Bécs

Fennesz’s solo output has taken a back seat to soundtrack and collaborative work since the release of his last album ‘Black Sea’ 6 years ago. He now returns with 'Bécs' on Mego records, home to his classic album ‘Endless Summer’.Fennesz has recruited Werner Dafeldecker, Martin Brandlmayr (Radian) and Tony Buck of the Necks for this album. The sparkling ‘Static Kings’ opens the album and you’re instantly moved by the luminescence in Fennesz’s music. ‘The Liar’ is much more robust, but rather than adopting just some dense industrial noise, this track has a softer flow of washes sprinkled over the noise. Its as forthright as Fennesz has been in a long time, and very effective. ‘Liminality’ may be the 10-minute centrepiece, seducing you with Fennesz’s signature blissed out guitar, but it didn’t hold my attention as well as i would have liked.‘Pallas Athene’ is a serene ambient piece full of guitar layering, synths and organs. The majestic ‘Becs’ simply floors me every time i listen to it, a full-on assault combining primal sounds to sophisticated layers of sounds and textures. How can such a stream of guitars sound this gorgeous? The moodier ’Sav’ doesnt try to compete with ‘Becs’, its a more sinister beast lurking in the crevices of your mind. ‘Paroles’ ends with some initial confusion, as Fennesz plays it straight with some beautiful acoustic guitar melodies, before static starts to corrode the track into what we expect from Fennesz.Its hard not to be biased by anything that Fennesz creates as i’m such a big fan of his music. Its a better album than ‘Black Sea’, which didn’t sustain my interest as much as this album. You won’t find anything new on this album thats different to Fennesz's previous output, though if this is your first album from Fennesz then you are in for a treat. The music is hard to fault, such is Fennesz’s skill. The title track ‘Becs’ is the best slice of noise i’ve heard since anything on Yellow Swans’ album 'Going Places’. Becs’ is probably his most versatile album, fully exposing Fennesz’s mastery of anything from ambient to noise and anything in-between. Welcome back Fennesz!Rating 9/10

Solid and serious (as ever)

Fennesz ha creato un altro disco meraviglioso.“Bécs” non è una copia “Endless summer” o quell’esperienza senza rete che è stato “Black sea”.Con un certo coraggio si potrebbe dire che “Bécs” sia un disco rmantico, persino pop. Sin dal tittolo, che ho letto essere “Vienna” in ungherese e da pronunciarsi “beetch”. La voce guida del disco è la chitarra, libera e senza particolari trattamenti.Davanti a questo album c’è poco da dire: uno dei dischi del 2014 e un altro tassello di uno dei musicisti più interessanti e profondi in circolazione.

オーストリアのグリッチ、ノイズ系アンビエント・プロデューサー兼ギタリスト、Christian Fennesz。2008年の"Black Sea"以来実に6年ぶりとなる新作は、かの名盤"Endless Summer"にコンセプト的な繋がりを持つ、実質的な「続編」だそうです。一体どんな出来なんだろうかとこちらもちょっと緊張しながら聞いていたせいか、最初は"Endless Summer"と少し違う点ばかりに目が行きました。まず音質。最近のMego関連作の例に漏れず、ノイズやギターの音像は極めて鮮明。ライブで聞いているんじゃないかというくらいの物凄いマスタリング。個人的にはあのちょっと靄のかかったようなサウンドも好きでしたが、慣れるとそんなに違和感は無いです。それを活かして、2曲目"The Liar"なんかでは音圧の高い暴力的なドローンも披露しています。もうひとつは即興的なライブ・ドラムと打楽器の導入。出番は少ないものの、"Liminality"や"Sav"なんかでは極めて重要な役割を演じたりもしています。しかし、本質的な部分はやはり"Endless Summer"そのもの。あたりの空間を占拠する猛烈なグリッチ・ノイズ、その狭間から漏れ出る感傷的なアコースティック・ギター、そして雄大な展開。終わらない夏を夢想させる全てが、再びここにあります。奇妙なモジュラーシンセとシンバル、アコギが交じり合う倒錯的な”Static Kings"、ノイズの大爆音の背後からクラシカルかつ壮大なメロディがわずかに聞こえる幻想的な表題曲"Becs"。ギター・ソロのような形から徐々に静謐なシンセとノイズが混じっていくクローザー"Paroles"等、聞いていると涙が出そうになる美しい曲ばかりですが、その中でも特に良かったのが、"Endless Summer"の魅力が凝縮されつつ、新しい要素も絶妙に取り入れた10分超の大作"Liminality"。轟々と鳴り響く甘く歪んだギターや、寄せては返すさざ波のようにローリングするドラム、次第にそれらを包み込んでいくノイズを聞いていると、夕日の水平線に沈んでいく情景が鮮明に浮かび上がっていきます。ノイズ・ミュージックがかつて無い勢いを保持しているここ10年間。今思えば、その契機のひとつは間違いなく"Endless Summer"でした。壮大でメランコリックな音響、そしてアコースティックとデジタルを共存させるFenneszのスタイルが、今や本当に多くのノイズ・ミュージシャンに息づいていることを改めて感じます。そんな現代のシーンの中で、"Endless Summer"の続編は一体どういうふうに聞こえるのか、正直不安も少なからずありましたが、Fenneszはその一見不可能にも思える仕事を見事にやり遂げました。このアルバムがFennesz自身にとっても、また彼のスタイルを真似てきたノイズ・ミュージシャン達にとっても一つ区切りとなって、この先にあるまだ誰も見たことのない領域に足を踏みだそうとする人が出てくるかもしれない。そんな予感すらさせる作品です。

グッドです。ノイズ素晴らしいです。美しくメロディアスな癒し系のノイズ。何なんだろう？、この落ち着いていてリラックスする感じの中で少し寂しくなる様なフィーリングは。

There are only two, perhaps three, artists who consistently reach the sublime in the area of ecstatic-ambient-drone: Fennesz, Tim Hecker and perhaps Aidan Baker on a good day.I own multiple copies of every work by the first two artists on vinyl, but on "Becs" Christian Fennesz has surpassed everything ever done in the genre as far as I can hear.Of course it regularly rises to a wall of blissed out noise, just as your own emotions sometimes become overwhelmed by beauty and surpass your ability to comprehend them rationally and thoughtfully. "Becs" has more moments of overwhelming ecstasy on it than any record in my 2,500+ collection.There is no point in doing a side by side analysis of "songs." This is not that kind of music.As much as I love "Endless Summer," "Venice" and "Black Sea" to me to me this is probably the most pure, perfectly put together soundtrack of love, peace, ecstasy and beauty that I have ever heard in over 40 years of record collecting.Just as many people think My Bloody Valentine should have called it a day after "Loveless" I can't imagine how Fennesz could surpass this.But then again, I love "mbv" in it's own way as much as I love "Loveless."Tim Hecker's recent work on "Harmony in Ultraviolet," "Ravedeath1972," "Dropped Pianos" and "Virgins" is easily in the same class, but this goes even beyond that if such a thing is possible.Maybe a musician of Fennesz's ability can surpass this. If so, I am first in line.

Christian Fennesz is the most unique and creative musician of the younger free improv group, following in the footsteps of Derek Bailey, John Tilbury, Evan Parker, and others. I hesitate to label his music because it does not remotely describe his artistry. Fennesz collaborates with only the finest musicians such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Sylvian. As such, his "sound" includes beautiful melodies which is no easy feat with the substantial electronic processing of his guitar. Becs follows the beautiful Seven Stars, Cendre, Flumina, and AUN. Each release shows more maturity and it's a pity that Americans have almost zero opportunity to see him perform live in this country. Check out David Sylvian's "Amplified Gesture" dvd, an introduction to free improvisers, practitioners, and their philosophies, including Fennesz. I am puzzled why Europeans and Japanese appear to have a lock on this music even though I have strong opinions that have no place in this review. Buy Becs immediately if you haven't already.

Thanks.

I like a good amount of ambient and experimental electronic music but I just never found any interesting bits in this album. On top of that, pretty much the entire album was recorded with so much noise and distortion that it's more like noise with nondescript music playing in the background. "Liminality" and the title track, "Bécs," are great examples of that. Maybe this album will really grab someone but it didn't do anything for me.