Ensemble Economique

The master of atmospheric magick and nuance, Brian Pyle a.k.a. Ensemble Economique returns to Denovali with the latest findings of his endless search in the shadows. With In Silhouette the revered artist and engineer commits some of his sharpest, most absorbing synthesis at the service of a cryptic, underlying narrative which never fully gives up its secrets but keeps you guessing by way of adroit inference and suggestion. Quite crucially it all feels somehow fresh yet deeply timeless, distilling the essence of classic noir, thriller, horror and sci-fi soundtracks to omit their more hackneyed gestures and leave us with a purified, blood red residue of the parts that matter. He offers a short film’s worth of soundtrack and incidental material with the bitterly cold 20 minute plunge of opener, In The Clear Blue Waters of Memory (feat. Jung An Tagen), before Battle Cry comes up for air in the middle of an arctic gale, taking us right there with shivering form, and the brilliantly titled Gonna Get Right With God, Right After This Next Cigarette demonstrates his uncanny way with bombed-out, sewer-skimming bass pressure, and You In The Horizon likewise shows off his patented feel for layered, bittersweet harmonic dissonance in seductively heavy-lidded style.