Four beautifully crafted improvisations by an exceptional European trio: French pianist Sophie Agnel, French saxophonist Bertrand Gauguet, and German sound artist Andrea Neumann. Recorded between 2008 and 2010 at various locations in France – La Filature in Mulhouse, La Maison de la Musique in Le Garric, and Bibliothèque Grand'Rue in Mulhouse – Spiral Inputs documents performances using a spatialized sound system developed by Benjamin Maumus, which had the effect of troubling the musicians' sense of sound sources and balance during performance, creating an additional layer of complexity and unpredictability to the improvisations.
Agnel, known for her refined and highly poetic approach to the piano, works both inside and outside the instrument, employing extended techniques with exceptional delicacy and attention to detail. Gauguet, who has collaborated with John Tilbury, Robin Hayward, Franz Hautzinger, and many others, explores the technical areas of the saxophone through breath sounds, multiphonics, and microphony, producing rasps and moans rather than recognizable notes, yet with more overt expressiveness than many of his reductionist contemporaries. Neumann, a key figure in Berlin's Echtzeitmusik scene and member of various ensembles including Pappelallee 5, uses piano frame and electronic devices to create e-bow hums, percussive textures, and rich harmonic fields.
The meeting of these three musicians has been described as "alchemical." While their musical personalities are clearly distinct, they achieve remarkable coordination and balance. The singularity of the timbre – largely due to the originality of the instrumentation – is matched by its expanse and richness. Each player seems initially to be exploring independently, employing single parameters and instrumental timbres, yet they listen and respond to each other in ways that bring their experiments into a homogenous and coherent sonic landscape.
Guillaume Belhomme (Le Son du Grisli) observed the music's dramatic tension and rhythmic undercurrents, while Paul Banks (killedincars.com) noted: "If you want to hear some powerful freely improvised music in a less common combo (thanks to the prepared piano), you'll fall in love with this album immediately." A Swedish reviewer praised the album's clarity: "A clearer contemplation of sounds and small noises in a fresh flow I have rarely heard."
Essential listening for those interested in European free improvisation at its most refined and inventive.
