Laurent Peter is an experimental musician from Switzerland, operating under several pseudonyms: Diatribes, Heu{s-k}ach, and the better known, D'Incise. As D'Incise, Peter has been releasing sound material since 2005 on many different European labels. "Rivages Sur L'Antipode" is something like the 14th or 15th album that's been put out and, judging by the quality of it, I can certainly see the justification. Again, we are treated to a superb electroacoustic work, but this one based entirely in rhythms. His approach is a, sort of, left-field/free hip hop setting but with deeper textural qualities. The sounds are ever changing and what might, in another context, be drum rhythm sounds, are here created by any possibility of sonic reference. Because many of the samples are edited into "hits", i.e., short bits of sound that can be used rhythmically, you feel the reference but do not get enough of the sound to exactly identify it. So this myriad of possibilities is always flashing by and morphing, from noisy static to cracklings into gamelan orchestral things, or analog synthesizers, ethereal pads and so many more. Also it seems like many different samples are used in every "hit" of sound, layers of them, as I hear it. Cleverly programmed and utilizing some interesting glitch techniques too, these rhythms are deeply imbedded with underlying references. Mastered by James Plotkin, this is a superb sounding album, filling the sonic spectrum from bottom to top and it's also one experimental album you could play at a party or could be used in some DJ mixes.

Laurent Peter, comme beaucoup de sculpteur sonore, est impliqué dans plein de projets différents. Celui-ci l'occupe depuis 2002 et il a sorti sous ce nom une bonne dizaine d'albums et une belle poignée d'ep. Ceci dit on l'a aussi rencontré sous le pseudo Youthman Steppa mais aussi avec les formations Diatribes avec Cyril Bondi(on ne compte plus non plus les collaborations entre Diatribes et d'autres artistes) et Karst (toujours avec Bondi mais également Luc Muller et Abstral Compost). Sous le nom D'Incise, Laurent Peter s'intéresse aux différentes formes de la musique électronique. Ainsi, il passera aisément du dub à l'électronica sans oublier les couches abstraites de la musique électro-acoustique. C'est sur ce dernier genre que Laurent Peter se sera arrêté pour construire Rivages sur l'antipode qui est une commande du label belge Ini.itu. Basé sur un travail sur des gamelans et sur une collections de sonorités collectées à Jakarta, Makassar, Bandung et Yogjakarta, Rivages sur l'antipode développe des constructions abstraites mais dont le relief est assez saisissant. A la fois tonal et marqué par une rythmique accidentée ce disque invite à un ailleurs qui est à mille lieux de nos conceptions d'européens pseudo-civilisés.

Masterisé par James Plotkin (Khanate), il serait facile de voir en ce disque un choc des cultures. Une association entre les techniques modernes de l'électro-acoustique et des sons bruts venus d'Indonésie. Au pire on pourra le voir comme une tentative d'expérimations autour de sons qui ont déjà été utilisés par d'autres (dont Francisco Lopez apparement). Dans l'absolu, Rivages sur l'antipode est tout de même plus qu'une curiosité sonore. Admirablement ciselé, construit avec une précision millimétrique, formant un prisme déformant de la réalité pour en créer une nouvelle. C'est toujours un peu la même chose au fonds. Prendre de la matière, la transformer et lui donner une nouvelle substance. Et dans ce registre Laurent Peter est un orfèvre de premier ordre. Et cette qualité d'orfèvre elle s'obtient quand vous donner l'impression à l'auditeur d'une harmonie sonore indiscutable. Même si cela n'a rien d'évident pour qui n'est pas initié, cette harmonie existe sur Rivages sur l'antipode comme un pur cas d'école. Et cela n'a rien de péjoratif.

I have never been a big fan of computer music whether it is a 60s mainframe or a laptop. Unlike the harmonica, which has zero redeeming qualities, there are exceptions when it comes to computer music. This is a nice and odd LP of what sounds like field recordings of music from Southeast Asian music rearranged via the magic of the computer. Some of the pieces retain a sort of gamelan feel, whilst others are more droney washes of sound. There is sometimes a vague whiff of Autechre-style abstract techno, but don't worry, you won't be asked to dance. Well assembled.

Releasing yet another fine objet d'art of metaphorical antipodesian soundscapes, the ini.itu imprint have once again reinforced their unique take on experimental global sound. Produced in high quality vinyl with handsome sleeve artwork, “Ravages sur l’antipode” by d’incise, (aka Laurent Peter) is something akin to a palmiset of southern sound, slowly revealing layers of sonic representation in iterations that morph and segue in gradual transitions. “Ravages sur l’antipode”, translated as “shores on the other side of the earth” traverses grainy collages of processed textures, field recordings, microtonal cut ups and Musique concrète, that are at once abstract in their musical ambiguity, yet very evocative as tone poems. The album is slightly reminiscent of Francisco Lopez’s earlier release “untitled #228” (also featured in these pages), however it defines itself by the sheer diversity of timbres, particularly in the lower bands, where tonal sub-bass harmonics are the earthly core to the terrestrial frequencies that perambulate the stereo spectrum.

With a reputation as an electro acoustic improviser, Laurent Peter is really showcasing his compositional skills in this release, and with a nod to the greats of the RTF School, it contains all those sensibilities enhanced by technologies that Messrs Schaeffer and Henry would have salivated over. If there is a criticism, it is the inevitable incongruity of the technological sequencing of sound versus the unfolding of acoustic field recordings. For the most part Peter arrives at a good balance between these two poles, which is achieved through careful processing and manipulation of source material. This is painstaking work and the results are tangible. “Ravages sur l’antipode” is an engaging listen and has a certain ‘cinema of the mind’ aesthetic that will appeal to those interested in cross-overs between ambient, soundtrack and experimental phonography. For those curious about his free improvisation, a quick detour to his self run net label “insubordinations” won’t disappoint either. 

ini.itu releases are high quality limited edition vinyl with resplendent photo realist covers with an aesthetic that is not matched by many. More information on “Ravages sur l’antipode” and other ini.itu releases can be gleaned from their website. 

Ini Itu is een ons nog vrij onbekend label, opgericht in Jakarta in 2008 en sinds enige tijd gevestigd in de Brusselse buitenwijken van Schaarbeek. Het doel van het label; het uitbrengen van specialere geluidsstructuren op vinyl LP's in gelimiteerde oplages van 250 stuks. Geen cd's, mp3's of andere vorm van duplicatie dus en daarmee weten we direct dat we te maken hebben met gepassioneerde mensen met een innige liefde voor de zwarte groef. D'Incise is de Zwitserse field recording artiest Laurent Peter die al eerder albums op labels als Gruenrekorder en Resting Bell uitbracht, bekende plekken voor veldopnames. Op 'Rivages' is het geluid gericht op Azië, voornamelijk Indonesië. Met composities van veldopnames en instrumentale volksmuziekgeluiden wordt een organisch IDM spectrum ten gehore gebracht. Gebroken stukken gamelan en gongs worden gevormd tot ritmische structuren en afgewisseld met composities van drones. Het resultaat is wonderschoon en brengt de luisteraar weer even terug naar de tijd van de click & cuts en oude IDM, maar dan met broeierige Indonesische sferen als middelpunt. Juist deze context geeft het geluid een wereldse extrawaarde met een perfecte symbiose tussen traditie en electronica. Op 33rpm zijn het perfecte tonen voor de huiskamer, op 45rpm zal de electronica dj er zijn vingers bij aflikken, de dualiteit zal zijn eigen liefhebbers vinden. Intelligente Indonesische dansmuziek, laat het een nieuw genre zijn. [...] Een goed detail; beide platen werden gemastered door James Plotkin. Ini Itu heeft ons goed wakkergeschud en we zetten onze radar richting Schaarbeek. 

Laptop IDM/step reconstructions of sound sources recorded in Indonesia (gamelan and otherwise) for some occasionally gripping, deep results. A lot of the record is crazy quiet and sort of defeats the purpose of having one’s label loft comparisons to Burial or Akufen, but there are enough moments of blissful jitter on the B-side to carry the entire work. Nice sounds from someone who’s paid quite a bit of attention to them. 250 numbered copies, a handful of which come with a serigraph from the artist himself.

Laurent Peter's latest (vinyl only) d'incise recording, Rivages sur l'antipode (“Shores on the opposite side of the earth”), is based on similar archival material to that used by Francisco López for his untitled #228. There the similarities end, however, as the electro-acoustic interzone mapped out by d'incise's release is as unique as López's. Peter's been producing electronic music under the d'incise moniker since 2002 and is a veteran of labels such as Gruenrekorder, Audioactivity, and Resting Bell, so he's more than capable of crafting polished and highly personalized music, as Rivages sur l'antipode (available in 250 hand-numbered copies) shows to ample degree.

The album features eight future-gamelan settings infected by viral strains of broken melodies and collapsing rhythms. There's a distant trace of dub in the material's sparse bass lines, a sense of digital processing in its use of grainy textures, and an ethnographic quality too in its subtle integration of field recording materials (taken from Jakarta, Makassar, Bandung, and Yogjakarta). Voices and percussive elements punctuate the tracks' crackling surfaces, while the bone-rattling throb of the bass keeps the elements from splintering apart. In tracks like “Cérémonie des voûtes” and “Les barrières troubles,” wheezing, bass-thudding pulses merge with Burial-like percussive hyperactivity in a convulsive manner that suggests a mutant genre one might label viral gamelan or cryogenic dub. During “Plages vergognes sans brise,” a village's church bells resound against a flickering backdrop of bass pulses, whirrs, hiss, and clicks, and one track is even called “Humidité,” an apt choice given the tropical heat that rises off of the typical d'incise producion. With all of the tracks sticking to four-minute lengths and the album itself weighing in at thirty-six minutes, Rivages sur l'antipode impresses as a refreshingly direct and concise statement.

     Занимающийся экспериментальной музыкой с 2002 года Лоран Петер на новой работе своего проекта «D'incise» оригинальным образом реализовал идею о слиянии Востока и Запада, задавшись целью соединить основы традиционной музыки с быстро меняющейся и склонной к разрушению с последующим внимательным разглядыванием получившихся осколков музыкой современной. Или же он просто представил себе, как должна звучать музыка на другой стороне земного шара, отталкиваясь от устаревших представлений людей об антиподах, ходящих вверх ногами, на что косвенно намекает название. Вообще, с этой пластинкой много неясностей и помимо этого – например, пресс-релиз и сайт лейбла говорят о том, что Петер использовал в своей работе полевые записи, сделанные Франциско Лопесом, из которых тот недавно «собрал» замечательный альбом «Untitled № 228», а на конверте пластинки написано, что основой послужили записи группы «Blindhaed». Хотя, если честно, заморачиваться на эту тему не стоит. Все равно стараниями «D'incise» выступление индонезийского оркестра гамелан и звуки окружающей природы были преобразованы в нечто совершенно новое, не имеющее отношения ни к Лопесу, ни к кому бы то ни было еще.

     Неторопливые композиции, основанные на подрагивании струн и тонкой перкуссионной паутине в руках музыканта крошатся на части, начинают заикаться, а густая и терпкая атмосфера душной ночи в Джакарте оседает гулким эмбиентным фоном, поверх которого крошки исходного материала сливаются в пощелкивающий-шуршащий-сбивчивый ритм, формируя композиции в стилистике click`n`cuts и glitch, с регулярным («L'Antépénultième Déluge» и «Se Déplacer Entre Les Adverbes ») заходом на территорию ломанного, чуть нервного и шероховатого IDM. Получается сонная и вязкая, как тропический воздух, музыка, в которой уничтожение «первородных» звуков и их переработка выглядят вполне логично, не вызывая отторжения. Храмовый мрак, дымок благовоний и раскаты ритуального колокола («Plages Vergognes Sans Brise»), лезущие в уши басы, шершавые текстуры и неторопливое постукивание, перерождающееся в стремительный и сложный ритм из обрывков и шорохов – все это слито воедино в гармоничном потоке, превращаясь в странные, но притягательные для взыскательного слушателя композиции, способной удовлетворить эстетские запросы к «экзотике» и тягу к микротональной и импровизационной музыке. 

[... discussion about "Mutations" ]

On an entirely different nature is the album by Laurent Peter, finally we have a name for D'Incise from Switzerland, who received slighty similar sound material as Francisco Lopez did for his album for this label (see Vital Weekly 711), but Peter does something completely different with it. His main method is sampling the hell out of anything. It perhaps also reveals a bit more what Lopez used, as that was rather a mystery back then. Percussive sounds from Indonesia for instance, which D'Incise explores these for the lowest, grainy textures, chopped up to form new rhythms, cut from 'real' sound and the hiss between. Ini.itu compares this with some of the older and more experimental releases on Mille Plateaux/Ritornell, and I can see that. It shares that somewhat crude approach to sampling, the click 'n cut approach musicians like Random Inc and Kid606 had back then, but D'Incise never comes close to playing any 'dance' related music. The textures are sometimes pretty 'vague', shimmering perhaps, but I think that kind of adds nicely to the record. Its probably the best record by D'Incise I heard so far. The compositions are worked out better, and never seem to take more time than necessary. Very nice. Two entirely different records, twice good.