Thylacine
– Transsiberian (Intuitive Records)
LP
/ CD / DL
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
French
electronic artist releases his debut album.
Suffering
for your art is one thing, travelling a 5,000-mile train journey from Moscow to
Vladivostok in a cramped cabin is quite another. Twenty-three-year-old William Reze did just
that.
Through
160 hours on a train, 990 train stations and six time zones he has constructed
a completely enthralling album based around the traditional songs and sounds he
encountered along the way and, unsurprisingly the noise and resonance of a thundering
train.
Born
in the city of Angers in western France, Reze has compiled ten tracks which
blend seamlessly to create one of the ultimate travel soundtracks. Chance liaisons along the journey turns the album into something
of a documentary and the accompanying film adds credence to the project.
If you’re wanting
pure soundscapes, then Transsiberian is the ultimate definition. Each track is underpinned by a fluctuating
sound of train movement and travel which keeps the whole album at a varying but
familiar pace, and the overlay of acoustic and electronic instrumentation
completes each piece.
Even on the forty-one
second long interlude Aïkhaï And Mandukhaï’ where rhymes
are spoken by the daughters of a Shamen, the atmosphere is filled with mystique
and wonder. Moskva is an absolute gem
which roars from beginning to end with native voices interspersed throughout
and a repetitive beat that holds the listener interest.
Indeed, much of the album is built
around repetitiveness and emulates the mode of transport, but it is the style
and beauty in which it is done that makes Transsiberian something special. Poly combines sweet voices which become
something of an earworm as the vocals ingrain within and a catchy musical loop
helps move proceedings along.
Following the
opening Introduction, the obviously entitled Train gives the impression of
mighty engine wheels straining to start before moving destination bound and
Chaman builds on simplicity and a rising theme. Local voices appear too on the haunting
Irkutsk before album closer Memories picks up a poppy but serene pace to end a delightful
album.
Links
Intuitive Records
Thylacine on Bandcamp
Thylacine on Twitter
Thylacine on Facebook
Published on Louder Than War 10/01/16 - here
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