SHIMMERING (vinyl)

Description

Alongside the algorithmic compositions of his early work—vast abstract (not to be confused with “cerebral”) and magnetic expanses—he is increasingly, and no doubt aided by lockdown, indulging in what he calls more “intuitive” forays. In this respect, *Shimmering*—released less than a year after the nocturnal efflorescence of the eponymous album (*Night Blossoms*) and strikingly different from it, even in its title—continues this vein, which began with *Infinite Ascent* in 2020. Asked about this new simplicity, Melaine Dalibert says he views music much as he views gastronomy. He likes to vary his diet, to nourish himself with different flavors; he would never disdain fine dining, just as he can accommodate fast food. This wide range of tastes, this desire not to be confined or labeled—contemporary music, “modern classical,” minimalism, ambient—is evident in the eight rather short pieces that make up *Shimmering*. Conceived very quickly, recorded between Brussels and La Soufflerie in Rezé, some of them have been subtly adorned with string arrangements by multi-instrumentalist Margaret Hermant (who has collaborated with Jóhann Jóhannsson and Stars of the Lid). These strings—just like the electronic treatments by sound engineer Fabien Leseure on the aptly named “Mantra,” which evokes Harold Budd—act as textures that complement the harmonics and resonances of the piano, adding depth of field and enhancing the atmospheric density of the whole. This density is particularly palpable in the solo piano pieces: “Prayer,” in which the touch of each note seems precisely weighed and imbued with emotion; and “Six + Six,” where the use of the una corda pedal fully participates in the overall dramaturgy, of which the sound recording is an integral part. These eight haunting, wordless pop-songs, snapshots of often melancholic moods, owe as much to Morton Feldman or Philip Glass as to Ryuichi Sakamoto or Peter Broderick. Nevertheless, they reveal a highly singular musical personality. They are eight new little white stones that extend the exciting journey of an artist who, if the title of his beautiful 2019 album is to be believed, loves nothing more than to wander.