Samuel Sighicelli - Maree Noire

Though only part of a multi-disciplinary performance that included text and video, Samuel Sighicelli’s music from Marée Noire doesn’t suffer from any absence. The French title, translating as “Black Sea,” refers to both the literal and metaphoric ocean of oil we’ve become trapped in. Sighicelli’s background is split between classical piano and electro acoustic composition, and he uses both here in creating a narrative that is initially menacing, with electronic pulses and squelching of shortwave cut against disembodied voices that are both man and gull, at times. When they come in “Immensité Des Villes,” the musical elements act both as more organised pressures and the emotional points and counterpoints of melancholy and fear. The latter is highly evident in “Les Grand Déserts Convoités,” where French improvising bassist Bruno Chevillon lends a hand digging a deeper well into the bleak landscape. “Les Naufrages” is the key piece, which pulls the neat trick of mutating from movie theme to movie itself. Sighicelli is from a young and exciting new breed of electro acoustic artists who are not afraid to engage their audience on a less intellectual, more gut level. Though the work is truly exciting on both planes. (Vital weekly)

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