Witches on Tape (live). Released on September 6, 2024
The title "witches on tape" comes from the fact that the concert was recorded on cassette tape and that its atmosphere evokes a dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere. At this same time I had fun watching YouTube videos presenting videotape captures of supernatural phenomena such as the appearance of demons and witches. A naive approach presented by touting sites to cause a sensation and collect "Likes"... Obviously contrary to the idea I have of witchcraft. However, I also like to play with clichés and symbolic ambiguities, hence the desire to represent antagonistic images on the cover: an ancient, asexual ritual mask and the image of the 1950s housewife devoid of its subtle character becoming a simple iconographic representation of male desire. On a formal level, this concert introduces string percussion into the live performance for the first time. A transition between the search for organic and abstract sounds towards a more dreamlike and narrative form, moving from the biological to the subliminal and animal psychic dimension. Hence the idea of introducing the idea of wizard and witch as intermediaries (mediums) between these two worlds.
Concert recorded on July 27, 2024 @la salamandre curieuse Sentein, Arièges, France.
Sète. Released July 22, 2024
The album "Sète" is the result of a three-day residency hosted by the gallery: Latelier (Sète).
The initial goal was to experiment with a lo-fi multicast system with 8 cassette recorders and tape loops within the gallery. Eventually the time of experimentation within the gallery turned into a stroll through the city. I took a digital recorder and drifted away, letting myself be carried away by chance encounters with places and people. it was very windy and the sound recordings were quite difficult to produce. So I decided to soak up an atmosphere and restore my impressions, playing with anachronisms and clichés of an island city by the sea: a superficial and touristy vision.
Human encounters were easy , the life stories of the people I met were rather deep and interesting, just too personal in my opinion to be integrated into this creation.
The device consists of using 8 tape recorders and 8 tapeloops on which I pre-recorded minimalist FM synthesizer layers. Then, I added sound recordings of the lapping water of the salt pans and city atmospheres taken from the top of Mont St Clair where the sound of the wind, birdsong and distant noises of the city.
The last piece is an improvisation of Alto flute from Vincent Munier whom I met in the street and who invited me to drink coffee at his house. (thank you, Vincent for agreeing to use this extract).
In the etymological sense Sète comes from “cetacean”, so I chose to represent an animal of this species for the visual of the project.
Panorama du micro-monde. Released June 7, 2024
Panorama du micro-monde comes from a book by Louis Jacques Laporte published in 1949. It concerns above all images presented as modern techniques of micro-photography. We see multiple black and white photographies of cells, insect bacteria and minerals.
Mayeul Irlinger was inspired by this micro-world to represent his audio version in electro-acoustic form. A poetic way to evoke the Micro-world, hyper alive, teeming with life in dynamic and continuous movement.
The pieces come from live recordings, no editing has been done apart from cutting the parts. the sound sources come from field recordings recorded on cassettes, several contact-microphones which amplify mechanical toys, music box mechanisms; two hydrophones immersed in the heart of two Tibetan bowls are used to add textures to the most guttural sounds.
This work gives rise to intimate performances where the listener is invited to dive into this microscopic jungle.
