Dominique Bassal

Ubiquité collects four works by Dominique Bassal, first realized in stereo in his Montréal studio in 2001 and 2002, transferred to multichannel in 2005-06 and then revised at length in stereo and 5.1 versions between 2008 and 2009, partly with Ian Chuprun and Marcelle Deschênes. Bassal, empreintes DIGITALes’ mastering engineer since 2004, writes polyphonic ambiences that can be cold, disquieting or luxuriant, and refuses any message of serenity: his subject is a world where cynicism and cruelty seem to operate on a cosmic scale.

Rites d’oiseaux pensants is a tropical allegory loosely inspired, after the fact, by Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker, where small winged telepathic beings outlast mankind: a radio prelude, an icy drift across millions of years, then a feverish arrival in a far from serene utopia. It won 4th prize at the CEC’s Jeu de temps / Times Play in 2002 and appeared that year on Cache 2002. Noyade en magma follows a thinking being thrown into the heart of a star, dragged by magma towards its centre until a dialogue with the star begins; it premiered in Cagliari in 2006 with Francis Dhomont at the desk.

L’inénarrable Nout describes a single night under the stars painted on the body of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut, between waking and dreaming. Almost 90% of its material comes from one Max/MSP patch at 96 kHz, a synthesizer blending additive and FM synthesis built with programmer Olivier Bélanger. Mont des borgnes is a sharp critique of cults, following a convert up the One-Eyed Men’s Mountain until he sees the profitable operation behind it; its harmonic sounds go back to a Synclavier II in 1995.

Born in Cairo in 1955, Bassal worked for years as arranger, producer and studio manager in commercial music before returning to electroacoustics in 2001. He is the author of The Practice of Mastering in Electroacoustics and won Jeu de temps / Times Play in 2002.

DVD-Audio in OGplus, empreintes DIGITALes IMED 09101, 2009.