Pascal Comelade

Originally released in 1982, Pascal Comelade's Sentimientos is one of the most elusive and sought after LPs in the French composer's vast catalogue. Recorded on a two-track Revox machine, the album is an eclectic series of brief pieces -- only two of the twenty tracks exceed four minutes -- showcasing his poetic imagination and impressive range. While much of Comelade's early work hints at many of the major electronic movements to come, Sentimientos remains earthbound and organic. Melodic fragments performed on piano, organ, plastic saxophone, vibes, guitar, toy piano, ukulele and synthesizer place Comelade's boundless creative spirit on display. It is telling that Comelade chooses to cover a Brian Eno tune not from the ambient pioneer's seminal Music For Airports, released just four years earlier, but rather the more traditional 'Taking Tiger Mountain,' here rendered to highlight the song's previously hidden hymn-like qualities. Like fellow countryman Ghédalia Tazartès, there is something distinctly unclassifiable about Comelade's music.

Undoubtedly, the two artists share a flair for the mischievous. Sentimientos is an unapologetically whimsical, frequently dizzying and loveably anarchic album of manic energy and radiant mystery -- a perfect introduction to Comelade's singular musical mind. This first-time reissue is limited to 750 numbered copies.