Grotesque saxophone noise from Noiserist on Cochon (choc.638)…this turns out to be Claude Spenlehauer who sent us a copy from Strasbourg, although it’s released on the marginal underground CDR label Chocolate Monk in the UK. Claude reminds us he’s a paid-up member of the notorious micro_penis, whose absurd and alarming escapades have done much to torture my poor brain, but he also mentions the band Myself, featuring Claude and Nicolas Gully (guitar, bass-guitar) and Pascal Gully (drums), who are for some reason identified as “fake brothers”. We haven’t heard from this spicy combo since about 2011 and the obscure Haro! CD with a bullfighter on the cover.
So far I hope to establish the outlaw credentials of this player, but the cover photo (taken by collaborator Ogrob) does that job for me, depicting our man as a masked terrorist or bank robber in the studio and emphasising the massive presence of his baritone sax. Once that initial shock has passed, you may notice the clip-on microphone attached to the bell of the instrument. Something tells me that’s probably not the orthodox way to record a saxophone, but it works for Noiserist, who creates six strains of merry Heck much more akin to heavy-metal guitar riffing or harsh noise wall than the collected works of Eric Dolphy. It’s possible overdubbing, distortion, and looping effects are also part of the permitted game plan, but the main sensation that comes over is unflagging energy, delivered through near-mindless repetition of short phrases, and above all a commitment to manifesting as much obnoxious attitude in the room as is humanly possible. It’s not enough to make rude farting and belching and grunting noises – this is the sound of a man issuing a continual stream of four-letter words as music, with the unstoppable mania of a Tourette’s sufferer.
As if to sweeten the deal and remind us he’s actually a very intelligent and scholarly fellow, Noiserist prints all his track titles in Latin, many of them well-known phrases established in the culture, such as ‘Rara Avis’. A favourite is ‘Ferrvm Ferro Acqvitvr’, which I think means ‘iron sharpeneth iron’ or, more colloquially, ‘seize the day’. Although there are some quieter moments of fogged-out drone on the album, these too are laced with menace, and the whole set starts to feel like the document of a home invasion. As free improvisation goes, this is at the extreme of a very thin margin, shading into territory marked out by Borbetomagus; perhaps this solo format is the one that suits him best, as (and I mean this in a nice way) he’s not the kind of player that many would feel comfortable collaborating with. That said, he’d probably be good in a sesh with Romain Perrot of Vomir. 60 copies of this were made. From 23 Dec 2024.