Wapstan "L'ivresse et le Froid..." CD
[Brise-Cul]
This massive one-track release runs 55 minutes of cold, minimal dark ambient that was recorded without the use of overdubs, synths, or samples. The track is a concept piece based on and dedicated to a 19-year-old boy who died of hypothermia while wandering home drunk in La Baie, Quebec just a few months ago. The composition consists largely of minimal drones and hums that rest in the middle to upper range of the spectrum, almost like melodic wisps of feedback harmonies mingling with the occasional low-end wave that spans across the background. The first shift causes more of a ringing sort of sustain with the tones, so the structure remains the same, and very minimal, but there's more brightness and resonance - at times to a really painful degree on the ears! (And I don't view that as a bad thing at all, it's really quite unusual.) Later things strip down a bit more and become softer and increasingly spacious. This minimal softness carries the arrangement to its close, so throughout the nearly 60-minute ordeal there are only a few subtle shifts. The recording is very clear and full, I enjoy that a lot. I would be quite curious to know the circumstances under which this piece was captured, and what materials were used. The CD-R comes in a plain xeroxed sleeve that's gray with minimal text. A bit of information appears on the disc face and that's that. Very minimal. It's not very exciting, but it could indeed look far worse, so I'm fairly alright with it. The disc is also hand-numbered out of a mere 38 copies. Very nice. I do believe it could've been a tad shorter, but its consistency works in its favor in regards to the running time. This would actually be a very nice piece for live performances if the surroundings were appropriately quiet. Thus far I've enjoyed Wapstan far more than sole member Martin Sasseville's Foutredieu!!! project, so I hope work on this front continues in this vein. Hopefully some other labels will take note soon for a proper release. (7/10)
Running time - 55:30, Tracks: 1
[Notable tracks: there's only one]
Brise-Cul Records - http://www.brise-cul-records.cjb.net

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