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Stephane Leonard
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EUROPE € 15,- incl. p&p |
WORLD € 18,- incl. p&p |
Reviews:
3 years in the preparation, this new album from Berlin based musician / artist Stephane Leonard makes some
interesting alchemy.
On reading the press release you'd be forgiven for expecting a cornucopia of exotic aural snapshots from
the varied locations and happenings that Leonard recorded for use on this project. Not so as Lykkelig
Dyr reveals itself to be a much more conventional concoction. Don't get me wrong this is still a
psychedelic soundclash albeit one operating within distinctly musical boundaries, the most obvious being Glitch.
Like much of the best music to emerge from that scene Leonard's rhythmical manage to just stay on
the obtuse side of being both melodic and rhythmic. These clusters of tones and bleeps spattering
themselves across a hard backdrop of processed sounds. It's the composition that brings the whole
to life though. Slightly cold and unemotional Leonard's sound palette may be but in his hands they
are mixed into a sinuously relentless concoction capable of transmuting these base elements into
pure (digital) gold.
Wonderful Wooden Reasons
You sometimes get to the point where you like something but you cannot explain what it is exactly. I
now arrived at one of those points: The Lykkelig Dyr by Stephane Leonard really grabs my attention
and I want to keep listening, but I can really explain what in the album does this.
It took Leonard about 3 years to create this musical work. After his first two releases that where
in a more traditional way, with guitar and keyboards, he needed a change. The result is something
I would describe as ambient noise. With eye for detail layers of noise are produced, but at such a
low level that you wouldn't really call this noise.
Stephane Leonard really knows to work with these layers of noise sometimes making rhythmical pieces
from it as for Brooklyn Fieber. At first hearing this does not appear, but after a few repeats these
subtleties appear from the at first noisy structures.
I think the approach of this music isn't that far away from someone like Fennesz though the result
is much more noisy and cold.
There is one song on here that really got me and that is Bells that has some Dutch vocals in it. It
sounds as if someone is talking to you in your dreams. What is being told is not completely coming
through (even though I am Dutch), but you sure want to hear it. At first the lady is really talking
to you, but later on she appears to be fading away. That while the dream keeps going on. You can't
really place what is happening.
As I already said about this album: I can't really explain why I like this, but it's a damn fine one.
One of my favorite albums so far this year. So do yourself a pleasure and go grab this limited cd or
vinyl release.
9.1/10
Sietse van Erve, Earlabs
Een doolhof van akoestiek, een reis door geluidskamers, een elektro-akoestische speeltuin, of een taal die het gehoor uitdaagt. Aan conceptuele verklaringen geen gebrek op deze lp vol geluidsonderzoek. Helaas is de lectuur beter te verteren dan de bijhorende, ongetwijfeld weldoordachte, composities. Leonard verzamelt veldopnames en bewerkt ze computerkundig tot microfragmenten, die vervolgens opnieuw aan elkaar worden geplakt tot knisperende klankcollages. We hebben al een kast vol gelijkaardige experimenten, en ‘Lykkelig Dyr’ is de zoveelste druppel in een ruisende zee. Alle lof voor de arbeidsintensieve vlijt, maar we worden hier niet warm of koud van. Het idee van een enorme zwerm sprinkhanen die neerstrijkt in een overvolle winkelstraat spreekt ons nochtans aan. Tenminste het echte spul, niet de computersimulatie.
Peter Vercauteren, Gonzo (circus)
Ein zart tupfendes Electronica-Album legt Stephane Leonard vor. Schon das Coverartwork der CD-Edition spricht Bände: Jason Yates (Black Dice u.a.) lässt sich die Typo zitternd vor einem spielerisch-zackigen Quadrathintergrund abheben. Die Verhältnisse von Vorder- und Hintergrund sind nie ganz klar. So auch in der Musik, die mal selbstsicherer Pop ist und dann fragmenthaftes Experiment. Nie aber plätschert Lykkelig Dyr (”Lächerlich teuer”, Danske Lopen?), sondern bleibt immer gefasst und konkret in jeder Farbgebung.
Zipo, Aufabwegen
Its always great to see confidence. I never heard of Stephane Leonard, but Heilskanaal and Naivsuper are confident enough to do a release that is both on LP and CD - the first real CD for Naivsuper. That is surely confidence and I hope it works for them. Leonard released two solo recordings in 2003 and 2004, then learned how to program max/msp and then spent three years on doing field recordings and editing this album. I must admit that I fail to see all the confidence. Its by all means not a bad piece of work, but it doesn't shout 'original' all over it. Ten tracks of glitchy sounds and rhythms which sound very Fennesz like, even the 'pop' approach is used by Leonard, doesn't make him the next promise in microsound, click 'n cut or glitch land. Having said that, I must say that the album isn't bad either. Leonard plays some nice music, excellently produced, with tracks being short and to the point. Qualities that are sometimes forgotten by others, but which are necessary tools of the trade. If there wasn't a Fennesz around, and if he didn't release 'Endless Summer', 'Lykkelig Dyr' by Stephane Leonard could easily be the new king of all things glitch and pop, now he's one of the many fine servants of the trade.
Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly #636