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| ILITCH - Lena's Life & Other Stories ILITCH - Hors temps/Out of time
> Ilitch / Lena's Life & Other
Stories This is the second disc of all new material in Ilitch's
recent batch of activity beginning with Hors Temps in 2004 (last
year's Rainy House was mixed with older unreleased material),
and it offers fifteen song-length pieces of dark, industrial pop, rife
with dense walls of textured sound, screaming guitar loops, odd rhythms
and layered brooding electronics. Track depending, main man Thierry Müller
is joined by numerous guests on additional guitars, bass, drums, Mellotron,
percussion and vocals. Only a handful of the tracks feature lyrics, yet
those pieces break up the overall program nicely and keep it interesting
throughout. As songs go, what we have here is a collection of Ilitch's
best work to date; pensive, artful, melodic and brilliantly rhythmic,
yet never pretty, and thus remaining true to its industrial roots and
core experimental origins. As albums go, everything seems to be held
together by a unifying concept, but there is enough variety and mystery
to make every twist and turn in the plot a unique adventure. In that
sense, this release has much more in common with his earlier 10 Suicides from
the 1980s than any releases of more recent vintage. Those not yet acquainted
with Ilitch might do well to start right here with Lena's Life. Recommended.
> Ilitch / Lena's Life & Other
Stories Après avoir côtoyé des groupes
radicaux de l'underground français comme Heldon, Thierry Müller,
photographe et musicien parisien féru d'avant-garde, lance au
milieu des années 70 le projet Ilitch, l'une des plus belles aventures
musicales des vingt-cinq dernières années.
> Ilitch / Lena's Life & Other
Stories Neanche a farlo apposta – di Ilitch dicevano in sede di ‘Ripeschiamoli’ la
volta scorsa – nuovo album per Thierry Muller a tre anni di distanza
da “Hors temps/Out Of Time”, ritorno della sigla adottata
dallo sperimentatore parigino ai suoi esordi riposta nel silenzio per
un quarto di secolo. Quella di Ilitch rimane materia di peculiare personalità anche
in “Lena’s Life And Other Stories”, altro concept alla
maniera del celebrato “10 Suicides”, in cui Thierry più che
in passato apre le porte del suo progetto a più collaboratori
e rinnova il vecchio amore per la chitarra, pur pesantemente trattata
e sapientemente spogliata d’ogni sentimento nell’alienata Fée
d’hiver, d’appoggio alla cruda narrazione di solitudine
e depressione di Lena’s Life, punteggiata da stilettate
di theremin nelle sismiche oscillazioni di While She Paints,
impigliata nella dissonante, severa, ambient di Souviens-toi.
A mitigare i cupi umori dei suddetti, ottimi, frangenti, la comunque
impassibile glacialità più strettamente elettronica di Destre,
l’episodio di maggior cattivazione, e qualche momento meno ruvido
che non guasta come Stand Up, la sospesa Venise, il
dichiarato tributo a Kraftwerk di Ohmless Ohm o la tempestosa
ballata Breaking Thunder. (7/8)
> Ilitch / Lena's Life & Other
Stories This brand new album by Ilitch (aka Thierry Muller) is his 5th since 1978 and it shows he has lost none of his creative juices and remains one of the most unique artists in France and Europe today. The music is a suite of shorter tracks that conceptually blends into a soundscape of electronic-screaming melodies filled with trippy guitar treatments and oblique pulsations. In conception and execution it’s a masterpiece of experimental progressive poprocks.
> Hors temps/Out of time Some may remember a few obscure records from the
late 70s and early 80s; others may never have known, but either way it’s
been a long time since anyone has heard anything new from ilitch. This
dark and quirky electronic project driven by Thierry Müller, with
Patrick Müller and other musicians contributing has been absent from
the scene since the release of the Polaroid/Roman/Photo album
in 1985. In the last few years, reissues of those early albums have appeared
on the scene, so it’s no surprise that Müller and company would
use the moment to release something new. Truth is, things haven’t
changed much since those days – their music still defies categorization,
combining elements of grotesque pop, industrial electronics, minimalism,
and an inclination to the strange and surreal. At its most accessible,
powerful anthemic themes with strong melodies rule the moment (featuring
piano, drums, keys, and flute samples), yet within the same piece the
listener might find themselves hovering in a textural well of electronics,
with a distant sample of Nick Mason’s “Grand Vizier’s
Garden Party” echoing in the background. “Hard [It’s
Too..]” presents a looping piece for guitar, drums and synth, and
a recitation of all known four-syllable words ending in “..ation”.
“La Voie” features layers on layers of suspenseful electronic
textures as a backdrop for spoken voice, setting a dark, mysterious mood.
Al taken, Hors Temps is a welcome return to form.
> Hors temps/Out of time Thierry Müller (aka Ilitch) a débuté
sa carrière musicale en 1974 avec le groupe d’improvisation
électronique Arcane. Les deux premiers albums d’Ilitch (Periodikmindtrouble
en 1978 et 10 Suicides en 1980) sont suivis du projet mythique de pop
synthétique Ruth Polaroïd/Roman/Photo en 1985, pour lequel
Octopus s’était passionné lors de sa réédition
chez Fractal en 2003. Ilitch représente l’une des figures
marquantes de l’underground parisien des années 80 et s’est
avéré une source d’influence majeure pour de nombreux
artistes et groupes de légende tels que Legendary Pink Dots ou
Nurse with Wound. Titrant ironiquement Hors temps/Out of Time, ce troisième
opus, sorti donc 24 ans après le second, aura demandé 5
ans de travail acharné pour combler les fossés du temps
en élaborant toute une nouvelle génération de sons
au travers de 9 compositions littéralement explosives, exigeantes,
éclatantes et colorées. Evocation electro-pop des premières
heures, Hors temps/Out of time est une réflexion sensible et une
vision poétique de la vie qui passe. À la fois expérimental,
inventif et mélodique, le disque évite soigneusement et
dépasse brillamment les clichés du Krautrock, de la cold-wave
ou du rock industriel des années 80. Les temps ont changé
et en même temps rien n’a changé. Ilitch vient se rappeler
à nous pour nous signifier l’extrême tension qui s’exerce
entre permanence et impermanence des choses. Nous voici désormais
confrontés au réel.
> Hors temps/Out of time Thierry Müller aura bien été
inspiré au moment de titrer son nouvel opus, lequel sort…
24 ans après le second. Hors temps s'immisce donc dans
les limbes de la musique industrielle fin seventies, post Kratfwerk et
pré Legendary Pink Dots, groupe britannique légendaire[…]
Si aujourd'hui la trame reste la même chez Thierry Müller,
le son a évolué au diapason de la technologie. Hors
du temps certes, mais sûrement pas passéiste ou neurasthénique,
ce nouvel album doit dépasser l'audience des "corbacs"
et autres gothiques de toutes époques. Epurées et variées,
ses nappes de synthétiseurs charrient des mélodies subtiles
à même de ravir tous les mélomanes. llitch laisse
également poindre les guitares, pour des moments plus agités
et nous montre ainsi La voie, dernier morceau de cet album vraiment
réjouissant et relaxant.
> Hors temps/Out of time Ilitch revient ! En effet, sous ce pseudonyme, Thierry
Müller a publié 3 opus (Periodikmindtrouble-1978,
10 suicides-1980, Polaroid-Roman-Photo-1985), tous excellents
et réédités sur le label Fractal. Il s'est donc remis
au travail pour notre plus grand plaisir. Loin d'être une simple
résurgence des années 80, cet album est remarquable de fraicheur
et d'inspiration : la musique tour à tour calme et tendue, sombre
ou mélancolique, ainsi que les textes forts de Philippe Doray,
Thierry Müller et Ben Ritter forment un ensemble direct touchant
allant à l'essentiel.
> Hors temps/Out of time Dies war eines der kryptischsten Musikprojekte der
späten siebziger und frühen achtziger Jahre. Nach über
zwei Dekaden Pause erscheint nun ein neues Album.
> Hors temps/Out of time 24 years. It has been 24 years since Ilitch’s
previous solo album. Following the critical acclaim of Fractal’s
reissue of his two solo LPs (and his 1985 project Ruth), Thierry Müller
(Ilitch’s mastermind) went back to work and, five years later, gave
birth to Hors Temps/Out of Time, a satisfying - if slightly outstretched
- slab of electropop truly out of time. Ilitch tackles modern technology
with talent, but his music still relies on elements taken from the heydays
of Krautrock and Cold Wave, along with a special something that recalls
The Legendary Pink Dots or Nurse With Wound. Electronics hold a key place
in the arrangements, but Ilitch also put electric guitar, drums and samples
to good use, creating stimulating sound environments that don’t
get in the way of his simple intellectual songs. His main collaborators
are percussionist Hervé Zénouda, guitarist Laurent Saïet
and keyboardist Guillaume Loizillon music-wise, engineer Patrick Müller
recording-wise, and poet Phillipe Doray lyrics-wise. Highlights include
the cold and very 80s-sounding “G3 Quand Investing G4” (pure
electro pop) and “Hard (It’s Too...)”, featuring Saïet’s
scorching rhythm guitar. Without being totally subpar, part two of the
diptych “Two Angels” features two little ideas in too much
time (22 minutes). It’s hypnotic, Krautrock-like rhythm captures
the attention at first, but fails to keep it from shaking free. On the
other hand, the 13-minute remix of “Still in Trouble” tucked
at the end of track nine provides another highlight, thanks mostly to
its insisting pulse and a thrilling barrage of noise. Against most odds,
Hors Temps/Out of Time is a sharp, relevant, bold, and downright good
opus. Let’s just hope Ilitch doesn’t let us wait another 24
years before he starts working on a follow-up.
> Hors temps/Out of time C'est tres magnifique!!! |