CD – FibrrRecords

Orgone is a term coined in the early 1940s by the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich to indicate a supposed form of universal, immaterial and all-pervasive energy. In his novel The Ticket That Exploded, William Burroughs mentions orgone accumulators – this is probably the direct source of inspiration for this percussion ensemble active in Nantes, protagonists of the release on FibrrRecords. The prerogative of the collective is not so much to require a specific technical level from the percussionists, but rather to stimulate interest in the practice of experimental percussion music in a group, inviting the interpretation of graphic scores or the execution of indications based on unconventional techniques. Perspectives in Percussion for the XXI Century I not only offers a collection of pieces for ensemble, but a true exploration of the possibilities of collective practice when freed from academic and virtuoso canons. Orgone works on a shifting threshold between composition and improvisation, between score and extemporaneous direction, constantly questioning the traditional roles of performer, composer and director. The absence of stringent technical requirements allows for an overlapping of gestures and intentions that generates a raw but highly expressive sound material. The use of unusual instruments – from wind gongs to automated systems – intertwines with suggestions that range from trance minimalism to Burundian percussion traditions, up to tributes to figures such as Z’EV. The result is a broad and non-dogmatic vision of contemporary percussion music. From this perspective, the ensemble is configured more as an open sound laboratory than as a group in the classical sense: a space for training and experimentation where collective energy, returning to the Reichian concept of orgone, is the true protagonist. If the approach can sometimes be rough or difficult for a listener not accustomed to these practices, it is precisely the radicality – both in the choice of materials and in the organization of the performances – that makes the project coherent and relevant in the panorama of new European music. The set of three discs offers a precious testimony of a work that dialogues with an international community of artists and practices, committing itself to overcoming the barriers between art, pedagogy and performance.

 

Orgone Percussion Ensemble – Perspectives in percussion for the XXI century I