Pierre Bastien and Christophe Petchanatz (aka Klimperei) met more than twenty years after their last musical collaboration. “Aeroplane Chess”—what is that? It’s the Hong Kong name for the universal game known here as “Ludo.” Pierre and Christophe play together here on sixteen simple, stripped-down tracks. They pass back and forth their figurines made of melodies, sounds, and rhythms, creating a minimal yet dense ensemble, with nothing missing from these two record jockeys. It brings to mind the music of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, an experimental Brian Eno, and Pascal Comelade’s blend of repetitive and popular music. Minimalism taken to the extreme, we let ourselves be transported onto the game board. Friendly cheerful.

Christophe and Pierre have known each other for over 40 years, having been neighbors in Lyon. Their very distinct artistic worlds have, however, rarely intersected: as a duo on “Mécanologie portative” released by Prikosnovénie in 1998, a few other tracks on Klimperei’s CD “Patamob” in 2005 on Gazul Records, and a cover of “Une souris verte” for the compilation “No more no mouroir” in 2001 on InPolySons. This new convergence of complementary approaches, born of a long musical friendship, is therefore a heartwarming event.