Pali Meursault
un(zéro)deux
CD (E58)

“This piece was recorded live at Le 102 in Grenoble, France, on 19 January
2007 as a site-specific composition rather than a straight performance.
I spent a week there with recorders and microphones, gathering materials
and objects to perform with. Squealing chairs, resonating oil drums and
unidentified metal remains found on the spot were amplified and arranged
with field recordings of the space and its neighbourhood: winter wind, planes
passing over, street atmosphere, crackle of the fireplace… I tried to become
initimate with that sound matter, to immerse myself in it and to let myself
be led by it.”

Pali Meursault would hesitate to describe himself as an electro-acoustic
composer or a sound artist. He sometimes writes articles and essays about
music and sociology, and is also working with a collective of artists called
Ici-Même whose activities straddle architecture, dance and sound. He lives
in France but hesitates moving elsewhere.

See also Pali Meursault (E120) and Outposts

First edition of 300 copies






In a way the piece is sketched like the curve of life itself: starting from
extremely reduced elements — although oddly manipulated since the very
beginning — it progressively evolves into a well-shaped body whose muscles
are entirely delineated, reaching its conclusive phase in bitter, if expected
decay. The quasi-biotic character of the initial sections is instantly accepted
by the expert ear, preparing us for the subsequent stages where — layer
upon layer — the sonic stratagems gradually increase their thickness and,
with it, the psychological impact, which at certain moments becomes signifi-
cant. The potential ability to discern sources and mechanics doesn’t imply
that emotions are not warranted: in particular, a section of looped aircraft
moans is alone worth of the whole CD, even if each episode strikes as a
rational consequence of what had come prior. This is not a “taped-in-town,
stuck-in-the-mix” kind of joke; the fact that Meursault managed to reach
this level of attention-gripping quality during a live performance impresses
me greatly. A distant comparison, exclusively in terms of attitude towards
research, might be Toy.Bizarre’s sound art. Yet an individual personality is
easily detectable here, as this artist does not indulge in mere copycat-ism.

When enamelled emptiness leaves room to genuine diligence, there’s a
reason for celebrating. In a world jam-packed with people who — being un-
able to get a different line of work — literally reinvent themselves as manu-
facturers of sounds (often making nice money out of inexpert audiences),
the freshness of [this] record is all the more welcome.

Massimo Ricci at Touching Extremes
—

Samuel Ripault is a field recordist as well as a performer; the way he
manages to square these two seemingly incompatible disciplines is to spend
a week or so preparing materials (recordings as well as physical objects) that
relate to a particular location and then use these materials in live perform-
ance. It’s the performative aspect of his work that is noteworthy, going
beyond the simple playing back of recorded material as a component of an
installation that characterises most live sound art. un(zéro)deux has a real
hands-on feel, not just in Ripault’s deployment of scrap metal (scraped along
the floor of the performance space or sounded with motors rather than
bashed Neubauten-style) but also in the way the recordings are tweaked,
layered and mixed into the sounds of activity in the performance space as
the piece progresses. The documentary aspect is still important — indeed,
the piece would seem to lose a lot of its integrity and charm if the material
was simply treated as fodder for sonic manipulation — but un(zéro)deux is
very much a musical experience.

Keith Moliné in The Wire
—

I hadn’t realised this was a live (solo) performance until after I’d listened
a couple of times, which both surprised and impressed me. Meursault has
a lot of stuff going on but, to his credit, it never feels crowded, the various
textures and sounds playing very well together (like the combination of
scraped tones and faunal-sounding “whoops” some 15 minutes in. I take
it there are a number of off-Kilter mechanical devices set in motion through-
out, but however it’s accomplished, the matrix that emerges is very alive
and both busy and spacious simultaneously. Fine recording, growing on me
each listen.

Brian Olewnick at Just Outside
—

Meursault is very, very good at making the best out of all the sounds he has
at his disposal. The CD presents one track and I guess that it is an unedited
version (although you never know, of course). If so, I will certainly want to
be there should Meursault perform in the neighbourhood. This composition
is a journey with an experienced guide. He knows where to start and what
the highlights are.

Should be in everyone’s collection! Listen in the dark.

Jos Smolders at Earlabs