Le Pavillon Temoin (The Show House) is a concept album detailing sonic impressions of a modern house. The tracks all have prosaic titles such as ‘Skirting Board’, ‘The Corridor’, ‘Floating Floor’ etc. Normally when I think of ambient music, I think of the psychedelic inner-space trips of Tangerine Dream or Aphex Twin; or the pastoral ambience of Eno or Roedelius. But French sound artist Mathias Delplanque has composed an ambient work exploring a benign living space – we hear the sounds of people moving around rooms in their daily activities, the voices of children, the sounds of domestic appliances, the hum of electrical equipement etc. Instruments used include acoustic guitar, accordion, piano, cello and occasional drums. The overall acoustic, drifting feel is reminiscent of Bexar Bexar, and the use of voices and field recordings recalls Scanner (but minus the latter’s paranoid edge).
Delplanque makes modern dub albums under the alias of Lena, and there is a dubmeister’s attention to detail, although the soundfield here is mostly dry – up close and personal, as opposed to the cavernous spaces of classic Jamaican dub. But the occasional jazzy harmonies and woozy accordion playing give this album a distinctly Gallic feel. One could almost imagine some tracks being used on the soundtrack of a comedy of manners starring Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant, as they trade impossibly witty bon mots with one another.
And yet – why is this album called The Show House? A showhouse would normally be uninhabited – what is Deplanque trying to say about modern urban living?
For MP3 previews click here.
Ewan Burke
