| << |
electroradio
Nicolas Bernier (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1977) • résidence: Montréal, Québec • compositeur — membre de: Milliseconde topographie
Articles sur Nicolas BernierLes critiques de disques se retrouvent dans les pages de chaque disque (via l’onglet «discographie»).
haut
Soundcheck Reviewpar Sam Davies in The Wire #289 (RU), 1 mars 2008 |6415|
«But this is the kind of record that shows abrasion and discord don’t have a monopoly
on the sonically interesting or challenging.»
After ten seconds of a pitter-pattering loop, opener Harmattan blossoms into warm, bustling groove of fingerpicked guitar, slide, and a cluster of little chimes and tones. Rather like Jim O’Rourke’s songwriter albums for Drag City, or much of The Sea and Cake’s output, its inoffensiveness, its ambient warmth, could be easily misread as lack of adventure or blandness. But this is the kind of record that shows abrasion and discord don’t have a monopoly on the sonically interesting or challenging. Simon Trottier, an improvising folk guitarist from Montréal, provides most of the melodic direction here, taking unfussy figures and shifting them into new shapes whenever the need arises. Nicolas Bernier marshals a miniature orchestra in accompaniment: kalimba, glockenspiel, toy piano, cymbals, contact mic, laptop. Bernier’s manipulations come to the fore on the album’s centerpiece, the 12-minute, three part title track. Trottier’s guitars are set adrift amongst field recordings and ebbing, flowing sonic clutter to create a mournful Mari Celeste of a piece, which eventually finds a resolution in a mass of multiplied and overlaid guitar. The judicious splicing of lyrical folk guitar with digital musique concrète pays off throughout, and Objet abandonné en mer could almost be imagined as one direction John Fahey might have taking had he got into laptops as well as turntable manipulation.
haut
Ni de l’art sonore, ni de la musiquepar Charles Prémont in Le Lien multimédia (Québec), 8 février 2008 |6406|
«Entre compositions électroniques, vidéos et design, il tente de rejoindre plusieurs
publics.»
Nicolas Bernier est un artiste multidisciplinaire. Entre compositions électroniques, vidéos et design, il tente de rejoindre plusieurs publics. Son duo, Milliseconde topographie, qu’il complète avec Delphine Measroch, joue sur la frontière entre art traditionnel et numérique. «Il y en a qui font de l’art sonore, d’autre de la musique. Nous, on ne fait ni l’un ni l’autre, alors on ne «fit» jamais nulle part», explique, en guise d’introduction, Delphine Measroch. Le «problème identitaire» de Milliseconde topographie est bien réel. «Les critiques ne savent plus où donner de la tête. On envoie nos DVD à des critiques de musique, ils disent que c’est de l’art visuel, on l’envoie aux critiques d’art, ils pensent que nous sommes des musiciens», déplore, impuissant, Nicolas. Tirer dans tous les sens, voilà ce qui l’allume. «J’ai besoin d’explorer plusieurs avenues pour être satisfait. C’est ce qui a bien marché avec Delphine: elle s’intéressait aussi beaucoup à d’autres formes d’expressions que simplement la musique. Dans le milieu, c’est très difficile de trouver son «âme soeur» artistique», avoue-t-il. La technique utilisée par Milliseconde topographie pour créer leurs sons traduit parfaitement leur goût du compromis. En utilisant le logiciel Max/MSP, Delphine et Nicolas enregistrent des instruments conventionnels, mais aussi des bruits de jouets, de vieilles caméras Super8 et des sons ambiants, pour ensuite y ajouter des effets. «Ce qui est super, c’est que l’on peut enregistrer la même note sur dix pistes différentes et mettre un effet sur chacune d’elle. Ça donne un son «électro», mais on s’arrange toujours pour que l’on reconnaisse la facture de l’instrument organique. On veut transcender la froideur de l’art numérique», explique Nicolas. Le duo a vu le jour en 2004, peu après que Delphine et Nicolas se soient rencontrés sur les bancs d’école. Les deux étudiaient dans le programme de composition électroacoustique de la faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal. «Je décrirais Milliseconde comme de «l’électro-subtile», c’est quelque chose d’ambiant où l’on reconnaît des sons de plusieurs provenances», explique Nicolas en riant. Mettant à profit leur goût pour le visuel, ils ont produit un DVD et même des «affiches à disques». C’était en 2005. «C’était un projet que l’on a fait avec un ami artiste, Urban 9. Nous avions fait plusieurs affiches en sérigraphie et nous y avions collé des enveloppes avec un disque à l’intérieur. Urban partait le soir et les affichait un peu partout en ville. Les passants pouvaient ainsi se procurer notre musique», raconte Nicolas. D’autres projets Nicolas n’a pas que Milliseconde topographie comme projet. Pour vivre, il compose, principalement pour le théâtre et la danse. «Je travaille présentement pour la compagnie de danse O Vertigo. Avant, j’ai fait Ubu et Othello à l’usine C», assure-t-il. Un autre de ses essais est un duo électro-folk qu’il complète avec Simon Trottier. «C’était écrit dans le ciel qu’on ferait de la musique ensemble. On a fini par trouver deux jours où l’on était libre, on s’est enfermé dans un studio et on a produit un album», raconte Nicolas sous les rires de Simon. Ils seront du «Mois Multi» à Québec, un festival d’art multidisciplinaire qui se déroule du 13 au 24 février prochain. Les deux compères s’apprêtaient à livrer une performance lorsque le Lien les a rencontrés. Heure de tombée oblige, il fut impossible de rester pour livrer une critique en bonne et due forme. Vous pouvez vous faire votre propre idée en allant sur le site de 12rec, l’étiquette net qui les a pris sous leurs ailes.
haut
trans_canada Festival: Trends in Acousmatics and Soundscapespar Wibke Bantelmann in Computer Music Journal #29:3 (ÉU), 1 septembre 2005 |6167|
«… it was fascinating to take in over a few days such a wide range of styles and
personalities…»
The trans_canada festival of electroacoustic music by Canadian composers at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM) in Karlsruhe was certainly no everyday experience for the interested German public. A festival of acousmatic music—and acousmatic music only—is quite unusal. The German avant-garde music scene is still uncommonly lively, but most composers prefer either instrumental music (with electroacoustic elements) or multimedia works. The idea of invisible music seems not to touch the German musical sensibility. Despite this, 460 visitors found their way to ZKM. During 10-13 February, 2005, they experienced a four day-long plunge into the Canadian way of composing, and had the opportunity to learn more about the “Canadian Example” as Daniel Teruggi of the Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM) called it in his paper. According to Mr. Teruggi, the liveliness and outstanding quality of the electroacoustic music scene in Canada is the result of good composers but also of academically sound research and training and a wide range of philosophical approaches to music. The opening of the festival showed another aspect of this “example.” Paul Dubois, the present Canadian ambassador to Germany, came from Berlin to open the festival—cultural policy in Canada apparently knows and supports the electroacoustic scene intensely, quite contrary to German policy. Francis Dhomont, Robert Normandeau, Gilles Gobeil, Nicolas Bernier, Hildegard Westerkamp, and Louis Dufort took part in the festival and presented works (Ned Bouhalassa was invited but for health reasons was unable to attend). Nine pieces were commissioned by ZKM and received their world premieres at the festival. trans_canada not only offered an occasion for Germans to learn about Canadian acousmatic music; apparently, it also connected the Canadians themselves. “It seems we had to come to the ZKM in Karlsruhe to get together,” said Robert Normandeau at the last concert. And so, the Francophone composers from the east, rooted in the Paris school of “musique concrète,” met the Anglophone soundscape composers from the West coast. “I was very much surprised when Francis Dhomont told us that he does not like the original sounds to be changed so much that you can’t distinguish their origin any longer,” said Hildegard Westerkamp. “We are not as far away from each other as I used to think.” This proved to be quite true, as could be heard. The parallels between their new works, Brief an den Vater by Mr. Dhomont and Für Dich—For You by Ms. Westerkamp, were striking. Both compositions were not only inspired by but also formally based on literature and the structure, the sound, the rhythm of the text. The work by Mr. Dhomont, with the scraping of a pen as a sort of leitmotif, was no less abstract than Ms. Westerkamp’s music with its sea-sounds (gulls, wind, waves). And her fantasy land called “home” is not more “real” then his world of inner struggle. Both works showed an extreme sensitivity for subtle, delicate sounds which were spread in many layers, throwing shadows of sound, and constantly and slowly developing into new shapes and shades. The differences between the works seemed after all (to this listener at least) to be ones of personal style and expression than of basic principles. Another new work with words came from Darren Copeland. I don’t want to be inside me anymore was quite singular in the festival due to its definite focus on content, on a “real story.” This fact gave the piece a strong dramatic quality leaving hardly any room for imagination. The intention of the sounds to build around the absorbing, sometimes even vexatious, words seemed to force the listeners to constantly keep their full attention on the meaning of the text. It was a deeply impressive piece, even if it was to a certain extent more dramatic than musical. (Although other listeners might experience it differently if they do not understand the German text.) In a way, this work resembles a compositional style of a very different kind, that of Barry Truax. The connection may be found in the very sense of reality in both composer’s works: the reality of the feeling of isolation on one hand, and the reality of an existing landscape (streams, peaks, caves) on the other. Even Gilles Gobeil’s magnificent medieval drama, Ombres, espaces, silences…, followed roughly this direction. This piece was not about feeling or landscape, it was about reality, too, in this case the reality of history, only by far more sublime, sensitive, and imaginative. Not “cinema for the ear” but a “novel for the ear” (something like The Name of the Rose?)! However, the form and structure of this work is by far more of a narrative nature than strictly abstract-musical. It was Robert Normandeau and the youngsters of trans_canada who were most abstract, and therefore the strongest advocates of a true “invisible music.” It was not only not to be seen, it was not to be imagined. There was nothing real, nothing you could get hold of, it was more or less a complete deconstruction of sounds, ideas, narration. They appeared not to start from any landscape, be it imagined or real, inside or outside the head; they started from ideas, ideas of sound, ideas of form. Even the antique Writing Machine in the work by Nicolas Bernier was more a (slightly exotic) sound than a sense, more a historical reminiscence than an element of form. Coincidence shows her unaccountable face, experiment and surprise follow. You could hear experience and mastery in the work of Robert Normandeau, of course. You were always sure that it was him who played with coincidence and not the other way round. His world premiere, ZedKejeM, was highly dynamic, with the energy and rhythm from a dancefloor, but still showed the deepness, density, and versatility of a deep-thinking organizer of energy and fantasy. Every single sound seemed well calculated, the effects carefully set. The music of his younger colleagues, Mr. Bernier and Louis Dufort, was more spontaneous, wandering dreamily through all the possibilities of technique and sound, to find out what would happen. Mr. Dufort spread a richness and variety of colors in a free, open structure that simply followed the beauty of the sounds created. In contrast to that, Mr. Bernier followed an intellectual plan, he set his rules and let them work. One always sensed the will behind the music, one always tried to follow and understand the experiment instead of just enjoying the result. But, on the other hand, this method produced a certain strong energy in the work. This composer had the power to raise and hold the intellectual interest of the listener. All in all, it was fascinating to take in over a few days such a wide range of styles and personalities, and to learn a little about their methods. trans_canada also provided the chance to meet the composers in person. Each of them delivered a paper about their work. They could only give a rough survey, of course, in a 45-min talk. Rather than concentrating on techniques or software, most composers just tried to acquaint their colleagues and the small number of other interested people with their sources of inspiration, their opinions, their philosophy. Remarkable was the clear delivery of all the composers and the relaxed atmosphere of these sessions. There seemed to be no need to impress anyone, and not so much need to discuss, let alone debate. Everybody was open-minded and respected the others, as if trying to learn and understand, not to question fundamentals. It was like a good talk between colleagues and friends. Mr. Normandeau provided insight into his large archive of sound and his permanent work on the human voice. Mr. Gobeil expressed his preference for the sound of exotic instruments (like the Daxophone) and his dislike of techno music (inducing him to write a techno-piece). Mr. Dhomont talked about the relation between accident and control in his work, marking his own position somewhere between Pierre Boulez and John Cage: “Boulez would say: ‘This is incidental, throw it away;’ Cage would say: ‘This is incidental, so I take it;’ I say: ‘Look, there is an interesting incident, but should I take it?’” He also used the opportunity to call for more polyphony in electroacoustic music instead of the exclusive concentration on creating the most original, most exotic new sound: “In an orchestra, you mix different instruments, but the single instrument becomes not less beautiful.” The exceptional environment of ZKM supported this beautiful richness of sounds and the inventiveness of the composers immensely. The two concert venues offer exquisite acoustics. They were equipped with 70 concert loudspeakers, placed in either circles or in a kind of “acousmonium surround environment.” This, in conjunction with the timbral and spatial qualities of the works, created an extraordinary musical experience.
haut
Étoiles montantespar Danielle Dubois in La Scena Musicale #10:6 (Québec), 16 mars 2005 |6316|
«Moins de cinq ans plus tard, il ne cesse de décrocher prix et stages un peu partout.»
[…] Nicolas Bernier, compositeur (musique électroacoustique); âge: 27; ville: Ottawa, ON; école: Université de Montréal; professeurs: Robert Normandeau, Jean Piché. Compositeurs préférés: Maurizio Martusciello (Italie), Robert Normandeau, Louis Dufort, Gilles Gobeil, Francis Dhomont, Stéphane Roy, Martin Bédard (D’Amours métal), Luc Ferrari, Serge Gainsbourg. «À chaque fois que je gagne un prix ou qu’une de mes pièces est sélectionnée pour un festival, je suis bouche bée», raconte Nicolas Bernier, qui a d’abord essayé d’approfondir ses connaissances sur la musique électroacoustique en lisant des traités. Moins de cinq ans plus tard, il ne cesse de décrocher prix et stages un peu partout. Son approche de la composition est simple: «Je crois que le meilleur sort quand la composition se fait rapidement et intensément». Il affirme fonctionner d’abord avec ses oreilles; le travail intellectuel vient plus tard. Nicolas est reconnaissant envers ses amis, qui lui font découvrir des musiques qui ne sont pas étudiées à l’université. Bien que certains d’entre eux considèrent sa musique abstraite, ils sont capables de l’apprécier. De l’enthousiasme, Nicolas en a en réserve, pour une carrière qu’il entrevoit comme hétéroclite. «Je veux toucher à tout tout tout! Musique acousmatique, musique électro plus populaire, installation, vidéo, développement d’outils, etc.» À plus long terme, Nicolas souhaite développer la scène culturelle dans sa région natale de l’Outaouais. Son prochain projet: une installation avec haut-parleurs et vidéo sous l’eau, dans une piscine. «Un projet très excitant, qui nous permettra de renouveler nos maillots de bain!», affirme-t-il. […] electrocd.com Nicolas Bernier: presse |
>> | |||||
| << | >> |