Mastered by Jim Clouse at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY. All music by Frantz Loriot. Produced by Frantz Loriot. Cover drawing "LIVE TRANSMISSION: movement of the hands of Frantz Loriot while performing in Studio 610, New York City, January 29th, 2015" by Morgan O'Hara. Design by Carlo Costa.


Release date: April 10, 2015






























Press


Mozaïc Jazz

“Il s’agit d’une plongée, non pas dans l’intime de l’alto, ce qui serait prétentieux, ou seulement dans l’intime de l’altiste, mais bel et bien une plongée au cœur de la relation que le musicien entretien avec son instrument. Les cordes sont effleurées, pincées, frottées, frappées. Loriot et sa délicatesse le font murmurer ou siffler. Loriot et sa violence lui extirpent les sons les plus extrêmes, grincements et stridences, parfois distordus par l’utilisation d’objets et d’effets. L’album est court mais il suffit à l’altiste pour développer des situations de jeu passionnantes de par la quantité de moyens mis en œuvre pour leur donner corps et l’esthétique torturée mais fascinante qui s’en dégage. “ (February 5, 2016)


Vital Weekly

“Every now and then, I encounter a record that really stands out. This first solo album by the French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot is one of them. Exceptional and intriguing in many aspects. (...) The recording is crystal clear. It is like being inside the instrument. All sounds and every nuance evoked by his playing, using extended techniques, are registered and can be enjoyed at an almost microscopic level. The playing by Loriot is intense and lively. Impressive is the range of sounds he is able to extract from this instrument. But above all he manages to make very engaging and emotional music, that I experienced as very organic and physical. A true tribute to the viola!” (December 2015)


Percorsi Musicali

"’Reflections on an introspective path’ alza il velo su alcune tecniche estese, rinforzandole di probabili significati: lo scopo di Loriot è quello di raggiungere nei suoni risultati simili alle modificazioni ottenute con l'elettronica, lavorando però solo sullo strumento: "Confluences" regala attimi impensabili per uno strumento nato in una conclamata classicità, segnalando come lo stesso possa allontanarsi, attraverso un uso eclettico dell'archetto e delle preparazioni manuali,  da quel sentimento tipico che l'ha contraddistinto e allo stesso tempo attanagliato nei secoli che corrisponde all'aggettivo austero. Le pressanti rappresentazioni di Loriot giocano sul particolare, sui microtoni, sull'ascolto armonico, per esprimere l'infausto procedere dei nostri tempi con stati divisi tra l'ebbrezza e l'esagerazione nelle tonalità acustiche, in una maniera che non guasta affatto il gusto intelligente della scoperta.” (November 20, 2015)


Jazz n’ More

“Eine bemerkenswerte Einspielung ist das Solo­Album ”Reflections on an Introspective Path”. Nur gut 30 Minu­ ten lang, ist es ein gut konsumierbarer Ein­ stieg, um die Streicherklänge, Noise­Vibratio­ nen und Resonanzspektren der Viola auf ei­ ner faszinierenden Klangreise geradezu auch körperlich zu spüren. Grundsätzlich habe er versucht, einen anderen Weg und eine andere Ausdrucksweise mit diesem Instrument zu er­ reichen. ”Die Viola hat ja eine ziemlich grosse Geschichte in der Welt der abendlän­disch­ klassischen Musik.” Bewusst fokussierte er sich auf mikroskopische Strukturen und ihre Nuancen, inspiriert von elektroakustischen Komponisten wie Pierre Schaeffer, Bernard Parmegiani, Luc Ferrari oder Francis Dho­ mont.” (November 1, 2015)


Enola

“Reflections On An Introspective Path is een iets taaiere noot om te kraken. Terwijl Loriot met zijn Notebook Large Ensemble veelal een extraverte kant van zijn muzikale karakter laat horen, kruipt hij op zijn soloplaat bij wijze van spreken in zijn altviool. Hij legt zijn instrument onder de loep en bestudeert geduldig elke millimeter. Dankzij de loepzuivere opname en productie zit de luisteraar met zijn neus op het hele gebeuren; elke beweging, ritsel of ruis wordt waargenomen. Wanneer de intensiteit of het volume toenemen, gaat er bovendien ook een fysiek aspect spelen. In het eerste deel van het drieluik "Confluences" voelt men de pijn van de vingertoppen die de snaren onophoudelijk tegen de hals drukken, en moet men aan de finish eveneens naar adem happen, als na een zware inspanning.” (October 21, 2015)


New York City Jazz Record

“Using staccato techniques that suggest he’s playing electrified wires not gut strings, Loriot’s solo velocity allows him to move across his string-set with timbres as angled as a spider’s movements and as sharp as that arachnid’s bite. At the same time, as on “Confluences - movement 2”, he creates washboard- like rubs with stolid bow pressure, in effect pushing multiphonics out from each excited string. Auxiliary experimentation leads to transformative strokes on “Equilibrium”, where it seems as if two bows are in use to create the viola equivalent to tongue stops as well as pizzicato strums; a breathtaking climax consists of almost pure white noise. Countless scrapes and lacerations dominate the concluding “Attained” so that it could be that the violist is following Fluxus-like experiments to source new sounds by physically destroying his instrument. The preceding “Thwart Path” illuminates an inverse path as his harsh techniques soon transform into a chipper melody.” (October 1, 2015)


Sun Ship

“C'est donc avec beaucoup d'intérêt que Reflections on an Introspective Paths, son album solo sorti sur le label Neither Nor Records a séjourné sur la platine ; parce que les albums de violon alto sont rares, mais aussi parce qu'il nous entraîne dans un voyage surnaturel, qui passe de l'infiniment grand à l'infiniment petit d'un morceau à l'autre.

De la multiplicité des archets qu'on croirait en re-recordings sur le premier mouvement de "Confluences" jusqu'à l'impression d'être au coeur de la corde, dans l'atome même du boyau dans l'intense Troisième mouvement, conçu comme un corps à corps avec l'instrument, qui donne le change d'un second mouvement qui confine au silence et joue des détails. Il est même des moments où la corde est tellement effleuré qu'on croirait un sifflement léger, cristallin, qui n'a rien d'incarné.” (September 29, 2015)


Le Son du Grisli

“C’est d’abord, sur les trois temps de Confluences, un instrument mis à rude épreuve : d’insistants va-et-vient y travaillent une première note qui, à force d’agression, accouchera d’une seconde, parfois d’une troisième – à la somme, il faudra ajouter quelques chants de friction.

Ailleurs, Loriot installe, au son de cordes lâches et de l'accrochage d'un archet précipité, des mobiles qu’un orage peut soudain emporter (Wick Machine). C’est la résistance de l’alto qui est ici à chaque fois expérimentée, presque autant qu’un possible art musical né de son éreintement.” (September 18, 2015)


Free Jazz Blog

“I have written very positively before about French-Japanese viola-player Frantz Loriot, often because of the unexpected nature of his music, and his unwillingness to compromise, which in his case, because of his strong musical vision, is a good thing. This album is a solo viola album, a very rare happening by itself, but Loriot's music will make it even rarer. The first track consists of multiple strings played at the same time, in an ever increasing move upwards on the  tonal scale, which by itself would not be unique, but then listen to the gut-wrenching intensity with which it is done, and this physicality of strings, bow, wood and sound is essential to fully appreciate Loriot's approach. The second track brings almost flute-like sounds, very quiet and introspective, to evolve to almost aggressive staccato sounds on the third, which gradually change into the sound of a hand saw going through wood without compassion, then slowing it down until you hear the instrument itself moan and the strings rebel against the treatment they get. This may sound harsh, but it's not judgmental, it's as if Loriot humanises his instrument, making it utter sounds for a variety of reasons, yet despite or because of the abstract level of the music itself, a deeper, emotional level is unveiled and even unleashed, primarily because of the intensity of the approach and the overall dynamics of the sound. And that brings us to the album's title : you could expect an album called "Reflections On An Introspective Path" to be meditative, contemplative, sentimental or even mellow, but here it's the exact opposite. Whatever Loriot finds in his "introspective path" is not always something to be content with, it's a harsh reality that is not possible to catch with words, a laying bare of his soul, and one that screams to be let out. A strong album.” (July 21, 2015)


LongPlay

“Eksploracja możliwości tak wyjątkowego instrumentu jakim jest altówka, z jaką mamy do czynienia na tym albumie tworzy wspaniały mikrokosmos dźwięków i faktur zarówno w warunkach akustycznych jak przez zastosowanie efektów elektronicznych. Frantz Loriot podczas 30-minut trwania płyty, kreuje rozwinięte i głebokie formy będące rodzajem osobistej, intymnej podróży muzycznej.

Tytuł albumu znajduje również wyraz w ilustracji Morgan O'Hary zdobiącej okładkę: odzwierciedla ruch, czas, kształty i formę muzyki.

"Reflections on an Introspective Path" to muzyka intrygująca i wciągająca swym wyjątkowym charakterem. Warto przeznaczyć pół godziny na zagłębienie się w nierealny świat kreacji dźwiękowych obdarzonego niesłychaną wyobraźnią twórcy jakim jest Frantz Loriot.” (May 29, 2015)


Downtown Music Gallery

“Solo viola efforts are relatively rare and this one is in a class of its own. There is a quote inside this disc from Marcel Duchamp which talks about "unlearning how to draw" and how difficult it is. Mr. Loriot sounds like he is trying to free himself of virtuosic tendencies by exploring deeply, bending and twisting notes in ways which evoke several layers of strange sounds. I can alarms going off as he plays notes which are not within our common temperment or range. Dogs are barking outside my window complaining about the sounds that Mr. Loriot is making. Each piece explores a different theme or terrain and each piece is most effective: disorienting the balance of our thoughts. This music demands serious listening since it is not so easy to absorb without the attention it deserves. There are certain percussive or organic sounds going on which can't be easily explained since several sounds are going on simultaneously. In the future, scientists will look back at this disc and question what Mr. Loriot is doing or if he has gone too far. Hear this music now so you can enter the discussion and be prepared.” (April 30, 2015)

Neither/Nor Records