PHILIPPE PETIT " You only live ice "

  For a release on the Glacial Movements label, it’s a fitting title: You Only Live Ice. But the interesting question remains: do you consider this ‘cold’, ‘glacial’ music (“like being entrapped within an arctic shelf…”), or do you associate it with ‘warmth’? It’s all about context I guess… Philippe Petit prefers to be introduced as a “musical travel agent” rather than as a composer. He has been creating experimental music since the early 2000’s and has worked with quite an impressive list of collaborators: people like Lydia Lunch, Murcof, Stephen O’Malley, Faust, Foetus, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Graham Lewis, Scanner, Machinefabriek…. and the list goes on. Most of the works in his discography are collaboration projects, true solo works are relatively rare. You Only Live Ice is such a solo work. It’s a 43 minute piece presented in two parts: the first 9 minute are the basic piece that is de- (and re-)constructed almost beyond recognition in the second part which seems to drift further and further away from reality: “atmosphere and dramaturgy lead the ear into a suspended world…”. But at the same time the tension slowly increases to an almost breathtaking climax… like you drifted off to somewhere from where you can’t get back.AMBIENT BLOG

De geweldige Franse artiest Philippe Petit, bij voorkeur “a music travel-agent” genoemd, is hier al heel vaak besproken. Maar deze Franse recensent, radiopresentator, DJ, draaitafelspecialist en ex labeleigenaar (Kinetic Vibes, Pandemonium, BiP_Hop) is dan ook een waar fenomeen. Hij heeft samengewerkt met onder meer PAS, Lydia Lunch, K11, Cosey Fanni Tuti, Cindytalk, Ron Anderson, James Johnston, Vultures Quartet, Chapter 24, Eugene S. Robinson, Asva, Simon Fisher Turner, Murcof en in zijn eigen Strings Of Consciousness. Zijn werken zijn veelal duister en filmisch waarbij het geluid in beweging en als een ontdekkingsreis is. Hij heeft al veel labels versleten maar mag nu op het geweldige Glacial Movements, dat gespecialiseerd is in ijzige ambient, zijn nieuwe werk You Only Live Ice uitbrengen. Helemaal in de sfeer van het label is dit een behoorlijk duistere en ijzige aangelegenheid geworden. Nu is hetgeen hij doorgaans creëert sowieso geen lichte kost, dus wat betreft niets nieuws. Wel is dit zijn meest ambientachtige werk, die je als het ware meeneemt op een tot een verbeelding sprekende reis door poolgebieden. Een bij de strot grijpende schoonheid.SUBJECTIVISTEN

 Glacial Movements, come sappiamo, è l’etichetta romana con il singolare pallino di produrre dischi di ambient isolazionista incentrati sul motivo del ghiaccio perenne alle latitudini estreme. Allo scopo, il fondatore Alessandro Tedeschi, altresì noto come Netherworld, ha reclutato in dieci anni di attività tutta una serie di nomi, anche di importante caratura come Aidan Baker, Francisco López e Loscil, decisi a misurarsi con il tema. Questa volta a essere della partita è il marsigliese Philippe Petit, manipolatore di suoni – lui si autodefinisce agente di viaggi musicale – dal curriculum sostanzioso. Non nuovo a italiche frequentazioni, lo abbiamo già ascoltato su un paio di uscite Boring Machines (il disco con Pietro Riparbelli e quello con il collettivo greco Chapter 24) e su Rustblade (la sua seconda collaborazione con Lydia Lunch e quella con Edward Ka-Spel dei Legendary Pink Dots). Petit interpreta in maniera ineccepibile il concept ideato da Tedeschi. L’album è diviso in due tracce: una più breve in cui dominano la staticità e la luce abbacinante delle distese innevate, e una seconda, lunga, in cui il drone insistito è disturbato dallo scricchiolio dei ghiacci, reso in maniera tutt’altro che didascalica, e anche il movimento delle masse gelate, lento ed inesorabile, è descritto con efficacia. Il paesaggio, inizialmente fermo, è lentamente perturbato da nubi minacciose sotto forma di densità di suono, dopo di che il disco va spegnendosi tra folate elettrostatiche e i colori violenti dell’aurora boreale. Certo, rimanere a fissare un iceberg per tre quarti d’ora non dev’essere fra le attività più eccitanti, tuttavia, ascoltando You Only Live Ice, potreste trovarci un certo diletto: copritevi bene!THE NEW NOISE

Nell’”enciclopedia sonora del ghiaccio” che ormai da anni continua a essere compilata con passione dall’etichetta romana Glacial Movements non poteva mancare una “voce” affidata a Philippe Petit. Il prolifico artista francese rappresenta infatti l’archetipo, più che del compositore ambientale, del sonorizzatore di immagini, paesaggi e concetti. Il suo contributo assume la forma un’imponente sinfonia di tre quarti d’ora, divisa in due parti nelle quali Petit affonda letteralmente nella materia ghiacciata per ricavarne una mappatura sonora che ne restituisce, in particolare, il carattere vivo, dinamico, di lenta ma inesorabile transizione di forma e consistenza. Il primo movimento della vivida declinazione del ghiaccio di Petit dispensa riflessi aurorali lungo nove minuti di quella appare una sorta di ouverture orchestrale dell’opera, un’introduzione (relativamente) breve al monolite di quasi trentacinque minuti della seconda parte, che procede per stadi successivi di saturazione, smarrendo via via le sinuose modulazioni della prima parte, fino ad attestarsi sulla densa consistenza di spessi strati sonori, in progressivo avvicinamento al rumore. L’articolato percorso sonoro di “You Only Live Ice” offre dunque una rappresentazione composita del concept glaciale, che, nella mani di Philippe Petit, diventa un itinerario d’ascolto opposto alla mera contemplazione ambientale ma che, anzi, offre della materia ghiacciata una visione viva, dal suo stesso interno; l’unica pienamente esaustiva, l’unica davvero possibile.musicwontsaveyou

You Only Live Ice compellingly presents a landscape initially at rest, then draped, as if in timelapse, in dense tonal swathes, and wracked with electrostatic gusts and the chromatic violence of the Aurora Borealis, tension ratcheting up to a oneiric denouement.The last decade has seen Alessandro Tedeschi rope in a series of artists—the likes of Lull, Loscil, Rapoon, Francisco López, and his Netherworld—in Glacial Movements‘ singular mission, taking his cue from Thomas Köner‘s Mother-of-all Ice-works, Permafrost, of variations on a theme of ‘places that man has forgotten …icy landscapes …fields of flowers covered eternally with ice… icebergs colliding amongst themselves.’ Latest to step up to the Arctic Ice Shelf is Philippe Petit, who trails himself knowingly as a ‘musical travel agent,’ with a cast of 1000s of collaborator friends and labels (Aagoo, Alrealon Musique, Beta Lactam Ring, Important, Home Normal, HelloSquare, Monotype, Sub Rosa, Public Eyesore, Southern UK, Staubgold, Utech, to name but twelve). The Marseille sonician declares his love for digital processing of textures—‘prepared strings, various clicks & electro-acoustic or field recordings forming a tapestry of sound’ and ‘prepared vinyls,’ with which he creates deep sound collages. The web-blurb is more upbeat than the billing for You Only Live Ice, wherein ‘atmospheres and dramaturgy lead the ear into a suspended world, like being entrapped within an Arctic ice shelf,’ are explored in two parts—shorter first de-/re-constructed in a longer second. “Part I” bespeaks the stasis and radiance of the snowy expanses. “Part II” sets up an insistent three-chord recursion, only to have its droning inexorability disrupted by the creaking of ice and floe motion sonorities, drifting evermore into elsewhereness.IGLOO MAG

Italian label, Glacial Movements, founded by Alessandro Tedeschi, has been releasing ambient, minimal, and arctic drone records for almost a decade now (has it really been that long?). Some of my favorite records by bvdub, Loscil, Celer, Stormloop, and Tedeschi’s own project, Netherworld, are still on my weekly rotations. Even during the stifling summer evenings, there’s something about the slow and wintry soundscapes, to which my mind clings to escape the heat. Defining its very own style, with meticulous curation and deliberate design, Tedeschi has created an imprint of determinate quality, one which continues to deliver on its promise of “glacial and isolationist ambient“.Philippe Petit appears on GM’s 25th catalog entry, with You Only Live Ice, a single-track 43+ minute offering, spanning multiple internal themes that slowly evolve, like a pensive atmospheric soundtrack. Opening in a somewhat bright territory, the piece begins to gently move into a darker terrain, exploring distant melodies across the frosty, dim and shimmering tones. Minor dissonance and polar whisperings create a slight sense of tension, until we begin to descend into the deeper caverns, where light fails to slip. Here, low drones echo the symphonic shadows, hindering the time into a single point in space, where the sonic climate is static, textured and tranquil.Half way through the album you definitely find yourself inside a drab and dingy place [exactly how I like it], where the congealed air barely moves through the brittle fabric of elongated vibrations. Something crackles, like the sound of the snowflakes landing on the microphone, or the bouncing of water molecules as they collide in apathetic clouds. Anxiety, discomfort and paranoia begin to set in, as you wonder if you will ever leave this place, where the ghostly traces of your past mistakes float and hover in the crevices of your subconscious, inner world. This synthetic discomfort is precisely why I love such climatic sound – it is music that not only makes you feel, but stays with you when it’s over, like a crusty trace of an afflictive dream in the corner of your eye. Philippe Petit has been a member of Strings Of Consciousness collective since 2007, releasing many solo and collaborative works on labels such as Central Control International, Monotype, Sub Rosa, Home Normal, Important, and Aagoo. This is his first record for Glacial Movements, where it perfectly fits with the catalog’s evolving theme of brooding soundscapes for frozen landscapes. Highly recommended for fans of ambient minimalism and drone, from labels such as 12k, Line, Dragon’s Eye, and Farmacia901.HEADPHONE COMMUTE

Il marsigliese Philippe Petit è “tanta roba”, come direbbero i giovini d'oggi. Musicista, compositore, dj, ricercatore, labels owner, giornalista e conduttore radiofonico...senz'altro anche altro. Ha collaborato con decine di personaggi fondamentali per la divulgazione del suono antagonista e di ricerca, una macchina sempre in moto costante che approda in terra Glacial e si ferma per la durata di due tracce interamente dedicate alla contemplazione. Il suo è un lunghissimo volo radente sopra il mondo dei ghiacci, una vera sinfonia creata manipolando i segreti del suono ambient, restituendo all'ascolto un senso di isolazionismo 'sinfonico' che itera il suo andare e lo trasforma in una sonica e maestosa elegia.SHERWOOD

Background/Info: Philippe Petit is a familiar and recognized artist at the wider fields of experimental- and ambient music. This French artist has already been active for years now and we sometimes forget he’s a kind of veteran. He will be always associated with his own labels BiP_Hop and Pandemonium Records, but we also know him from his multiple collaborations with other artists like Lydia Lunch, Edward Ka-Spel, Foetus, Cosey Fanni Tutti ao. Content: This album features one short- and one long duration track, but both are quite comparable in sound and influences. The title of the opus clearly reveals the imaginary universe Philippe Petit is inviting us to join. We’re visiting an icy universe, which is transposed into a kind of soundtrack creation. This work is mainly made of solid and monotonous sound waves filled with some extra field recordings and multiple little noises. You better use headphones to enter in the subtle details of this work. The details are essential elements, which are constantly emerging from the background, like distant, ominous noises. + + + : “You Only Live Ice” is an album you have to discover in the right atmosphere and the right condition. You have to be alone or at least with people around you who’re ready to share a similar passion for ambient music. You have to close your eyes, use headphones and simply focus on the sounds coming through. You’ll rapidly notice that the monotone aspect of the work is interrupted by some passages with a higher volume and/or where an extra dark sound layer joins in. – – – : The sound universe of Philippe Petit has been always characterized by certain degree of minimalism and experimentalism. It’s not exactly an artist that will make you dance, but he’ll unlock the door of your imagination and maybe your most secret fantasies. That’s precisely why this work is not exactly the most common-line and definitely not the most accessible one. You truly have to be addicted to this kind of music otherwise you should avoid such an experience. Conclusion: Philippe Petit makes you sail upon the darkest waves of your imagination where you’ll have to face an ocean of buried visions.SIDE LINE