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ILITCH / Periodikmintrouble / 2 CD
Fractal 012
ILITCH / 10 suicides/ 2 CD
Fractal 013
RUTH / Polaroïd/Roman/Photo / CD
Fractal 014
prognotfrog.blogspot.com
Ruth "Polaroïd/Roman/Photo".
– Germany has Kraftwerk & Neu!, Japan has The Yellow Magic Orchestra,
England has Gary Newman… but France?.. Who has France in the Avant-Garde-Synth-Pop
realms…? …And hereeeeee’s our Herooo!, please welcome Mr.
Thierry Müller (aka ILITCH)…
– Pssst, hey man, stop talking!, the script points that Thierry Muller
is a late 70’s-Early 80’s dark electronics wizard.
– Off course!!!. Mr. Muller conceives 2 amazing electronic albums under
the alias Ilitch (Periodikmindtrouble –1978- & 10 suicides –1980-)
but in 1985 the synth pop mosquito bites him, and under the Ruth moniker gave
light to his “Polaroïd/Roman/Photo”.
– Ahh, ok… go on… go on… sorry.
– Well, this awesome album it is as if you had a group of avant-garde composers
controlling the synths plus a complete chamber ensemble (a ten piece band with
horns, violin and spoken female vocals.). A well balanced concept, indeed; in
one hand concrete electronic structures, very experimental, on the other, all
the freedom and spontaneity of a crowded dance floor, Fractal records define
this work: “like a relax mood erotic-melodic-synthe-80’s pop album.”
– ¿And what about the songs?
– Nicely conceived, for example, the title track got smooth male and female
vocalizations full of horn blasts & implacable metronomic rhythm (kinda sexual
rhythm).
– Sweet! as my friend Napoleon would say!
– And that’s not all!, in this lp lies the first cover-version ever
made of Can’s “she brings the rain”, awesome by itself!.
So what you readers are waiting!? You know you need this album… go on,
and enjoy!
Blow up #107, April 2007 (Italy)
Periodikmindtrouble… Se
di solito ci è d’uso ignorare la
ristampa in CD, nel caso di “Periodikmindtrouble” è indispensabile
imporsi un’eccezione, poiché la versione originale, tiratura
mille copie – più cento in edizione limitata e numerata
di cui alcune ancora catturabili su www.ilitchmusic.com – ometteva
gran parte del materiale concepito per il disco. A causa delle scarse
risorse della Oxigene, una delle prime etichette indipendenti francesi,
dal catalogo confusamente eterogeneo e dalla breve esistenza, fu pubblicato
infatti su un solo vinile anziché doppio come negli intenti di
Ilitch, al secolo Thierry Muller. E’ lui l’artefice unico
dell’album,
se si eccettua l’inseparabile Ruth Elliery d’ausilio nella
registrazione ed il contributo di Patrick Muller al synth e Laurent Saiet
alla chitarra in un episodio a testa, tracce non presenti peraltro nel
programma datato ’78.
Un lavoro ancora oggi di un’attualità incredibile in cui
Reich, Ferrari, Riley, Feldman, Xenakis, si percepiscono come stimoli
sviluppati da Muller con tale personalità da trasformare all’istante “Periodikmindtrouble” in
prepotente influenza per sperimentatori in erba come allora era Steven
Stapleton, che esplicitamente farà riferimento al musicista parigino
come grande fonte d’ispirazione per il “Change Meeting On
A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella” dell’anno
dopo, o Edward Ka-spel che sta in quei giorni posando le fondamenta di
Legendary Pink Dots.
“Periodikmindtrouble” ha gestazione piuttosto elaborata che inizia
addirittura nell’ottobre del ’75. Il pezzo che titola l’album
sulla stampa originale occupa integralmente la seconda facciata. Una suite
di venticinque minuti straordinaria, solo idealmente divisa in tre, che nella
sua prima parte, tra sfrigolii di chitarre torturate e un organo in preda ad
un’incontrollabile follia, lascia trapelare inflessioni gotiche ad inquietanti,
e si scioglie poi in un’improvvisazione tenacemente sperimentale e pervicacemente
tendente ad un’iterazione che a tratti sembra assumere inattesi connotati
di languida, aliena, gentilezza, come oscillanti infiorescenze incastonate
nel manto celeste. S’affacciano possibili comparazioni con i primi lavori
di Heldon. Se Periodikmindtrouble è un soundscape dalle talmente
elevate capacità di trance da rendere vacuo esercizio molta futura drone
music, Ballades Urbaines, allo stesso modo ipotizzata su un’intera side,
nella sua prima porzione è un pigro, quasi svogliato, ma nervosamente
ipnotizzante, gocciolio chitarristico che ha sembianze Fripp, nella seconda è un
ancor più rarefatto squarcio ambientale sommessamente gorgogliante che
scivola nella parte conclusiva in un morbido, sereno, fluire. Tra il materiale
parimenti inedito del doppio CD Fractal del 2000, nella sezione battezzata ‘Documents’ troviamo
l’eccellente A.B.ss, quasi venti minuti di profonda oscurità,
con chitarra preparata, harmonium e tapes ad anticipare le tenebrosità dark
ambient, e la schizoide Musik fur brokenpedalboard, entrambe del ‘74.
Il secondo dischetto è interamente dedicato all’intera Innerfilmsequences che
su vinile, titolata Sequences, durava praticamente un terzo, divisa
in sei episodi anziché dodici. Concentrandoci sui contenuti della versione
digitale, subito To I Dien, non presente nella versione originale, è stupefacente
per le similitudini che in alcuni tratti si avvertono con un’idea di
suono industriale che Throbbing Gristle e Cabaret Voltaire stanno ancora elaborando
concettualmente e materialmente con, all’epoca, il pezzo è del ’75,
inesistente visibilità. Altrove emerge una drammaticità compressa
di alta suggestione, in Backside And Frontside Men, con una chitarra
che erra lancinante, o nella superba Impasse Raga, con percussioni
che battono sorde e quasi luttuose su una malinconica distesa di harmonium.
Il blues dissanguato di Matin d’un blues, il cosmico veleggiare
in un immateriale onirico di Trans Sud omnibus, già pubblicata,
come To I Dien, nella cassetta, “P.T.M. Works” dalla statunitense
Eurock nell’80, il perforante stridio della paranoica A travers les
fields, i soffici smarrimenti kraut di River Song e Voyage,
la meditativa A travers la fenetre, presente in una nuova versione
con il contributo della chitarra di Saiet, con synth, organo, harmonium per
un breve frangente messi a tacere, sono episodi non meno degni di nota.
Il genio di Muller non si esaurirà qui e “10 Suicides”,
un concept edito da Scopa Invisible con dieci soundtrack per suicidi,
pur risultando, malgrado il tema, meno ostico del suo predecessore di
due anni prima, sarà un altro capolavoro - ristampato anch’esso
in doppio CD con l’aggiunta di un’ora di bonus tra cui i
trenta minuti di svalvolatissima psichedelia di [‘] Programma -
in cui Ilitch diventerà un duo con Ruth Ellyeri che suona quasi
in tutti i brani e con le partecipazioni, sia pur marginali, del fratello
Patrick, di Philippe Doray e Patric Dubot. L’utilizzo della voce
ossessiva e filtrata nel vocoder o comunque trasfigurata, rafforza il
senso di totale distacco da tutto, tra un’impressionante Waiting
For Mabelle, un’attesa infinita e senza speranza resa in maniera
magistralmente psicotica, il radicale nichilismo di N.A. (No Answer) dove
il vuoto impera con sordida crudeltà, la schizofrenica frenesia
di Peripherikredcommando, il requiem nello spazio di Elle
voulait que je sois drole. Non meno consigliato dunque il recupero
anche del secondo capitolo di Ilitch, sequel decisamente più vario,
più continuativamente oscuro e lucidamente cinico del più avanguardistico
primo atto.
Prima di sparire praticamente per quasi vent’anni, al di là di
qualche cassetta, Thierry lasciò, nell’85, “Polaroid/roman/photo”,
accreditato come Ruth e d’impronta techno-pop, a tratti prezioso
e sempre venato della sua irregolare genialità di sperimentatore
genuinamente originale.
Paolo Bertoni
Médiathèque de Paris - Super select, novembre
2004 (France)
10 suicides(Réédition).
Deuxième album d’Ilitch, sorti en 1980, “10 suicides”
n'est pas, comme son titre l’indique, un disque très drôle!
En revanche, cet OVNI musical est assez symptomatique de la musique underground
du début des années 1980 – Années post punk
faites d'ambiances froides et désespérées, délibérément
pessimistes. Tout cette tendance, proche du rock industriel de Cabaret
Voltaire et du Neubauten des débuts, est actuellement redécouverte
et "pillée" par certains chantres de l’electro.
Jai déjà parlé, sur des listes récentes, du
premier album d'llitch, ainsi que de son nouvel opus "Hors-temps”.
"10 suicides" est très différent de ceux-ci :
A la fois minimal, abstrait et tendu, il résume bien l'état
d'esprit de son temps. Le 2e CD contient trois longs inédits.
Periodikmindtrouble / 10 suicides / Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
–
All Music Guide (website : www.allmusic.com), September 2003 (Canada)
:
Ilitch "Periodikmindtrouble"
Ilitch is basically multi-instrumentalist Thierry Muller, who uses guitars,
synthesizers, and other effects to create avant-garde music that falls
somewhere between Brian Eno, Conrad Schnitzler, and Heldon, though more
like the latter. Periodikmindtrouble reissues the first album on a double
CD with a plethora of extra tracks, recorded from 1974 to 1978, the year
of the record's original release. On all but a couple tracks working completely
solo, Muller constructs soundscapes that are entirely instrumental, minimal,
and somewhat ambient, though very edgy as well. The organ and deconstructed
guitar of the opening track from the original album sets the mood, with
tweaked-out bursts of noise, long drones, and repetitive organ chords
that are both bleak and mesmerizing, like a much darker version of Tangerine
Dream. Certainly the closest comparison would again be Heldon, with similar
pulsing electronic sonic space visions, though Ilitch is slightly less
repetitive with tracks often developing into something else, and not quite
as bracingly fearsome as some of Heldon's best work. Another similarity
is Muller's guitar style, which like that of Richard Pinhas of Heldon
is extremely unconventional, using the instrument more as a way of creating
jarring textures rather than chords. The "Ballades Urbaines"
tracks are mostly guitar texture, whereas on "A.B.ss" the guitar
is even more unrecognizable in the long drones. The second disc offers
a dozen tracks called "Innerfilmsequences," some of which were
on the original LP. These veer from nightmarish to almost dreamy and cosmic
in quality, and they also contain a lot of human emotive power rather
than being merely academic exercises.
Rolf Semrpebon
Ilitch "10 suicides"
Like Periodikmindtrouble, 10 Suicides, originally a single LP from 1980,
was reissued as a double CD with plenty of bonus tracks. On this second
effort, Ilitch's main man, Thierry Muller, uses more musicians and even
throws in vocals and song structures on a few of the tracks, though 10
Suicides is only marginally more accessible than the earlier effort. As
the original album offered ten different soundtracks on suicide, this
is as dark as ever, though more varied than its predecessor, going everywhere
from the gentle but haunting piano interlude of "Symphonynachevee"
to the harshly aggressive cyberpunk track "Periphikredcommando."
On this latter track and the other songs, the voices are heavily processing
and distorted, sounding something like the Residents, to match the bleak
electronics and distorted guitar textures. "Waiting for Mabelle"
is a strange piece of avant pop, with a catchy melody and bouncy but choppy
rhythm, while "No Answer" is a nihilistic chant with industrial
backdrop mixed with distorted psychedelic guitar pyrotechnics. The second
disc has three live recordings, and actually comes closer to the more
minimal material on Ilitch's first disc, Periodikmindtrouble, though the
second track, "Comma Programma," is the complete recording from
which the first disc's "Coma Programma I and II" were extracted.
The tracks are quite drone-oriented, and the long third track is quite
effective. It starts off like the others as droning and ambient, and then
slowly builds up with intensity to a squalling noise.
Rolf Semrpebon
Ruth "Polaroïd/Roman/Photo"
Thierry Muller, who previously released a couple of avant-garde electronics
records as Ilitch, came back in 1985 with this new project, Ruth, which
oddly enough does not include Muller's Ilitch collaborator, Ruth Ellyeri.
At first glance, Ruth's pop sensibilities and up-tempo rhythms seem to
be a 180-degree about-face from the bruising soundscapes of Ilitch, and
yet there is still a heavy use of electronics and certainly a lot of creativity
to make this more than just dance music. A similar analogy might be Cabaret
Voltaire's shift in the early '80s from its original distorted industrial
music to much cleaner sounds with a dance beat and female vocals, often
spoken, but still retaining some earlier avant-gardisms. Ruth's music
falls somewhere in the new wave techno-pop dance music camp, though with
enough oddness that it doesn't come off as some slick sellout. "Waiting
for Mabelle" from Ilitch's 10 Suicides is even reworked here as an
upbeat avant disco number, smoothed of all the rough edges. Marc Duconseille's
horn arrangements on the opening track, "Thriller", as well
as the title track, add a cinematic quality to the music. The haunting
cover of Can's "She Brings the Rain" focuses more on textures,
as the intensity builds through the song, hinting more at Muller's earlier
work, as does the much longer track "Tu m'Ennuies" with spoken
word over keyboard squall. The CD also throws in some bonus tracks. Of
these, the piece "Sans Mot" as well as the short hidden track
at the end of the CD are in the experimental vein of Ilitch, and both
quite good, whereas the two versions of the title cut, one an early demo
of it without vocals, seem more like filler.
Rolf Semrpebon
Periodikmindtrouble
/ Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
– CODA magazine N° 48, juillet/août
2003 (F)
Que deviendrions-nous si le label Fractal, l'une
des plus belles échoppes de l'Hexagone, ne veillait au grain en
rééditant des albums malheureusement souvent passés
inaperçus de leur temps ? Car qui se souvient encore d'llitch
et Ruth, projets animés par Thierry Müller, véritable
isolationniste avant l'heure, hanté par une musique pour le moins
hypnotique déclinée en deux volets, entre le début
et le milieu des années 80 ? Probablement personne en dehors
d'un irréductible clan d'esthètes un peu dandys qui ne cesse
d'en faire l'apologie.
À l'écoute du premier, on est encore saisi par ce long flux
d'ambiances minimalistes et répétitives à écouter
très tard dans la nuit : Terry Riley, Fripp & Eno ou Richard
Pinhas en solo se sont jamais loin. À l'inverse, sur le second,
c'est le côté facétieux du personnage qui est mis
en avant, et que les amateurs d'electroclash et de Miss Kittin en particulier
seraient inspirés de découvrir. Outre que la reprise de
She Brings The Rain de Can tient la route, l'entêtant Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
vaut des points. Si la radio avait des oreilles, il aurait été
un méga-tube. De toutes façons, c'est désormais une
pépite de la pop à synthés – avec les
hits de Kraftwerk et le Rec-tangle de Jacno. VITAL
PR
10
suicides / Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
– Exposé #25, summer 2002 (USA)
Ilitch "10 Suicides"–(Fractal 013,
1980/2001, 2CD)
At the core of Ilitch is Thierry Müller on keyboards, guitars, vocorder,
electronics, noise loops, electronic percussion, and artistic concepts,
with (track depending) Ruth Elyeri on guitar and voice, Patrick Müller
on EMS synth, and other guests as the need calls. Imagine a deranged sound
midway between the repetitive electronics of Richard Pinhas and the art
damage of the early Residents, with some twisted pop elements thrown in
and a very alien sounding production, and one can get an idea of what‚s
in store on 10 Suicides, the second Ilitch LP from 1980. The reissue is
packaged with an extra disc of material culled from the 1977 tape-only
P.T.M. Works and previously unreleased Coma Programma sessions dating
from 1978. The two sides of the original LP (now occupying most of disc
1) were titled "Inside, Radio On" and "Outside, Jour de
Pluie", each containing five discrete songs ranging from demented
pop smothered in effects to out-and-out sonic experimentation. The vocals
– when featured, are almost always treated to the point of non-recognition,
giving a stranger-than-strange result. The overall musical concept is
tightly integrated with the artwork in the booklet (also by Müller),
and works well as a complete package, each informing the other.
The bonus track "Culture" is a 12 minute piece more typical
of the earlier Periodikmondtrouble album, featuring narration throughout,
which begins in the foreground but gradually fades into the distance as
the disjointed and abrasive electronic sounds overwhelm the listener.
Likewise, the bonus disc consists of live and session recordings featuring
Patrick and Thierry Müller using a more raw electronic template,
which may remind of Heldon‚s Electronic Guerilla or early Can.
Ruth "Polaroid/Roman/Photo"–(Fractal
014, 1985/2001, CD)
Polaroid/Roman/Photo is in reality another Ilitch album from five years
later, but now operating in a band context, with regular drums, sax &
flute, trumpet, and a female vocalist on many of the tracks and a more
80s electronic pop perspective (albeit still quite twisted most of the
time), much of it like a garage-Kraftwerk with guitars and treated vocals.
Mixed in with these are a number of what are effectively Thierry Müller
solo pieces (sometimes with vocals) that fit well in the context of the
rest of the work. It‚s interesting that the band name is Ruth, when
in fact Ruth (Elyeri) is not featured anywhere on the album. Again, the
concept seems to integrate the music and black-and-white art-photos for
each track. Four bonus tracks are added, two of which are alternate versions
of the catchy title track, the third being the 7 minute "Sans Mots",
a more explorative electronic piece that seems more aligned with the earlier
Ilitch concept, and the fourth is a hidden track that launches after five
minutes of silence at the end. Both of these sets are interesting and
worthwhile slabs of French experimental electronica.
Peter Thelen
Periodikmindtrouble
– Médiathèque
de Paris (Super select - Avril 2002 - (France)
Super select. Voiçi une réédition
particulièrement bienvenue : cet obscur album paru en 1978 est
donc réédité avec, en bonus, une pléthorique
collection d'inédits tous aussi indispensables que l'album original.
Ilitch fit partie de l'underground français de la fin des années
70 aux côtés de Richard Pinhas, entre autres. Son univers
oscille entre certains disques de Robert Fripp et les longues plages pour
orgue ou harmonium de Terry Riley. D'autres titres ont des allures de
cinéma pour les oreilles. Ce disque-culte a été récemment
redécouvert et très bien accueilli, lors de cette réédition.
140 minutes indispensables! (L.S.)
Periodikmindtrouble
– Exposé #22, spring 2002 (USA)
Ilitch was the recording project of one Thierry Müller,
who during the late 70's and early 80's released a cassette and three
LPs. Periodikmindtrouble was the first of the three LPs originally released
in 1978 on the Oxygene label, although this reissue is an expanded edition
including well over an hour of unreleased bonus material, plus a good
chunk of the cassette release PTM Works. Occasionally joined by Patrick
Müller and other guests, the music of Ilitch is a textural based
almost industrial foray into the world of harsh primitive electronics,
supported by guitar and peppered with melodics, rhythms and experimentation.
In many respects, his music can be roughly compared to another Frenchman
of the same period: Richard Pinhas. The opening side-long title track
does bear a stylistic resemblance to some of the material on early Heldon
albums like Electronic Guerilla or It‚s Always Rock n‚Roll,
using organ and repetitive guitar loops to achieve a rhythmic trance-like
quality. Following that is the side-long, highly explorative, three-part
"Ballades Urbaines", originally planned as the album's second
side, but heretofore unreleased, and two pieces dating from '74: the sidelong
"A.B.ss", and the shorter "Musik Für Brokenpedalboard".
The second disc is the 12-part "Interfilmsequences", which takes
all 6-parts of the original "Sequences" (second side of the
LP), the first two ("To I Dien" and "T.S.O.") from
PTM Works, and four previously unreleased pieces, and re-orders them into
a new suite. Here we find more reliance on guitar based structures and
treatments, the use of rhythmic percussion, and generally a more concise
approach (only two of the pieces break the ten-minute mark). For my money
this is far more interesting than the hyperextended trance-like and experimental
material from the first disc. In all, though, it‚s good to have it
back in print, and the bonus material is worth the price of the disc alone.
Of course, Ilitch is not for everyone, but you who will appreciate it
know who you are.
Peter Thelen
10
suicides / Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
– Octopus n°14, Printemps 2002 (F)
Bien
bonne surprise que les ressorties chez Fractal des disques de RUTH et
d'ILITCH.
Le premier sonne tellement 80 qu'il en est touchant. Energique, inventif
et délure, "Polaroïd/Roman/Photo" (1985) a sans
conteste modifié à jamais la perception que l'on pouvait
avoir de la pop synthé à texte. Les ambiances sont travaillées:
angoissante, mélancolique, mutine ou blasée. "Pour
les gens très sensibles à la lumière...". Les
trouvailles sonores sont le fait du facétieux Thierry Muller.
Saut sémantique et musical avec "10 suicides" (1980)
d'Ilitch. Sombre et apocalyptique, chacun des 10 titres distille des sonorités
tendues et sourdes. La mélopée est abrasive, la rhétorique
organique et grinçante, le son plus dur. Un point commun cependant,
indépendamment des auteurs et producteurs, les deux disques sont
judicieusement remasterisés.
10
suicides / Polaroïd/Roman/Photo – The Wire n°218, april
2002 (UK)
For all of Steven Stapleton’s surreal genius, Nurse With Wound was
hardly conceived in a vaccum. Indeed, Stapleton himself has avidly proclaimed
his influences within the infamous Nurse With Wound list. Ilitch, the
bleak Prog/electronica projet from Thierry Müller, is one of the
more obscure names on that list. Reissued as a double CD set, 1980’s
10 Suicides, Ilitch’s second album, is filled with nihilist hymns
fantasising about the ultimate escape from the drudgery of life. This
suitably claustrophobic album is dominated by the grizzled output of overloaded
vocoders and eerie guitar wailings rewired to lo-tech gear to maximise
their potential. Yet each track here forms a distinct chapter. One track
evokes a traditional Parisian street serenade before smearing into a hideous
Industrial monstrosity; another is chugging pogo punk with chipmunk vocals;
there’s also a cosmic freakout for the Heldon/Richard Pinhas set.
With his later Ruth project, Müller transformed the robotic incantations
for vocoded accordion and militant rhythms from a cheap beat box on “Waiting
for Mabelle” (from 10 Suicides) into an uncomfortably baroque new
wave pop song. The rest of the album splatters through the archetypes
of new wave, mostly undermining its electronic arpeggiations and death
disco grooves with No Wave sax blurts, cryptic guitar noodlings and even
an electro-surrealist cover of Can’s “She brings the rain”.
Fad Gadget aside, no one has done more than Müller in proclaiming
post-punk a free for all carnival.
Jim Haynes.
Periodikmindtrouble/10
suicides – www.terminalkaleidescope.com ( The Legendary Pink Dots
website), February 2002
Ilitch was a major influence for Legendary Pink Dots yet their music remained
mostly unheard outside France. Happily, Fractal Records have released
the first two Ilitch albums from 1979 and 1980 on CD. In fact, rather
than simply re-print the albums, both releases contain an extra CD of
fantastic bonus material. Both are absolutely essential; dark as a moonlight
walk through a neglected Parisian suburb, beautiful as a sunset over a
polluted canal. Contact FRACTAL RECORDS and when you’ve heard them,
congratulate the creator, Thierry. Titles of the two releases are "Periodikmindtrouble"
and "10 Suicides". I might add that Fractal records have released
more impressive CDs. Try also the boxset by Igor Wakhewitch.
Edward Ka-Spel
Polaroïd/roman/photo–
Aquarius records note, USA, January 2002
Another excellent reissue of the work of French experimental
/pop musician Thierry Müller (who we know from the reissues of his
pre-Ruth albums under the Ilitch moniker, one of which we recently reviewed).
Fast becoming a unanimous staff favorite, Ruth's "Polaroid / Roman
/ Photo" album was originally released in 1985. Ruth is like the
avant garde stepsister of Kraftwerk or Gary Numan, in the form of a ten
piece band with horns, violin and spoken female vocals. It's very appropriate
that a reissue like this should come along when the '80s electro / art
punk revival (Adult., The Faint, Fischerspooner, I Am Spoonbender, Erase
Errata, etc.) is in full swing, as this captures the essence of dark,
subversive dancefloor artiness. The title track is worth the price of
admission alone -- a styley synth lead, male and female vocalisations
that reek of eroticism and attitude, short staccato horn blasts, a repetitive
but groovy-as-fuck rhythm. Another highlight is the inclusion of a gorgeously
warped cover of Can's "She Brings The Rain"! In short, this
album is very, very good; the music is so solid, perfectly realized, and
kick-ass that it sounds immediately "classic" (in that good
way where the music is so timeless and instantly appealing you can't tell
when it was made but you feel like maybe you heard it before, y'know?)
Remastered with three lengthy bonus cuts from 1982 and 1984 that teeter
on more experimental ground, like Müller's celebrated work as Ilitch,
which was more of a dark, droney, experimental prog guitar / synth project.
10 suicides
– Aquarius records note, USA, January 2002
This
album number two from Ilitch (a.k.a. Thierry Muller), originally released
in 1980 and finally reissued in its entirety with a bonus disc of unreleased/live
material. '10 Suicides' is record of dark and claustrophobic, primitive
and noisy, electronic soundscapes utilising vocoder guitar, sequencer,
synthesizer, bass, saxophone, piano, harmonium, noise, treatments, and
vocals. The sound varies greatly (although the sinister vibe is always
present): rumbling distorted drones with pitchshifted vocals and high
pitched synthesizer melodies, gorgeous soundscapes with sparse minor key
piano and distant sine waves, distorted and heavily reverbed rhythms with
spacy and whiny vocals, heavily strummed guitar and distorted drum machine
rhythms with noodly melodies over dark ominous synthscapes, pounding distorted
proto punk with Joe-Meek-'I-Hear-A-New-World' style chipmunk vocals. Think
Heldon, or a more evil Eno/Fripp. The bonus disc is 50 minutes of live/unreleased
material from '76-'78 and is an improvised wash of bleeping electronica,
shimmering analog synths, buzzing pulses and dreamy psychedelic almost-krautrock.
And as we pointed out in the review of Ilitch's first record (which we
still carry), Ilitch is one of the avant-garde obscurities that appeared
on the notorious Nurse With Wound list found on NWW's first album. Recommended.
.
Polaroïd
/Roman/Photo – Guitare & Claviers, juillet 1985 (F)
…
Avec deux synthés à trois sous, trois ans à deux
cents kilomètres du lieu d'enregistrement, et une dose massive
de talent, Thierry Muller signe quelque chose qui non seulement se tient
mais tient également ses promesses…
Pris un à un, tous les titres fourmillent d'idées sonores,
d'idées textuelles, bref d'idées. De plus, la reprise de
She Brings The Rain de Can fait plus que supporter la comparaison avec
la version originale. Disque porteur de potentialités, le prochain
album de Muller devra jouer dans la cour des grands. Sinon, Ruth aura
été son chant du cygne. Le plus beau car le plus désespéré.
Thierry
Frebourg. T
10 suicides
– Le Monde de la Musique, mars 1981 (F)
Ilitch
a parcouru pas mal de chemin depuis son premier album. Les sons électroniques
et les voix déformées composent ici quelques paysages saisissants,
dans des tons lugubres et oppressants qui rappellent les Anglais Throbbing
Gristle ou Cabaret Voltaire. Pour ceux qui apprécient la poésie
du sinistre et de l'angoisse.
Jean-Pierre Lentin.hierry.
Fribourg
10 suicides
– Stéréoplay, novembre 1980 (F)
Non,
tous les doux dingues en mal de production musicale introvertie et outrancière
n'ont pas été balayés par la tempête du disco
(qui s'essouffle un peu il est vrai) ou par l'ouragan de la musique rock
commerciale qui déferle sur toutes les radios, qu'elles soient
jeunes, " middle class ", périphériques, ou autres.
Il en reste encore, de ces chercheurs solitaires, mais ils ne viennent
pas à vous dans les vitrines des supermarchés, il faut les
chercher vous-mêmes, et vous les découvrez, au hasard d'une
ruelle, au fond d'une impasse. Thierry Muller, alias Ilitch, n'est pas
un inconnu, et il a déjà commis un album (Periodikmindtrouble)…
… Là, les références, se font clins d'œil
(le chant punk dans No Answer) ou simples rappels (la couleur Cluster
et Eno de la Symphonynachevée). L'idée du suicide, avec
toutes les connotations que chacun se construit lui-même sur ces
musiques simples mais évocatrices, il fallait y penser, et il fallait
aussi la transposer en disque, à travers les sons, sans oublier
les mots et les images du petit livret qui accompagne le 33 tours. 10
Suicides est un bel objet. Merci.
Pascal Bussy.
10
suicides – Le
Quotien de Paris, 1980 (F)
Thierry
Muller, éternel chercheur solitaire de l’underground parisien,
construit un rock différent pour amateurs de sensations fortes.
Des musiques évocatrices à cheval entre afterpunk et new
wave…
10
suicides – Libération, septembre 1980 (F)
Vachement
drôle. Le genre de petites entreprises bien barjo dont on vous dira,
avec un bizarre pli dans le regard : "Assez dur"… De fait,
l’album Illitch/10 suicides n’est pas ce qu’on pourrait
appeler une sucrerie. C’est un concept, voyez-vous. Froidement ,
élaboré et cruellement réalisé. Vocoder, séquenceur,
synthétiseur, boîte à rythmes, basse, saxophone. Cyniquement
illustré, avec un petit livret de planches malades en noir et blanc
un peu bricolo et morbide, juste ce qu’il faut. La chose, avec ce
nom désagréablement fonctionnel à la clef –
Le suicide mode d’emploi, en quelque sorte – est, dans
l’ensemble, franchement provocante. De ces provocations qui vous
hystérisent les bien-pensants…
Mais au-delà de l’objet cruel, du mortifère un peu
appliqué, il y a tout de même l’étonnante vie
à part qu’il éveille. Sous l’évocation
du trépas, il y a cette idée mille fois vérifiée
que qui évoque la mort éperonne la vie…
Et il y a, innommable, la musique. "Symphonynachevée",
un morceau au piano et aux cloches New Bouddha Zen, est bien envoûtant.
Comme une longue plainte pleine d’effets de manche, de poses, d’attentes
sourdes, comme un bruit mort-né, un soupir de cruauté voluptueuse.
Thierry Muller fait un peu tout. C’est lui Illitch. Le feu qu’il
a choisi brûle du dedans. Il joue "Waiting for Mabelle"
au beau nom avec Ruth Ellyeri au nom doux. Rythme dodelinant, ritournelle
molle à deux voix, légèrement percutés de
séquences synthétiques très inspirées des
meilleurs This Heat psalmodiants. C’est peut-être suicidaire,
mais c’est aussi assez simplement prenant. Tout comme les "Comma
Programma", avec Patrick et Thierry Muller, (EMS + guitare) deux
morceaux ascétiques en dérapage instrumental. Et d’autres,
étranges signes esquivés suivent, d’autres traces à
demi éteintes : "Radio on", "Soupirs", "N.A.
(no answer)", qui enfoncent cette rondelle de ténèbres
élégantes dans une jungle de torpeur accomplie. Comme une
gorgée d’éther ou une goulée d’Iboga. Et
qui font de ce disque de nuit un moment de lumière. La lumière
qui s’éteint.
Bayon.
10
suicides –Gueule hebdo, octobre 1980 (F)
Disque
quasi solitaire. L'auteur met en scène ses doubles et ses fragments.
Un magnifique livret intérieur illustre ses images mentales. Musique
de l'isolement sensoriel : l'œil et l'oreille créent la cage
de Faraday autour de laquelle tournent et rebondissent les séquenceurs,
moustiques obstinés. De minuscules geysers synthétiques
éclatent sur le pare brise, les guitares traitées et maltraitées
glissent sur l'écran du monde. Lointains et désolés
quelques chants adolescents sont rongés par les flaques intérieures.
10 morceaux, 10 suicides indolores martelés par les pas obstinés
d'un zombie.
Periodikmindtrouble/10
suicides – Eurock,
june 1980 (USA)
What
Is Ilitch ? A musical look into the state of the universal mind –
the sound of a life filled with tv tube radiation – an electric trip
along the frozen borderline of consciousness…
In the limited space of 2 Lp’s Ilitch (aka Thierry Muller) has created
a series of musical portraits that shed new light on the state of the
art today.
Periodikmindtrouble with its combination of synthetiks and guitar is a
schizoid exposé of the new music. One side creates a passive/aggressive
split by alternating acoustic & e. guitar. The other induces sensory
overload as it slowly unfolds a blanket of keyboard/guitar that ultimately
literally engulfs and smothers you.
There are points of reference to be found in the music to be sure i.e.
Glass, Fripp & Eno along with some of Manuel Gottschings early works,
but Ilitch has taken their techniques – exorcised the intellectual
underpinings and allowed his own particular muse to take possession. Thus
the sound may bear some resemblance, but there is an unmistakable dîfference
that makes it unique.
The new album, 10 Suicides, is strongly linked spiritually to its predecessor,
but structurally is much different. Within the confines of its 10 pieces,
the state of humanity is examined, brought into question and ultimately
found to be barren. He paints a bleak picture to be sure, but he also
creates an inspired music that screams out with vitality…
… A collection of works about love and life lost, it’s music
of the minds shadows – dreams and nightmare visions of reality. Dominated
by treated guitar and synthe, the waves of altered sound and distorted
vocals invoke a harsh sonic impressionism. “N.A. (No Answer)”
: “Nothing in my brain/Nothing in my eyes/The world is empty/My brain
is empty…”. Vocoder and other devices are employed complementing
the overall impact perfectly. The accompanying folio of lyrics and photos
ties it all together making it a fully realized conceptual work.
Archie Patterson.
Periodikmindtrouble
– Rock’n Stock, printemps 1979 (F)
Pochette noire, ruines de bâtiment rappelant
l’Allemagne détruite, intérieur de l’album composé
d’hommes sans tête : nous ne nageons pas dans l’euphorie
optimiste. Peu importe ! Periodikmindtrouble n’est pas là
pour battre des records de vente, mais pour traduire l’énergie
et le potentiel créatif d’un compositeur, et les communiquer
le plus directement possible…
Témoignage personnel, conduite politique efficace (au sens propre)
parce que réaliste, cette musique peut lancer les germes d’une
nouvelle société "musicale"…
Periodikmindtrouble
– Est-Eclair, janvier 1979 (F)
L’alchimie sonore poussée à son
paroxysme. En marge de toutes production normalisée, cet album
"fou-fou-fou" vous transporte (en première face) et vous
hypnotise (en seconde face)…
Periodikmindtrouble
– Adaptation of Periodikmindtrouble press book
by James Ellis in CLE, june 1978 (USA)
From, post-Crimson esthetics… France seems to
be the land of heritages, of intelligent derivatives of the lovers of
the citadel of Frippery, quasi-unshakeable monument of the distorted music
of a seeker at the begining of the 70's. We are not witnessing here a
remake, happily, but another breach, which has remained open. And if we
reportory the Heldon, Lard Free, and some astute punks, we notice how
spacious the lessons of the master are, and how the variants have not
had to overlap. One may speak, then, of different ideologies coming from
the same source. It is hard to escape this when we know that the demeanor
(gait) of Heldon is impregnated with ideograms as revealers. Here, one
can not be sure about it ; Illitch is, on this disc, one sole musician
for a "work" really divided into two parts. The first side may
be a little exercise of style at the begining, but with a perfect mastery
of sounds and an economical use of effects for a disc recorded “outside
the studio”, which makes one feel as though they have met a lover
of the sonorous substance. Guitars, bass, organ sometimes harmonium. Plenty
of wah-wah and broken rhythms. Chopped up, the pieces dissect at a rather
uncommon atmosphere, because they seem to be made like very long pieces,
bending to cause a break of the senses at all levels. A will, not to become
heavy, and not to shut oneself up inside a mounted process/infinite apotheosis.
Then an acoustical piece uses stereo as a reverberation/unkeying, A very
strong sound, very uplifted (the rhythms sometimes sustaining an ensemble
of a strange coherence,) a sort of combat which leads this single musician
to the limits of the disintegration of sound, but without playing on the
saturations of the lyric flights. A music hard and distinguished, worked
on the idea, but also remaining very close to the entrails of his guitar,
which speaks its ill and its breaks, because to fly away is sometimes
to be lost. A first side of a musician who has listened well to many musics.
The second side is altogether different ; made in one sole 27-minute piece,
which gives lits title to the album, Periodikmindtrouble. This trouble
of the spirit is divided into three periods, with an introduction that
is a little confused, no doubt to announce what is coming, a long theme
on the organ, enhanced by a rhythmic sequence which is effaced in the
final guitaresque in the form of truncated hommage, the loop is looped
suddenly on this piece made more to please oneself. A first disc, at any
rate, it does one good to listen to, because musicians who do not succomb
to the modes of the moment and do not copy the “masters” are
the future, even on the strings of a LesPaul.
Moreover, Illitch is the producer of this disc. Now working on his next
album, collaborating with Ruth Ellyeri, he promises this album to be more
radical and percussive.
Vladimir -Oulianov, Xavier
B.
Periodikmindtrouble
– Rock&Folk, 1978 (F)
Il nous faut ce mois-ci parler du très beau
disque d'Ilitch, Periodikmindtrouble, sans nul doute la plus convaincante
réussite du genre depuis "Alleteia" d’Heldon (ce
qui fait un bail). Ilitch, c'est encore un one man band, Thierry Muller
y assurant seul conception et réalisation avec une instrumentation
réduite et "traditionnelle" (guitare, basse, orgue),
mais un soin particulier pour le son. Traditionnelle, la musique ne l'est
pas : face A, six séquences (tirées d'un film intérieur)
où l'on retrouve l'héritage des maîtres incontestés,
Robert Fripp (Séquence 4), ou Brian Eno dont Muller possède
la simplicité, la concision, l'efficacité et certainement
tous les disques (Séquence 1, Matin d'un Blues) ; où l'on
retrouve aussi la délicate ferveur des morceaux acoustiques des
premiers Heldon (River Scene Theme Variation, Derrière la Fenêtre).
Les atmosphères créées sont denses et pleine la richesse
d'évocation. Cette suite exhale continuellement un fascinant et
très troublant envoûtement. La face B, avec le morceau-titre,
ne fait pas exception, même si l'esprit en est sensiblement différent.
L'œuvre s'ouvre sur une introduction éclatée et très
"contemporaine" avec un jeu rompu et strident de l'orgue que
ne désavoueraient ni Cecil Taylor ni XTC. Puis, presque insensiblement,
le chaos s'organise qui mène à une longue plage aux sonorités
proches du Persian Surgery Dervishes de Riley ; mais alors que la musique
de Riley ne cesse de tournoyer, celle de Periodikmindtrouble a l'immobilité
des œuvres de Philip Glass ; oscillation immobile qui se referme
sur un retour avec la guitare à une esthétique proche des
séquences de la première face. Superbe pochette, et étonnante
étiquette centrale.
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