CD – Akousis Records

Xavier Charles on clarinet and Bertrand Gauguet on alto saxophone are a consolidated duo, who began to work together in 2013. SPECTRE, a CD released at the beginning of May 2020 by the Akousis Records, includes 6 tracks. These tracks are carefully organized and dilated and lead to a sort of time suspension, which encourages a contemplative listening, made by empty spaces, incomplete passages and concentrations of energy, in a refined and highly cerebral crossover. Three productions, “Phonomnèse 1”, “Phonomnèse 2” and “Phonomnèse 3″, are specifically focused on the exploration of multiphonic spaces on the edge of the possibilities of the two instruments. “Point fantôme” is focused on the subject of the breath, ideally conceived as a vanishing point between two sound spaces. “Étendue 1” and “Étendue 2” are two musical weavings, based on a developed amplification of very faint sounds. The improvisations are stark. The French alto saxophonist employs some acoustic techniques and microtonal approaches typical of his background. Xavier Charles, despite a more direct approach, works perfectly with his colleague. In his latest projects he has experimented with installations of vibrating speakers that push the limits of genres. The tenacity and the mutual influence of the two musicians make for vivid improvisation. These unconventional techniques are so internalized as to seem entirely natural to the listener. If in some passages time seems to slow down until almost stopping, the whole process produces an effect similar to a snap-shot, which shortly crystallizes the controlled flux of the passages, which are otherwise very detailed and changeable in the intersection of the parts.

 

Xavier Charles / Bertrand Gauguet – SPECTRE