Franck Vigroux and Mika Vainio- Peau Froide, Leger Soleil (2015)

Franck Vigroux and Mika Vainio- Peau Froide, Leger Soleil (2015)

“Sound is the vocabulary of nature.”

Pierre Schaeffer

By: Ghost Writer

There was a moment in which I was pretty tired of listening to music, I have always been an avid music listener but you can also get tired of the things you love, my wife asked me about What was happening to me? And Why I wasn't listening to the beautiful sounds of the Beatles or the Beach Boys? Two bands I have always loved.

The answer was simple, I wanted more than music, that's when I realized that beyond music there was sound, sound encompassing noise and silence too, and that's when I started listening to the world of noise, to noise rock, to concrete music and to isolationism and reductionism ( way beyond the realms of minimalism and ambient), I wanted something else.

Peau froide, leger soleil which roughly translates into cold light, sun tanned skin is the Interesting collaboration between two known musical characters, the French Franck Vigroux and the Finnish great Mika Vainio, the later, one of my favorite sound creators, the record is a curious work that emphasizes the work of both musicians with Vigroux bringing his electro acoustic approach to clash violently with Vainio brutal mix of isolationism and pure noise, being opener Deux, a great example of how this two sound giants works collide, creating great and dark moments of pure musical tension in which Vigroux is the perfect cohort, provoking the listener to get closer to appreciate the detail of his output, while Vainio shocks the listener with mighty blast of electronic overdriven percussion.

Memoirs again starts with Vigroux performance but is quickly followed by Vainio mechanical and powerful beats, the piece quickly evolves into an intense sound treatment by both musicians, a weird type if dance tune, as if it was imaginary recorded in an underwater studio, Vigroux and Vainio create a great claustrophobic atmosphere that challenges the listener to both wonder and suffer, as in the best times of Pansonic, Vainio is definitely bringing the noise here, just as in Souffles, another display of pure vulgar power with Vainio electro whiplash going really wild, as the listener is able not just to experiment the sound, but to get closer to a more physical experience.

But Vainio and company give us a little change if pace and a chance to get back our great on the more subtle and foreboding Mutant, a piece in which both minimalism and the cold spirit of isolationism shine and lurks through the heavy shadows, and what could be said about the "walking through crystal woods" approach of Ravages, a musical creation that reminds me a lot of the recent "terrestrial" approach by Bjork, here Vainio and Vigroux go really deep into creating a while new obscure universe, developing a sound that could easily equal a trip into the center of the Earth, again, something that would make Bjork really crazy about it.

But one of the harshest thing about this recording comes in the form of the Burzumish dissonant approach displayed on Parabole that sounds like something that could come out of the great Filosofem album by the infamous Varg Vikernes.

Vainio and Vigroux really happen to display a great chemistry here, although Vainio noisy attack seems to take the center role, as a Vainio record this is a great record, and as a collaboration, it seems that Vigroux assimilated greatly Vainio live for abrasive sounds.