Return of TSP fave Mark Vernon now here with Elen Huynh on their cassette Mal De Débarquement (CHOSES CONTRAIRES CC02).
I had to look that one up online to find out it’s a rare mental disorder, where the sufferer has the illusion of “phantom movements”, such as making you feel you’re onboard a boat even when you’re not. I suppose this might have afflicted our 19th century forebears after a long steamship voyage, but they would get over it after a day on dry land, whereas those afflicted by MdDS can totter and reel about in this unfortunate condition for years. Good job I’m not a hypochondriac or I’d add this to my list of imagined ailments.
Vernon ought to be well known to regular readers, but Elen Huynh is a new name to my compositors. French DJ and sound artist she be, getting to the transcendent place through live performances and mixes, and she’s especially good with spoken word. Matter of fact her whispered utterances on this tape are, for me, sufficient to admit her as honorary member to the pantheon of sound poets who clustered around Henri Chopin in the last century, drawn like talented fireflies to the flame of his Revue OU publications. However – lined up against such as François Dufrêne or Bernard Heidsieck – the sound poetry of Elen Huynh is more subtle and reflective than that of those two aggressive barkers, who often seemed intent on ripping the language apart with their very teeth as they spoke. Huynh brings mystery and compassion to the table, helping to make each of these delicate sound-collages a beautiful and very intriguing experience.
Is it too early to claim Mark Vernon has found here a perfect artistic soul-mate for his work? They both share an intense interest in humanity, the voice and frame of the human being, and wish to gently explore in the unknown realms of the mind and the inner being, by any means possible. I say this to distinguish such creators from electro-acousticians of the more academic persuasion, those who insist on the supremacy of the composition, or the techniques they used to assemble it. Conversely, Mal De Débarquement has a delightful transparent quality, a filter or prism allowing us to view the world anew and make unexpected connections. The selection here has been drawn much a longer piece that was composed for radio in 2020 and broadcast on Lyl Radio (based in Lyon and Paris). Like the best of Vernon-associated works, this is a radiophonic piece for sure, but it’s also to be regarded as an “essay” – a term I like very much, wishing for the times when more writers would pen an essay to disclose personal thoughts, TV presenters could deliver a coherent argument in documentary form instead of indulging their inflated egos by waffling in front of a moving camera, and even film-makers could produce short personal works – Orson Welles regarded his F For Fake as an essay in cinema form. The tape here has been composed, assembled carefully and collaged to great effect, letting each element breathe and allowing maximal resonance and poetic power to shine forth.
Now I want to hear more from the gifted and simpatico Elen Huynh – she appears on the first release from this label, Les Maux Libres, another set that has its origins as a Choses Contraires broadcast with Lyl Radio; and she even appears on a 2018 House track by River Yarra. Highly recommend this release – a gorgeous, inspirational and moving piece of sound art. Bloeme van Bon did the cover drawing. From 8th November 2023.