The Sand – Deck Honey (2005)

Free Sample Zone

• Plunderphonics 
• Alternative dance 
• Sound collage 
• Mashup 
• Sampledelic 
• Electronic music

Comment: it is a real pleasure to be back by one of the reincarnations of Chenard Walcker who is here to exploit the voice of Helen Merrill and her album A Shade Of Difference (1968) and mingle it with rough yet funky electronic beats, propulsive brass sections, and Motown-led male voices. In truth, a theme called My Funny Valentine has been one of the most well-known themes worldwide for years being created by Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart in 1937. Yeah, I am sure you will get your rocks off on that handful of tracks. Of course, similarly to a very huge part of his other issues the release is a part of his own imprint Free Sample Zone (some albums or tracks are related to such imprints as WM Recordings, Comfort Stand Recordings, and Laboratoire Moderne). In a word, look for a Valentine. For example, yesterday I looked at My Bloody Valentine.

The Walcker Crew – Emergency Exits (2006)

Free Sample Zone

• Sampledelic 
• Alternative dance 
• Electronic pop 
• Funk 
• Breaks 
• Plunderphonics 
• Dada music

Comment: yeah, this album is strongly recommended to play by emergency cases like airplane crash, hijacking etc. Hopefully the download rate at Archive.org does not correlate with actual incidents though. On the other side, it is fun to imagine while being hijacked by someone you would tell him/her please let me listen to this set. Of course, it could probably water down the perpetrators or...make them even more angry. Similarly to Chenard Walcker's solo efforts it is a dynamic, dance-induced mix of funk, psychedelia, dada music, world fusion. Having no idea is it either an extended team or just another individual embodiment by Chenard Walcker, but it is of a secondary importance though. However, I could identify Chenard Walcker with the protagonist in HP Lovecraft's classy tale The Music of Erich Zann because the French samplecore juggernaut communicates other artists' oeuvre and souls into a thick, hellish groove. Furthermore, it is even more relevant with regard to the intention of this album. All in all, his music used to fascinate and it is the most important thing indeed.

The Walcker Crew – OK Robot (2005)

Free Sample Zone

Archive.org

• Sampledelic 
• Plunderphonics 
• Electronic music 
• Psychedelic 
• Afrofunk 
• Alternative dance 
•  World music 
• Afrofuturism 
• Crossover 
• Mood music 
• Easy listening

Comment: today is the birthday of Morrissey, the godfather of indie pop/rock. The icon's band The Smiths has saved my life for many times and will be doing in that way. Indeed, I have listened to The Smiths today and of course I did drink 100 grams to bless Moz and his righteous way. Indeed, I am aware of those little worms up today who have tried to accuse him to be a racist, islamophobic and so on. Screw you, you blind hypocrites. Moz is one of those few ones who deserves the status of saint in these days. In the meantime I have listened to a French samplecore/plunderphonic artist, Chenard Walcker who had towered higher than his destiny and inspite of grave disease in the first half of the 00s. Since the middle of the 00s he has been disabled to the extent not able to produce music anymore but before it he had issued a loads of albums under his own Free Sample Zone and some albums on such imprints as WM Recordings, and Comfort Stand Recordings. So his legacy is proudly up there and one should find the way to go there and honour his doings. For sure, he has been one of the symbols of the webaudio world and will stay in that status for future as well. His concept is a bit tricky, and undermining because all of that is based on the oeuvre of other artist's sound. Yet I am quite sure no one of us is able to track down the original authors of this 9-notch outing. In fact, it is a large scale of styles, rhythms and sounds. Given that it can be admitted he turned it into a state of art. I like his psychedelic Afrofunk approach, I have always liked it very much, I like his slightly clumsy rhythmic patterns which slyly work like spiderwebs to catch a listener. You can take part in moody, almost gravity-free snippets by giving you the feel. All is fine, all is consistently bound to create the drive and dreams inside you.

Chenard Walcker – The Pusher (2006)

Free Sample Zone

/Funk, World fusion, Soul, Afrofuturism, Psychedelic, Cut and paste, Art rock, Delta blues, Plunderphonics, Sound collage, Sampledelic, Experimentalism/

Comment: the French surrealist Chenard Walcker started off his music career in the beginning of the 00s additionally his visual collage projects. He had been very prolific during the next 4-5 years in producing music before he fell in diabetic coma. Most of his sound is produced under his own Free Sample Zone though some of them are being parts of the discography of WM Recordings, Comfort Stand, and Laboratoire Moderne. Musically he continued to solidify the tradition of plunderphonics and sample-based music (John Oswald, People Like Us, Pogo, Cagey House, Christian Marclay, Cassetteboy, The Evolution Music Committee, Ergo Phizmiz etc). The Pusher is built up on the black music tradition (mostly US-based but also suggestive of some Africa centred futuristic progressions) but also adding some volatile art/prog music whiffs and ecclesiastic Catholic singing into his melting pot. The result is seamlessly mesmeric, persuasive and may be introducing to discover the rest legacy of the French juggernaut.

Chenard Walcker - Heartbreak Pain Cafe (2005)

Free Sample Zone

9.0

/Breaks, DIY, Plunderphonics, Sampledelic, Cut and paste, Psychedelic, Conceptual, Sound collage, Experimentalism/

Comment: firstly, I am being very far from the opinion this case of a handful of tracks is somehow lame or even the lamest thing (as one reviewer suggested at it). For instance, think of DJ Shadow`s compositions (including his critically acclaimed debut album) which are also made up in the same vein - composed of other musicians` samples, though, the result is craftily channelized and accomplished. This time the prolific Frenchman and copyleft activist meets the sounds of Captain Beefheart, a psychedelic/avant-blues legend`s music, however, giving it his own touch and outlook. The release (as the most portion of his other ones) is issued on Free Sample Zone, Walcker`s own label

Chenard Walcker - Haut Le Coeur (2002/2006)

Free Sample Zone

9.2

/Mash-up, Plunderphonics, Avant-garde, Crossover, Sound collage, Samplecore, Sampledelic, Cut and paste/

Comment: Chenard Walcker was a French artist, thinker, visionary and fervent protagonist for the copyleft movement. He had basically been active in the first half of 00`s before he was diagnosed with the serious health condition. More detailly, he created a blog named Free Sample Zone and having had approximately 30-40 albums on his own account. In fact, a true legend in any cases and one heroes of mine.

This album contains of 18 tracks within 71 minutes, lifting its core from the Gregorian chants, old school soul music, rumbling pace shufflings, film score samples, easy listening, hip-hop, psychedelia, near-ethnic/ethno-pop and much more to be chopped up and re-conceptualized into a new form. Actually any of his tracks would freely be a subject for the quizzes with the purpose to figure out all of those hints coming forth from the concrete track.

[Vana ning oluline] Chenard Walcker Houseplant (Free Sample Zone)

See arvustus oleks pidanud märksa varem välja tulema...

Nähtavasti Chenard Walcker`i nimi ei ütle enamusele midagi vaatamata tõigale, et prantslase diskograafia jääb 30-40 albumi vahele (seda kõigest 4 aasta jooksul!). Ta pani aluse leiblile Free Sample Zone. Nagu sellest välja lugeda võib, olid sämplid tema muusikas olulisemal kohal kui enamusel muusikutest. Tõepoolest, teda võib õigusega lugeda plunderphonics/sound collage/ cut and paste-liikumise üheks järjepidevaimaks ning huvitavaimaks esindajaks viimase dekaadi jooksul. Mida kõike ei või tema muusikas kuulda – jazz`i ning funk`i erinevad standardid, latiino- ning kaasaegsed linnarütmid, soul, bossa nova, bhangra, disco house, šansoon, torupillihelid, gregoriaani laulud, Bollywood`i skeene. Tuntud helikätkeid jookseb tema muusikast üksjagu läbi. Teisalt oli ta üks esimesi vaba muusika kontseptsiooni juurutajaid. Tema tegevuse ideoloogiliseks lähtekohaks oli, et varasemast muusikast sämplite kogumine ning nende rekontekstualiseerimine on eetiline tegevus ning sisaldab eneses uut autorlust. Tõsi ka - tegelikult on ju see recycling-tegevus! Lõviosa tema muusikast ongi reliisitud Free Sample Zone all (paar albumit on tulnud ka WM Recordings`i ning Comfort Stand`i alt välja). Muideks, FSZ all on oma muusikat üllitanud ka tuntud Iisraeli kirjanik, näitleja, poeet, muusik ning vabamõtleja Roy “Chicky” Arad, kes esindas Iisraeli 2000. aasta Eurovisiooni lauluvõistlusel poliitiliselt skandaalse ansambli Ping Pong koosseisus, lehvitades esinemise ajal Süüria lippu. Nende lugu Sameach oli muuseas NME võitjasoosik. Tegelikkuses jäädi tagantpoolt teiseks... . Arad`il on Walcker`iga mitu albumit kahasse tehtud. Ka FSZ diskograafia viimaseks albumiks jäänud, Iisraeli-Liibanoni (Hizbollah`i) konflikti vastustav “Streets (Haifa-Beirut)” oli “Chicky” ning Walckeri koostöö. Prantslasest rääkisin ma minevikuvormis seetõttu, et ta langes 2006. aastal diabeedi tagajärjel koomasse ning pärast seda on ta maailmast arusaamise viis võrreldav väikelapse omaga. Õnneks jättis ta endast korraliku pärandi maha. Varem või hiljem saavutab Walcker oma aujärje, pole kahtlustki!

Tegelikult ei olnuks vahet, millise albumi ma Chenard Walcker`i repertuaarist välja valinuks. Albumid esindavad ju üht ja sedasama sämplimoolokit. Käesoleva albumi 42 lugu annavad hea ülevaate Chenard Walcker`i loomismudeli(te)st. Sisulise poole pealt on kuulda Kesk-Ida etnorütme, psühhedeelset flöödi- ning kammermuusikat, musta funk`i ning rnb`d, afrofuturismi, tantsubiitidega vürtsitatud spoken word`i. Koguni kaks hümni on esindatud – smooth-jazz`ilik Prantsuse ning riffkitarridest kiiskav kiiretempoline USA oma.

Kuula albumit siit