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Zarko · 04-06-2009, 08:05 AM

Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme – Sylvain Chauveau (2000)

GENRES – Contemporary Classical, Ambient, Electronic

Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure 3:28
JLG 2:10
Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T. - 2:54
Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer - 3:39
Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence - 4:51
Dialogues Avec Le Vent - 3:35
Ses Mains Tremblent Encore - 1:58
Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique - 2:47
Géographie Intime - 5:33
Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts - 6:42
Mon Royaume - 2:46
Potlatch (1971-1999) - 1:58
Un Souffle Remua La Nuit - 2:32

Sylvain Chauveau is part of my ‘Big French Pair’ of modern classical music, the other being Yann Tiersen. They’re quite a combination, each unique in their own way, and both especially talented (In my perception at least). Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme (Or ‘The Black Book Of Capitalism’ in English) is Chauveau’s solo debut. Chauveau flutters from straight up contemporary classical, to electronic, to ambient, and likes to mix them up.

‘Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure’ is a stunning opening, though fairly simple in its construct. It is simply a classical composition filled with strings and a pianist. The string ensemble makes a nice backing to the solid piano work. The trumpet that enters the piece at around the half way mark is a nice addition, as it brings some variation, and the wind samples laid over the end of the track are an especially nice touch. ‘JLG’ is another piano composition, which is dramatic, aggressive, and beautiful; the piece just evokes so many emotions. At only 2 minutes long, it is almost perfect in its entirety, but sometimes I wish I could hear more.

‘Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T.’ is Chauveau’s first real mix up electronics wise… The song opens with a very violent sample of a tea pot about to explode (You know, those traditional stove pots). The piece is primarily dark and constructed of electronics and guitars… The track would fit in very well with a film noir scene, where the hero is trying to hide from the bad guys down alleyways and whatnot. Overlaid is a speech of some type (In French I presume) which sounds like its coming out of an old school ham radio. The repeating beats and drumming and scraping create the sense of foreboding to assist in the film noir feeling.

‘Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer’ begins with pure silence… Then some crackling enters the picture, similar to that of listening to an old vinyl, which is what I presume Chauveau was trying to create a feeling of. Assisting the piano is a simple string ensemble, and a low humming vocal performance. Although nothing special, it is a nice small addition to the album, introducing some much needed vocals over the albums entirety.

‘Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence’ is a story unfolding before the eyes, of a man’s life before death… Chiming bells and fast paced violins consume the piece, with an overarching solo violinist present. Chauveau offers up an interesting distortion, almost an electric ripple early on to the piece. The faint hint of the fast strings ensemble adds nice depth. Although it is largely the same ideas repeated this track doesn’t lose much ground. It manages to maintain the listeners interest, hoping there is another turn in the story.

‘Dialogues Avec Le Vent’ takes quite an interesting turn from the rest of the album. It hits a post-rocky dream phase, as a single guitar performance owns the stage with some light vocal work and some light additions by other instruments. The song maintains the cinematic quality that the rest of the album possess’, and there is a constant feeling of fulfilment, embraced by the electronic backbeat and the horns section introduced around half way through. An interesting experience, before it is all quickly taken away from us.

‘Ses Mains Tremblent Encore’ is only a short piece, it is a nice addition, simple, beautifully performed and introduces us to some ideas Chauveau will be utilising later on in the album, particularly the electronic elements. ‘Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique’ is an introduction of full blown electronics into the contemporary classical scene. He mixes his ideas well to create a sense that this is still a classical album. ‘Géographie Intime’ is almost a continuation of the post rock sound created in ‘Dialogues’, just more fleshed out, with electronic guitars, shakers, harmonica tones and the female vocalist from either tracks. The ethereal performance of the strings section is superb, as the piece induces raw emotion from the listener. The keyboard work assists in making this dreamy feeling come to life. It is a remarkable track, and it makes it difficult to imagine what this album is trying to convey. The second half is a quiet electronic dub-over…

‘Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts’ begins by conveying the chaos of life before the synth takes over, creating this nightmarish hell and scary quietness that is death. ‘Mon Royaume’ continues this hellish dream, using the sounds of a carnival, glass breaking, a man screaming to continue the ideas of the previous songs, before it all stops, and we are left with an out of place piano performance, which is interrupted by these metal scrapings sounds.

‘Potlatch (1971-1999)’ is an interesting piece, bringing in some more folk influences, including the instrument everyone loves, the accordion. Only a short piece, it is an interesting change so late in the album. It is layered nicely with some electronic sounds, piano, and some other samples. The final track, ‘Un Souffle Remua La Nuit’, creates the sense of finality. Personally, it evokes the idea of death, the chiming bells, and the music which is created to sound upbeat but has a sad undertone, like that at a funeral.

Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme grabbed me from the first listen. It is an attractive amalgamation of contemporary classical and electronics, that doesn’t stray too far into the folk history of French music, as Yann Tiersen does. It has a lot of dark moments, but it does paint an interesting picture of life, the dizzying and fast paced highs and the nightmarish lows. It opened up a whole new world for me personally.

TOTAL SCORE

9.0/10

- JLG
- Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence
- Géographie Intime

NOTE – I will try to get my teeth into some albums I know I won’t give 9’s just to toss it up a bit… I just really wanted to review a few albums before I mix it up a bit (So there may be a few more

)

04-06-2009, 08:05 AM	#26 (permalink)
Zarko Barely Disheveled Zombie Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 1,196	Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme – Sylvain Chauveau (2000) GENRES – Contemporary Classical, Ambient, Electronic Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure 3:28 JLG 2:10 Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T. - 2:54 Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer - 3:39 Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence - 4:51 Dialogues Avec Le Vent - 3:35 Ses Mains Tremblent Encore - 1:58 Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique - 2:47 Géographie Intime - 5:33 Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts - 6:42 Mon Royaume - 2:46 Potlatch (1971-1999) - 1:58 Un Souffle Remua La Nuit - 2:32 Sylvain Chauveau is part of my ‘Big French Pair’ of modern classical music, the other being Yann Tiersen. They’re quite a combination, each unique in their own way, and both especially talented (In my perception at least). Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme (Or ‘The Black Book Of Capitalism’ in English) is Chauveau’s solo debut. Chauveau flutters from straight up contemporary classical, to electronic, to ambient, and likes to mix them up. ‘Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure’ is a stunning opening, though fairly simple in its construct. It is simply a classical composition filled with strings and a pianist. The string ensemble makes a nice backing to the solid piano work. The trumpet that enters the piece at around the half way mark is a nice addition, as it brings some variation, and the wind samples laid over the end of the track are an especially nice touch. ‘JLG’ is another piano composition, which is dramatic, aggressive, and beautiful; the piece just evokes so many emotions. At only 2 minutes long, it is almost perfect in its entirety, but sometimes I wish I could hear more. ‘Hurlement En Faveur De Serge T.’ is Chauveau’s first real mix up electronics wise… The song opens with a very violent sample of a tea pot about to explode (You know, those traditional stove pots). The piece is primarily dark and constructed of electronics and guitars… The track would fit in very well with a film noir scene, where the hero is trying to hide from the bad guys down alleyways and whatnot. Overlaid is a speech of some type (In French I presume) which sounds like its coming out of an old school ham radio. The repeating beats and drumming and scraping create the sense of foreboding to assist in the film noir feeling. ‘Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer’ begins with pure silence… Then some crackling enters the picture, similar to that of listening to an old vinyl, which is what I presume Chauveau was trying to create a feeling of. Assisting the piano is a simple string ensemble, and a low humming vocal performance. Although nothing special, it is a nice small addition to the album, introducing some much needed vocals over the albums entirety. ‘Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence’ is a story unfolding before the eyes, of a man’s life before death… Chiming bells and fast paced violins consume the piece, with an overarching solo violinist present. Chauveau offers up an interesting distortion, almost an electric ripple early on to the piece. The faint hint of the fast strings ensemble adds nice depth. Although it is largely the same ideas repeated this track doesn’t lose much ground. It manages to maintain the listeners interest, hoping there is another turn in the story. ‘Dialogues Avec Le Vent’ takes quite an interesting turn from the rest of the album. It hits a post-rocky dream phase, as a single guitar performance owns the stage with some light vocal work and some light additions by other instruments. The song maintains the cinematic quality that the rest of the album possess’, and there is a constant feeling of fulfilment, embraced by the electronic backbeat and the horns section introduced around half way through. An interesting experience, before it is all quickly taken away from us. ‘Ses Mains Tremblent Encore’ is only a short piece, it is a nice addition, simple, beautifully performed and introduces us to some ideas Chauveau will be utilising later on in the album, particularly the electronic elements. ‘Ma Contribution À L’industrie Phonographique’ is an introduction of full blown electronics into the contemporary classical scene. He mixes his ideas well to create a sense that this is still a classical album. ‘Géographie Intime’ is almost a continuation of the post rock sound created in ‘Dialogues’, just more fleshed out, with electronic guitars, shakers, harmonica tones and the female vocalist from either tracks. The ethereal performance of the strings section is superb, as the piece induces raw emotion from the listener. The keyboard work assists in making this dreamy feeling come to life. It is a remarkable track, and it makes it difficult to imagine what this album is trying to convey. The second half is a quiet electronic dub-over… ‘Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts’ begins by conveying the chaos of life before the synth takes over, creating this nightmarish hell and scary quietness that is death. ‘Mon Royaume’ continues this hellish dream, using the sounds of a carnival, glass breaking, a man screaming to continue the ideas of the previous songs, before it all stops, and we are left with an out of place piano performance, which is interrupted by these metal scrapings sounds. ‘Potlatch (1971-1999)’ is an interesting piece, bringing in some more folk influences, including the instrument everyone loves, the accordion. Only a short piece, it is an interesting change so late in the album. It is layered nicely with some electronic sounds, piano, and some other samples. The final track, ‘Un Souffle Remua La Nuit’, creates the sense of finality. Personally, it evokes the idea of death, the chiming bells, and the music which is created to sound upbeat but has a sad undertone, like that at a funeral. Le Livre Noir Du Capitalisme grabbed me from the first listen. It is an attractive amalgamation of contemporary classical and electronics, that doesn’t stray too far into the folk history of French music, as Yann Tiersen does. It has a lot of dark moments, but it does paint an interesting picture of life, the dizzying and fast paced highs and the nightmarish lows. It opened up a whole new world for me personally. TOTAL SCORE 9.0/10 - JLG - Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence - Géographie Intime NOTE – I will try to get my teeth into some albums I know I won’t give 9’s just to toss it up a bit… I just really wanted to review a few albums before I mix it up a bit (So there may be a few more ) Last edited by Zarko; 04-14-2009 at 02:24 AM.