Valzi – I Nvr 3 U (2009)

Petite & Jolie

• Chiptune 
• Electronic music 
• Indietronica 
• 8-bit 
• Glitch pop 
• Alternative 
• Bitpop 
• Chipbreak 
• Crossover 
• Avant-pop
• Electro pop 
• Robot pop 
• Electro pop 
• Nintendocore 
• Tracker music

Comment: I assume glitch pop as a genre comes partly out of the tracker/chiptune/bitpop scene. I have always loved chiptune music even though I did not it consciously or being aware of the genre which started sometime in the 80s. Because the first playing consoles of mine were yellow cartridge-based, mostly Chinese productions. Milk & Nuts, Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lode Runner, Getaway, Konami NHL 1988, Tank, The Wild Gunman etc were the games I had spent very many hours within. I can vividly remember for a game called Bomberman which sounded as if an outtake from one of the songs by Throbbing Gristle. The rhythmic 8-bit lines within it would break to many sonic shards yet it would incessantly be trudging over the game scene. For sure, the genre was not the very first electronic music created ever (as we know very well thanks to the Sub Rosa`s compilations of noise and electronic music the first electronic and noise compositions were already peoduced in the second part of the 19<sup>th</sup> century). It was not the very first computer music ever created as well. However, I like the consistency and strength of people who follow the genre by promoting and creating by themselves. Valzi`s 11-track issue being released on Petite & Jolie is a great issue crossing at an interface of chiptune and indie electronic music. Its poppy yet elegantly exaggerated tendencies to come to the surface permanently used to provide it even a more cutting-edge shape. That's cool. It is a sort of electro pop but it chimes as if coming from a broken, abandoned computer world. Unfortunately it somehow resonates with sad news from the recent world where even celebrities do commit suicide. The soul of a broken human being can be compared with the one of a broken computer. The biggest problem in the nowadays world is that a human being is exercised to be machines but the soul within the creature is still not be ready to step to the next, robot level. The only way is to set robots free but the biggest consequence of it may be the man-machines will eradicate the human being as a species. Given that it is an example of chiptune music you should not take the adjective “exaggerated” seriously because within the genre there cannot be any of the elements exaggerated in the strict sense of the word. All is finely integrated and exposed to the ears of a hungry music fan. And the cover print is really cool by creating a psychedelic pathway to arrive at your positive self. Take it, remember it.

V.A Christmas (2009)

Petite & Jolie

• Indietronica 
• Art pop 
• Electronic pop 
• Conceptual 
• Improvised music 
• IDM 
• Folktronica 
• Drone pop 
• Organcore

Comment: today is the 29th of April, and it is a date quite far away from the Christmas but I have to admit it is one of the best Xmas compilations I have ever heard. It does not include traditional Christmas songs but new ones. Most of the songs used to chime and soar based on sublime electronic progressions and delicate chord changes, mutant frequencies and crispy beats. Additionally one can find out more technical and maybe less emotion arousing tracks either, for instance, two gentle improvised tracks by Makunouchi Bento. I guess it could be exciting, and at times ennobling and relaxing by listening to the whole while sitting with your family around the table. The compilation is a part of the discography of Petite & Jolie by including 13 tracks in total. There are up such artists as Makunouchi Bento, Julian Winter, Relative_q, QuasiMojo, Pam, Kaneel, Valzi and Blot, Windy Hill Mill, and The_Zwicker_Tone.

Pam – Ah! (2008)

Petite&Jolie

• Indietronica 
• Electronic music 
• Primitronica 
• Alternative 
• Lo-fi
• Toytronica 
• Ambient pop 
• IDM

Comment: one will have a glass of water, one will have a glass of wine, one will have a half hour with Pam's Ah! These are ways of how to cope with daily trivialities, and even worse, with banalities. These 8 tracks are something outside of your usual listening experience because it is mostly composed of loose rusty bits, clockwork-alike erroneous bits and crackling noises as if coming from an abandoned toy factory. You could feel huge sadness while comparing the past and the miserable present status of the building. Furthermore, because it was issued under Petite&Jolie in 2008 it arouses bittersweet memories and partly because of that connecting the past with the present. The rest of the sonic appearance is remarkably more tranquil and bound to silence. It is also an example of the fact the time does have tendency to pass by extremely fast. In this case there is no need to invent the time machine to transport back in time. Just take a rest and listen to it.

Kaneel – La Pink Note (2008)

Petite & Jolie

Bandcamp

• IDM 
• Synth-pop 
• Electronic music 
• Indietronica 
• Alternative 
• Glitch pop

Comment: by listening to this 6-notch release it is like entering into a time shuttle and journeying back in time for 18 years. Back to the era of which was predominated by such labels as Mille Plateaux, and Morr Music which were being platforms for releasing indie-drenched electronic music (otherwise it would loosely be named acidic artsy synth-pop). Later on, there were netlabels which started to appear for such kind of music (the likes of Aerotone, Poni Republic, Error! Lo-Fi, 12rec, Petite & Jolie, No-Source). The release comes out of the umbrella of Petite & Jolie by providing crispy glitch-imbued rhythmic sections to back up subtle melodic progressions, and vice versa. Emotionally it flips in and out on a border of laid back atmosphere and intensified, even obsessive insight. Indeed, it brings playful dynamics and propulsive tension into the blend. The final part Au Revoir Pt 2 imitates adeptly Parisian street music melodies thereafter putting them under an algorithmic application of electronic music for to provide a proper farewell. That's the point of it. In a word, it a nice and nostalgic contemplation for a contemporary listener. So let's crank up the engine and embark on the journey.

[Artistid] Julian Winter

Julian Winter
Myspace
Lastfm

Julian Winter L`art pour l`art (Petite&Jolie)

Julian Winter`i debüütalbumil on palju erinevaid rõhuasetusi - seda albumit on nimetatud ka lelufolgiks/toy-folk/, kuna 23-aastane saksmann kasutab lisaks elektrikitarrile, elektribassile ning süntesaatorile ka tavalisi majapidamisasju. Muidugi, lelufolk-toytronica ei ole tegelikult mingi uus nähe - see on üks osa mandri-Euroopa indietronica liikumisest, mille juured ulatuvad 90ndate keskpaika. Toonased Weilheim`i ning Düsseldorf-Köln`i eksperimentaalroki/elektroonika skeened olid teenäitajad seesuguste puntide kehastuses nagu Lali Puna, The Notwist,To Rococo Rot/Tarwater, Pluramon. Nagu ka paljude teiste artistide kehastuses, kes põhiliselt oli koondunud Morr Music leibli ümber. Muidugi, nende juured omakorda ulatusid 70ndate Lääne-Saksa eksperimentaalroki skeenesse- ennekõike Kraftwerk`i, Cluster`i, Harmonia ning Neu! juurde. Ligemale 10 aastat hiljem on tulemuseks see, et indietronica on muutunud Kesk-Euroopa indie sünonüümiks. Saksamaa ning Beneluxi maade underground kubiseb sellest. Plaadifirmad Aerotone, Petite&Jolie, Laridae, Tripostal jpt tegelevad seesuguse muusika levitamisega.

Julian Winter on põhimõtteline mees - ta on veendunud, et produktsioon madaldab muusika loomust. Seetõttu ta on loobunud helide kompresseerimisest - kõik helid on salvestatud eraldi ning seejärel kokku miksitud. Aga ta teeb ka oma tööd hästi - vajadust masinate järele ei olegi. Tõsi, ma ei suuda majapidamistarvete hääli esimestel kuulamiskordadel tuvastada - aga see ei ole ka oluline. See, kas rütmihelid on loodud digitaalsete trummipatjadega või raamatu põrandale kukkumise mürtsust, ei oma kuulajale olulist tähendust. Mängulisus võib tähendada ainult loojale endale. Kunagi Matthew Herbert rääkis ajakirjas "Wire", et ta kasutab intellektuaalseid teoseid helide loomiseks. Eks proovime järele, kas "Sissejuhatus metafüüsikasse" teeb lehitsemisel või maha pillamisel "teistsugust" heli kui mõni romaaniköide või lasteraamat... .

"L`art pour l`art" ei ole stiililiselt uuenduslik album - aga ma ei eeldagi tegijalt seda. Oluline on oleviku hetk - luua monumentum - ning Julian Winter on tasemel. Imeilusad paisuvad sündiorkestratsioonid loovad tüüne miljöö - pastelsed helid sillerdavad kuulaja ümber. Ka kitarridel ning rütmistruktuuridel on siin omad hetked. Albumi tipphetk on kõige lõpus - loos Jasnost. Vene keeles - vigases vene keeles. Näib, et saksa tšikk püüab oma venelasest (eks)kallimale selgitada, et nendevaheline suhe on finito ning põdeda ei ole enam mõtet.

See sisuliselt põlve otsas nikerdatud meistriteos tekitab minus igatsust - sedasorti igatsust, mida tundes otsin konkreetse albumi üles, vajutan REPEAT ALL sisse ning jään kauaks kuulatama. Üks ilusatest olemisviisidest.

Kuula albumit siit

8.6