François Bayle

Francois Bayle's 'L'Experience Acoustique', Realised between 1966-1972 using the best technology available at the time, this 2 hour opus, powerful and immense in its scope, which explores a universe of electronic sounds and sound relationships. It's an investigation of acoustic sound at its purest levels and borders on psychedelic in effect. Chopping material from the world around him, manipulating it and juxtaposing against other, unlikely sources with illusive sleight-of-hand and haptic textural sensitivity, Bayle organises a complex parallel universe of fractured occurrence, meshing linear and non-linear structures and myriad sonorities within immersive, intricate ecologies. There's a considered logic to every frequential relationship, yet there's also an abstract looseness and room for unpredictable, playful and shocking sounds which makes up each piece, whether in his surreal cut-ups of pop and rock songs against jarring dissonant blurts of electronics or intersecting pastoral scenes with (what could be) phosphorescing feathered creatures and sharp, alien shards of electronics. Conventional melody and harmony is jettisoned in favour of unnaturally arranged dissonance from natural sounds and the effect is utterly spellbinding and actually much closer to "real-life", to the end you almost forget you're listening to a recording and feel more like you're at the centre of some incredible situation unfolding in 4D all around you.
"In addition to being a masterpiece of the acousmatic repertoire, L'Expérience Acoustique is also a fine example of the 'musical research' spirit. This work, a systematic exploration, investigates the true nature of the listening process itself. The composition of this piece, spread over several years, managed to tap into the potential of the analogue technologies of its time, producing a complex blend of unprecedented sonic occurrences. What emerges from this extensive work is a reflection on sound, in all its forms and through all its textures. François Bayle therefore invites us to a genuine listening experience and for the first time on vinyl, in its full version lasting more than two hours." --Christian Zanési and François Bonnet

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