Product Description
The adventurous trio Chat Noir has for the past 12 years defied easy categorization with its organic mix of ambient music, electronic textures as well as chamber music and jazz.
Their singular approach to the piano trio, cinematic in scope and startlingly beautiful, has garnered critical raves throughout Europe.
On Nine Thoughts for One Word, their sixth recording overall and second for London-based RareNoise Records, the two founding members, pianist Michele Cavallari and bassist Luca Fogagnolo, are joined in their further explorations by electronic/ambient music composer and producer J.Peter Schwalm (Brian Eno, Eivind Aarset).
Together they make a conceptual leap on what a piano trio can be, with the invaluable input of Schwalm s studio magic.
Review
The RareNoise label is becoming the go-to imprint for musicians who defy simple categorization. Chat Noir is an Italian trio which easily fits into the RareNoise roster. Keyboardist Michele Cavaliari, bassist Luca Fogagnolo and newest member, J. Peter Schwalm (a Brian Eno collaborator who adds electronics, beats, keyboards, and acoustic guitar) create a tempting mixture of ambient music elements, electronic textures, modern chamber music and electric jazz. The threesome s latest is the 48-minute Nine Thoughts for One Word, their sixth recording and second for RareNoise. Nine Thoughts for One Word has been released as a digital download, on vinyl, and as compact disc. This review refers to the CD configuration.
While Chat Noir isn t like anyone else, their material has an aesthetic and adventurous attribute which should be appreciated by anyone familiar with the Neil Cowley Trio or the Bad Plus and any of Eno s recent ventures. There is a tantalizing equilibrium between the electronic dynamics and acoustic instruments, a course which shows the trio s growth and development. Experimentation has always been a fundamental part of our work, says Fogagnolo. We would describe our journey as a ship adrift. If jazz was our starting point we ve always felt free to explore different languages.
The opener, Eternally Tranquil Light, is like the theme for a cinematic travelogue. There are subtle Middle Eastern slices; wordless chants; a propulsive and magnetic electronic motif; a foggy trombone which rides beneath the electric sheen; and Schwalm s dance-enlaced beat. Tunes tend to segue from one to another with no pauses, imparting a suite-like approach. Thus there isn t any separation from the first track to the second, Fundamental Mind, which is led by Cavaliari s poetic and delicate acoustic piano, and some electronic effects which include a violin-like tone. There is a linear flow to Fundamental Mind, similar to Eternally Tranquil Light, especially the sense of an instrumental narrative, which continues throughout the piece s gradual build-up. Elsewhere on the record, sometimes digital effects and acoustic features are both explicit, such as during the pulsing Blinking Neon, which evokes David Bowie s music from the last ten years: a concordance of acoustic tools (piano and guitar) with purely electronic components.
Schwalm may be the newest Chat Noir member, yet his involvement has an important artistic mannerism. He furnishes spaciousness to some cuts; provides otherworldly beats and grooves to other numbers; and supplies sound processing and production treatments to all eight tracks. Certainly his personality has a persuasive perspective on the trip-hop structure of the dance-floor-ready Uneven and the nearly nine-minute excursion, Soft Ground, which begins with an ambient section, lifts upward with a mysterious Middle Eastern/dub reggae segment, and has a crosshatched arrangement analogous to Matmos merged with Portishead. Another notable contributor is vocalist Alessandro Tomaselli, who brings his David Sylvian-like voice to the alt-pop song, Momentary Continual, which has an arrangement and resonance comparable to Sylvian s late- 80s output. This is a lithe, memorable piece and hopefully Tomaselli can donate his talent to future Chat Noir projects. Chat Noir concludes with the quiet, austere Crystallized Flow, fronted by Cavaliari s solo piano, accompanied by an undercurrent of weightless digital effects. While the album has spatial qualities and movement, Crystallized Flow has the most atmospheric aspects, like something from Vangelis Chariots of Fire period. --Audiophile Audition
Chat Noir is an ambitious trio that for 12 years has incorporated ambiance, electronics, chamber and jazz into their own special blend. Their latest, Nine Thoughts for One Word (RareNoise Records RNR 064 available as LP, CD and download), continues the journey with an evocative set that makes the most out of the compositional and soundscaped possibilities.
Original Chat Noir founding members piano-keyboardist Michele Cavallari and bassist Luca Fogagnolo are for this album joined by electronics composer-producer Jan Peter Schwalm on electronics, beats, keys and acoustic guitar. Daniel Calvi guest appears on guitars for three numbers; vocalist Alessandro Tomaselli adds his vocals and lyrics for one number.
It is music with definite soundscaped ambiance, some drive and a wide gamut of electronic timbres. It is an album of substance and sophistication, yet an effective cosmic flow and saturation.
Anyone who is a fan of such things done well, as I am, will find the album to their liking, I surely think. Give it your ears! --Gapplegate Blog
It s good when a band expands their sound into different areas, though it s not without danger: change too much and you risk alienating your existing audience. Happily this is an unlikely fate for Chat Noir, who, since their 2006 debut, have drifted far from their jazz trio origins with each successive release. For their sixth album, a change in personnel proves to be a significant catalyst. Long-time drummer Guiliano Ferrari has been replaced by ambient master J Peter Schwalm. The triggered beats and subtle electronica-inspired atmospheres Schwalm brings dovetail neatly with Michele Cavallari s already expansive keyboards and bassist Luca Fogagnolo s penchant for dispensing subterranean shockwaves. --Prog Magazine
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