Circles And Calligrams

Delbecq, Benoît
Songlines Recordings
Jazz | Jul 2011

Reviews

Fo
Reviewed 2011-07-20
BENOÎT DELBECQ: Circles and Calligrams
Songlines, 2010

AVANT-GARDE – Solo piano and “prepared piano” from France – this is the technique of applying foreign objects to the piano’s workings in order to obtain a range of percussive sounds. Delbecq crafts gentle, meditative chamber-music scenes with exotic drum-like effects and overlapping circular rhythms that sound like dusty old machines. For more, check out Delbecq’s recent trio CD in the KZSU library.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10

1. 6:06 – stumbles in lopsided circles; meandering melodies over deep echoes
2. 9:16 – a playful, skittish air over ceaseless mechanical cycles; wears thin
3. 4:57 – deep, shadowy piano, pieces moving in parallel, slowly drifting…
4. 6:15 – active burbling, like a simmering liquid, falls in and out of rhythm
5. 1:31 – soft, impressionistic piano interlude, like falling snowflakes
6. 1:22 – spiky repeating pattern against descending and ascending chords
7. 9:00 – tight rhythm, fractured yet familiar melody, lots of percussive accents
8. 3:49 – melancholy variations on simple phrase, bleak chords, meandering
9. 7:00 – cool layered rhythms; teasing improv melody prances on top
10. 5:18 – deep, echoing; settles into a low, dreamy melody, cluttered at end

[ Fo ] 07/20/11

Recent airplay

Mille Nandie Remix
Ghost Trees (cont..)Sep 26, 2011
Fireflies
RebopSep 24, 2011
Biobeat
Memory SelectSep 21, 2011
Biobeat
ThermoNuclear BarSep 17, 2011
Mille Nandie Remix
razor's edgeSep 16, 2011
Biobeat [cont'd], Biobeat
Memory SelectSep 07, 2011

Charting

2011-07-24 — 2011-09-25 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Sep 25 2
Sep 18 2
Sep 11 1
Sep 4 1
Aug 28 1
Aug 21 1
Aug 7 1
Jul 31 2

Track listing

1. Circles And Calligrams
2. Ando
3. Meanwhile
4. A Lack Of Dreams
5. Alpha
6. Flakes
7. Biobeat
8. Le Sixième Saut
9. Fireflies
10. Mille Nandie Remix