Discrepant Records continue their effort to complete a unique catalog of global unusual sounds with the release of Beauté des Mirages, the latest endeavour of the mysterious French collective The Dear Mauriacs.
Laying a multi-dimensional play of obscure samples and field recordings that link exotic melodies with elements of electro-acoustic music, Beauté des Mirages is comprised of two 18 minute pieces that share a collage-like treatment.
The album works its way as an interplay between mid 20th century tropical soundtracks and a palette of experimental and industrial sounds, and while the musical identities are deconstructed in the manner musique concrète artists, the expansive textures typical for Romantic-era composers do not place this album in a particular category.
Somewhat similar to their previous works, the current album is built with a continous alternation between dark sonic motives and perky riviera-themes, as a captivating orchestration which finds coherence in the way The Dead Mauriacs curb the discrepant sounds that they work with.
What stands out at a first listening is the fine mood-setting balance of the music, the first piece imposing a more carnivalesque rhythm. The secound piece lurks deeper in the spectrum of the surreal, decomposing the exotica sound into a new kind of distorted ethnography, visually renderd in a same-note collage by Evan Crankshaw.
Tracklist:
A. Chalet Polynésien À Pignon Pour Séjour-ClubB. Résidence Aztèque À Colonnades (Avec Vue Sur l'Océan)