Veiled under the name of Les Graciés, Paris-based sound artist Gaël Segalen and half of the Deepblak core Afrikan Sciences share more than instruments and recording sessions. Breaking down cultural barriers to pull an unique and cohesive output off their own singular heritages, Porter and Segalen have been honing their skills for four years before eventually taking the leap of releasing their longed-for debut joint effort ‘Low Doses‘, due out on Lindsay Todd’s Firecracker on 25th October.
Segalen’s background in electroacoustic, psycho-geographical audio and musique concrète related experiments is clearly palpable throughout the record. Interlocking rough patches of field-recordings, speech samples and hissy mechanics integrated through serial permutation, the title-track is a good example of the LP’s omnivorous, genre-defying structure, unshackled from all floor utility and restrictive rhythmic lexicon.
The freedom of the process reflects on the ‘finished’ product – not finished per se but well kicking and rumbling, set at cracking the varnish of any ‘definitive’ listening state. This chameleonic, all-consuming approach finds various fascinating upshots: from the very Afrikan Sciences’esque ‘Compoly‘, which would have undoubtedly stood its ground on Eric’s memorable LP ‘Circuitous‘ to the static-filled ambient meandering ‘The Reign After‘ onto raw-boned, epidermic cuts like ‘The Entry Dance‘ or ‘Salubrious‘.
The large scale, multi-level odyssey echoes sublimely in the shaggy ‘Pan‘ – which you can now stream in full via our channels. Starting with frail steel-drum rolls, the track superimposes chimey layers like hanging mirrors reverberating amidst thunderous whelms of sound, opening in its homestretch a black hole of whirling noise, skittish percs and high-pitched claves absorbing everything in its wake. All in all ‘Low Doses‘ shows a natural flair for intricate sound architectures, rich of an evocative power and and a force of character that leaves you agape.
Low Doses is released via Firecracker Recordings on 25th October, pre-order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Salubrious
2. Symetric Relatives
3. Pan
4. Compoly
5. The Entry Dance
6. The Reign After
7. Low Doses
Discover more about Les Graciés and Firecracker Recordings on Inverted Audio.