Jean-François Laporte: Mantra: reviews

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Mantra
CD3 out of print
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Review

by Jeremy Keens in Ampersand Etcetera #2001_18 (Australia), November 1, 2001 |459_3|

“Highly recommended member of an essential series.”

Metamkine seem to have returned to normal scheduling — the last one we looked at was in 2001_04. To recap for the uninitiated, the collection “Cinema pour l’oreille” is a growing set of 3” cds which engage with the diverse electroacoustic, musique concrète genre. The format allows for a focused presentation. There was a slight production hiatus after 25, but with a new cover format and a retrospective sampling (Mantra have returned as strong as ever.

And this is a great release — as the name suggests it is a more stable piece: it is 22 minutes of engrossing minimal drone based sound. It ends with a bell briefly peeling, which suggests that the previous sounds are possibly processed ringing. However what we hear after a brief spooky opening that sounds like a lift and then a gathering of buzzing sounds that build into a strong deep drone. It has a sense of pulsing beat in it, and swirling around are lighter, higher overtones and other puttering drones.

This forms the base for the whole piece, with subtle and more obvious changes throughout — at around 10 minutes it settles into a deep and mysterious mood, or at 15 when a rapid ringing joins in and continues to the fade: while there is a continual weaving of elements between figure and ground. I have listened to this at least 6 times since picking it up a couple of days ago, and am constantly drawn into its slow unfolding and refolding. The sound palette is restricted but the pace and mod are hypnotic: as you would expect from a mantra. Highly recommended member of an essential series.


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Review

by Carlos M Pozo in Angbase (USA), January 1, 2001 |363_2|

“…gorgeous oscillating, stuttering, burping noise that, through it’s simplicity, opens up a limitless world of mind-expanding possibilities.”

Since those earliest Mego records were they messed around with refrigerator sounds I’ve been spending a lot of time with my head next to the side of my fridge. That metallic humming sound is unstoppable - a deep gurgling drone I’ve always looked for in the best of Pan sonic, Hafler Trio, Stilluppsteypa and whoever else manages to get a similar sound on tape. Well I can stop searching now. This is it. This is the “drone” I’ve been looking for all my life. Mantra goes beyond Mego’s fridge sounds - forget the refrigerator, Laporte kicks it up several notches by going after the sound of a cooling compressor at a whole goddamned hockey rink. Twenty-two minutes of gorgeous oscillating, stuttering, burping noise that, through it’s simplicity, opens up a limitless world of mind-expanding possibilities. After reaching a peak early on in its duration and staying there for almost twenty minutes, the piece is topped off by an insane metallic rattling that brings it all home with a resonating hum as the machinery is shut down to silence. As soon as it is over I play it again. And again.


Jean-François Laporte: Mantra: reviews

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