Releases August 30, 2024 (LP / Ltd edition LP / CD / DL) on COLD SPRING

“Broken Allures”, the fifth LP from trio Jac Berrocal, David Fenech, and Vincent Epplay (following releases on Blackest Ever Black, Akuphone, KlangGalerie), furthers their unique recording style with a musique concrète approach to mixing, characterized by the distinctive sound and technique of musicians and producers. Fenech and Epplay have paired with legendary French musician Berrocal, renowned for his collaborations with Nurse With Wound, Vince Taylor, Jaki Liebezeit, Pascal Comelade, Sunny Murray etc. “Broken Allures” is arguably their most coherent and fully accomplished album to date.

For this album, the trio has invited two fantastic musicians to compose with them: COSEY FANNI TUTTI and JAH WOBBLE.

  • COSEY FANNI TUTTI (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, COUM Transmissions) contributes vocals, cornet, and electric guitar in her unique style. She has also written lyrics for two tracks on the album and brings a radical touch to the instrumental track ‘Viva la Hacienda’, which, in her own words, recalls her time recording with Throbbing Gristle.
  • JAH WOBBLE (founding member of Public Image Limited, and collaborator with African Head Charge, Brian Eno, Björk, Holger Czukay, Jaki Liebezeit, Bill Laswell, Primal Scream, Evan Parker, Sinéad O’Connor etc) plays a deep bass line on one track. He adds his signature industrial dub sound, with deep sub-bass frequencies.

File next to Throbbing Gristle, early Clock DVA, Chris & Cosey, Bill Laswell, Master Musicians Of Jajouka.

  • CD in a matt-laminate flood-printed digipak.
  • Ltd Ed 150 copies on transparent yellow vinyl in a matt-laminate sleeve with full-colour insert.
  • Black vinyl in a matt-laminate sleeve with full-colour insert.

All tracks written by Jac Berrocal, David Fenech, Vincent Epplay, with Cosey Fanni Tutti on tracks 2, 4 and 5, and Jah Wobble on track 8.

Recorded and mixed by David Fenech and Vincent Epplay in Paris and Villejuif.

Mastered by Martin Bowes at the Cage Studios
Cover artwork by Vincent Epplay
Layout by Abby Helasdottir

Talk about having productive golden years, 78 year old iconic trumpeter and gritty beat poet Jac Berrocal has put out no less than 4 albums in the last year, working with underground rock heavyweights like Ron Anderson, Jean-Hervé Peron, Jah Wobble and Pascal Comelade. though being a practitioner of the instant composition and deep-DEEP improv may allow such fruitfulness to be readily possible, after nearly five decades the quality of his music has never been left wanting; and that’s not just MY take, ask his small army of famous collaborators and i’m sure there will be no doubt.

though his recorded output goes all the way back to the mid 70s with rabble-rousers Operation Rhino, Berrocal is (undoubtedly) loudly lauded in his native France as an important innovator and (presumably) needs no introduction there, but (if we ignore the cult classic ‘Rock n Roll Station’ with Vince Taylor from ’76) he is most know in the Anglophone world for 3 important mid-career collaborations:
the 80s heartthrob had the audacity to be leader and unbelievably most salient point of interest amongst GIANTS Gilbert Artman and Jean-Francois Pauvros in spontaneous post-punk supergroup Catalogue,
He was known for being perhaps the most interesting performer Nurse With Wound had the privilege to record, and in the 90s he worked not only with Portuguese crazies Telectu but all three joined together with the world’s most favored drummer in TELECTU CUTLER BERROCAL!

Berrocal + Epplay + Fenech appears to be his longest lasting collaboration. Beginning in 2015 with ANTIGRAVITY on Blackest Ever Black, the trio have been churning out improvised alt rock at an alarmingly delightful rate, including cult fav ICE EXPOSURE in 2019 on the aforementioned label. BROKEN ALLURES has some big shoes to fill as 2022’s TRANSCODEX, released by both Parisian label Akuphone and Vienna’s mostly reissue label Klanggalerie, was considered by some, including yours truly, to be an underground masterpiece. BROKEN ALLURES doesn’t disappoint, however, being a slightly more straight forward continuation of all four of their albums; kind of like the magazine edition idea Peter Gabriel had with his first few releases, only, in my small opinion, far more interesting and cohesive. like TRANSCODEX, this album benefits from a couple of well placed guests, bassist Jah Wobble being found on both albums, while this time around, the two Faust stars heard on the previous record are replaced with Throbbing Gristle’s own Cosey Fanni-Tutti on vocals and probably electronics (i couldn’t wait for my copy of the album to arrive from BANDCAMP, so this review is based on the pre-release streamed tracks which offers no insight other than what my ears can hear).

Jac is known for being a far FAR outside, experimental and freaky player, and yet still retains an undeniable post-ON THE CORNER lyricalness that makes him an interest to circles other than the stodgy avant-garde ones we’d most expect (to be clear, the 70s Davis comparison is more of a touchstone than an obvious influence due to Berrocal’s indisputable singularity). and this trio offers that in spades: not only rhythms you can shake your ass to but, more unbelievably, melodies the whole world can sing. take ‘Tones of Blue and Red’: the melody is spare, sparse actually, mostly three notes, and he probably came up with it on the fly, but it stands out as eminently hummable in a way that even the most unwashed of masses will likely relish. this really is Berrocal’s ballgame, regardless of the talent with the individually long list of accomplishments that’s backing him. even Fanni-Tutti’s highly recognizable warbling plays second fiddle to Berrocal’s off the cuff melodicism and sampled, delayed and deranged trumpetings. regardless of the competition, he just can’t help being the center of attention. no matter how crazy Epplay’s swirling synthy samples or epic blasting machine screams get or how over the top Fenech’s shards-of-breaking-glass solos go or even how much his warmest distorted drones take center stage, there’s Jac, whether freaking out or grooving the grooviest groove, no one can take their ears off him. what an immense talent! and there’s LOTS of competition, especially vocally. not only do we get a couple of highly contagious performances by Fanni-Tutti off the bat, but we also get a couple of opportunities to hear Jac himself (as usual with this trio) break off some compelling rhymes in a worldly voice turned ragged with age (six semesters in high school of Mrs. Cauldron’s Francais Intermédiaire is of no help to me here. though with a performance so intense that the subject matters not in the least, i’m sure French speaking listeners are well enjoying the poetry, whatever it may be, as his speaking voice is clear, concise and up front in the mix). there are vocal samples as well: i think it’s Fenech who seems obsessed with the spooky kids’ voices that make a couple of appearances but we also get a long sample from crazed wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing Kenneth Copeland on ‘Preacher Feature’, perhaps the trio’s most ghastly moment .

The rhythms being consistently mid-paced, the atmospheres mostly moody and the melodies invariably minor cause the ‘songs’ to easily run into each other, leaving their most distinguishable qualities largely textural. this creates not only a kind of ‘sound’ for this trio present on their four previous albums but key here as well. it makes for two longer listening experiences instead of twelve short ones, but doesn’t seem like a slog at all, indeed, like the trio’s previous work and strikingly even moreso on this edition, nearly every song ends leaving the listener wanting at least a little more. this is unlike what i’ve seen from the trio’s live performances that are wholly improvised and stretched out more satisfyingly. we ARE trying to sell records here, though, and the several short tracks probably help a more moderate minded crowd feel included. that being said, there are arguably some standout tracks: the title track has Wobble and Epplay holding down a relatively slow, simple rhythm whilst Berrocal shares droning, effected spurts of drifting melody and Fenech ably backs him with some seriously painful neck wringing (it unsurprisingly does NOT go on long enough, and misses the 6-7 minute sweet spot i’m sure their best fans crave. oh well, maybe we’ll be treated to some proper live recordings in the future). ‘Sondelimosa’ features some vaguely North African guitar work and Jajouka-esque horn underpinnings with Berrocal’s patented melodic, slightly unhinged riffing liberally applied atop. The vocal samples are numerous, pleasant and (to these ears) confusingly opaque.

This band really has the makings for a big big audience, but all the players seem content with their underground fame, even though BROKEN ALLURES is being released on the UK’s self-described biggest indie label Cold Spring (famous for putting out the last few Z’ev albums and Japanese noise, infamous for releasing A LOT of shite industrial records from ‘artists’ of dubious character like nordvargr ICK! i would normally avoid patronizing a butthole Tory label but, whatever ). This and all the band’s previous records will eventually be known as undeniable classics and it’s rip-roaringly enjoyable, lounging in the thick of things, watching rock n roll history unfold before our ears.

Jimmy Cochran, July 2024 (link)

‘Broken Allures’ is the fifth album from the trio of Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Vincent Epplay.

Jacques ‘Jac’ Berrocal is a respected figure in the French avant-garde scene and known for his specific trumpet sound and his distinctive blend of jazz, rock, and experimental styles. David Fenech works in genres ranging from experimental electronic to avant-pop and Vincent Epplay is a sound/visual artist and musician recognised for his experimental compositions and installations. They have enlisted a couple of guests to add their talents on this album in Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle) who adds vocals, cornet, and electric guitar on three numbers and Jah Wobble (founding member of Public Image Limited) who guests on the title track.

The album opens with `Warszawa` which has a quite dystopian industrial soundscape with trumpet tones floated atop. There`s a haunting texture to `Tones Of Blue And Red` which has a repetitive trumpet tone and some whispered vocals from Cosey Fanni Tutti giving it a fairly haunting sense.

`Cerbère Passage` may well be Cerebus passage. In Greek mythology, Cerberus often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. A recurring trance-like percussive beat permeates this offering with trumpet splashes and anguished cries spliced in at times throughout. Cosey Fanni Tutti`s husky vocals are sprinkled over a repetitive rhythm on `Outspoken Cares`s which creates an alluring atmosphere.

`Viva La Hacienda` again has Cosey Fanni Tutti assisting with this instrumental number that has electronic beeps, clanging, gurgling and pained howls. When reflecting on this piece she shared that she recalled her time recording with Throbbing Gristle. Zadar, a city on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, known for the Roman and Venetian ruins may be the subject matter for `Zadar Melodia` a peculiar composition which is fairly ambient. `Morocco Shanghai` appears to slice snippets of what may be auditory references to both places namechecked in the title with trumpet tones freebased throughout. Jah Wobble adds his bass proficiencies to the title track `Broken Allures` which has a kind of mesmeric almost hypnotic quality.

The amusingly titled `Coiffeur Pour Vince` or hairdresser for Vince has an underlying rhythmic beat with a spoken word narrative shared in French over its resonance. We have a further evocative listen with `Christal Venus` with again a spoken chronicle shared in French.

We have plenty of French vocal samples interspliced throughout the lifetime of the fairly jazzy textured `Sondelimosa`. This release concludes with `Preacher Feature` which kind of rolls along with an evangelistic like diatribe expressed over its emotive trippy soundscape.

`Broken Allures` is both alluring and repelling at the same time but also utterly compelling. A strange, interesting, fascinating, and irresistible mix match of sounds, samples and jazz like tones that will draw you into its many layers over its forty-minute life span. Strange but also at the same time oddly beautiful.

Damian Sullivan – Maximum Volume Music, August 2024 (link)

“While they further the noble French musique concrète tradition here, the addition of their electronically-inclined guest players enables them to weave disparate but complimentary oeuvres into their trademark manipulated found-sound and abstract-jazz distortions with perfectly-weighted aplomb”
ELECTRONIC SOUND (link)

Jac Berrocal + David Fenech + Vincent Epplay – Broken Allures coverFeaturing a trio of French musicians, improvisers and sound artists including the veteran legendary trumpeter and poet Jac Berrocal, who collaborated with Nurse With Wound and has worked with Vince Taylor, Lol Coxhill and countless others. Broken Allures is the fifth album from Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Vincent Epplay. Previous albums have appeared on Blackest Ever Black, Klanggalerie amongst others and this is another of those surprising albums that regularly appear on Cold Spring. Don’t think like I did this that this would be an album of improvisations, it isn’t. Broken Allures blends Berrocal’s inspired trumpet playing and distinct vocals in a genre-crossing setting of short songs comprising sound art, electronics, field recordings and various percussive techniques created by the composer and improviser David Fenech and the visual and sound artist Vincent Epplay. The result is a forward looking suite of songs containing aspects of jazz, industrial, world music, dub, musique concrète all held together by Berrocal’s avant garde trumpet and raspy vocals and wails.

However, it’s probably the involvement of Cosey Fanni Tutti who features on three tracks that will grab the attention of readers here. But before that there is ‘Warszawa’ with droning electronics and a late night trumpet score which given the trio’s past propensity for interpretations on previous albums is no doubt inspired by Bowie and Eno. Cosey’s contributions range from ‘Tones Of Blue And Red’ featuring her soothing tones amidst parps of trumpet, loose bass tones and slight glitchy electronics to the moody bass throb of ‘Outspoken Caress’; her calm tones interrupted by passages of processed noisier elements and rhythmic snare clatter. While there’s a nocturnal element reminiscent of Carter Tutti work to these tracks, ‘Viva La Hacienda’ is rooted in an industrial sound. Drenched in processing with echoed throb caught in the flicker of sound, jettisoning splinters of discordant guitar, which to my ears sounds unmistakably performed by Cosey. It’s eventually coalesces around a crisp drum rhythm interspersed by the watery yelps of Berrocal and trumpet wails resulting in something carrying more than a hint of the DNA of Throbbing Gristle.

From then on Broken Allures takes many twists and turns in a number of short playful and inventive vignettes of sound where anything goes. ‘Zadar Melodia’ shimmers in a dreamy and filmic fashion, while ‘Christal Venus’ builds on the sound art aspect in shifting and swirling drones, accompanying Berrocal’s breathy spoken word with subtle bass tones and tinkering keys. There are forays into world music such as on the brief ‘Morocco Shanghai’ which tumbles to hand drums and jazz guitar ripples with dizzying free-form eastern trumpet wails and assorted voices from field recordings. The jittery almost mechanical beats of ‘Sondelimosa’ are interspersed with a series of voice and laughter samples, noodling guitar lines woven with Berrocal’s snaking trumpet score swelling with distorted throbs and the patter of hand drums.

Jah Wobble is the other credited guest here and he is no newcomer to this trio having collaborated on their previous Transcodex album and he returns to the fold on the title track supplying his customary deep dub bass lines, underpinning the twangy guitar mannerisms and smokey late night trumpet vibes on what would be perfectly fitting for a film noir soundtrack.

Berrocal returns on vocals for ‘Coiffeur Pour Vince’. Against the jazzy soft brushed drums swathed in distortion Berrocal in ragged spoken French tones switches dials between the rock’n’roll stations, namechecking both Gene Vincent and Johnny Burnette, amidst buzzing guitar riffs and ringing electronic sound shifts. The final track, ‘Preacher Feature’, pitches what I thought was initially Berrocal inhabiting the persona of an American Preacher. It isn’t though. It’s a sample of American televangelist Kenneth Copeland bellowing a fire and brimstone sermon spitting out judgement, here cut with a stuttered rhythmic clank, slashes of droning guitar and a lamentful trumpet score. Now, if only they had got Berrocal to deliver this.

Cosey Fanni Tutti and Jah Wobble might be the reference points for this review. Elsewhere, others might focus on the veteran and legendary figure of Jac Berrocal. His varied trumpet techniques are undoubtedly what weaves this into a coherent whole but it is the collaboration with David Fenech and Vincent Epplay who create the fabric of these short varied songs, as well as editing, mixing and producing whilst retaining the spontaneity of the recordings. It’s an album that reminds me slightly of Philippe Petit and Hervé Vincenti’s collective Strings of Consciousness who also involve guest musicians. Broken Allures has been something of an unexpected treat and I’ll certainly be digging into their previous releases. This is great stuff that’s really worth seeking out. Released on Cold Spring, Broken Allures is available digitally, on CD and on vinyl in black and as a limited yellow edition available from Cold Spring and Cold Spring bandcamp

Compulsion Online – September 2024 (link)

Here’s an interesting one from the always on the money Cold Spring. It’s a label that is well worth keeping an eye on if the dark/experimental end of things is your bag. They also reissued BEF’s ‘Music For Stowaways’ so you know, suprises up sleeves and all that. Here experimental musicians/producers Fenech and Epplay have paired up once again with Berrocal, a revered artist in the French avant-garde scene, for a fifth long-player and the label say it’s their most coherent release to date. It also comes with some very high profile guests in the shape of Cosey Fanni Tutti and Jah Wobble. You do kind of wonder how that happens, where the connections lie as there doesn’t seem to be anything that connects them all when you skim their impressive biographies. Wobble’s distinctive deep, sleek bass rumble features on the title track, but it’s the Cosey tracks that stand out, course it is. Berrocal is known for his specific trumpet sound, as is Cosey, which is as good an excuse as any to make contact. She features on three tracks, offering up lyrics, vocals, electric guitar and her own cornet playing. There’s the thrum and throb of ‘Tones Of Blue And Red’, the street-stalking stomp of ‘Outspoken Caress’ and the wonky instrumental ‘Viva Hacienda’, which recalls, as Cosey puts it, “her time recording with Throbbing Gristle”. Which having read her books I’m not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. Sounds great though. Very noisy, very krauty.

Moonbuilding Weekly – Issue 33, September 6 2024 (link)

“Je vais vous passer mon coup de cœur depuis que je suis rentré sur Rennes… Le premier disque que j’ai écouté en revenant de vacances, ça a été celui-là. L’album s’appelle Broken Allures et c’est le cinquième album de la collaboration entre Jac Berrocal, David Fenech et Vincent Epplay. Et sur cet album, en fait, il y a des collaborations : Jah Wobble, l’ancien bassiste de Pil, avait déjà collaboré sur le précédent et là, cette fois-ci sur trois morceaux… il y a également Cosey Fanni Tutti de Throbbing Gristle. C’est du lourd !

Ce sont deux personnalités anglaises.. et je trouve que c’est leur album le plus “anglais”. C’est comme si on écoutait un groupe qui prenait le Brexit en regardant sur son téléphone des images vidéos de de concerts, de Test Dept, de Throbbing Gristle avec un background sonore, un bruit qui perturbe un petit peu, comme le bruit du wagon où il y a différents sons qui interfèrent sur ce que vous regardez… Et en fait, vous n’entendez pas très bien et ça crée un troisième son ! donc ça donne une vision… ça devient comme un son fantasmé… en fait, c’est le disque fantasmé d’une scène anglaise post-industrielle, industrielle du début des années 80 par trois musiciens Français.

Et l’album est magnifique. C’est une ôde à cette période très très exploratoire, très aventureuse…. Je trouve ce disque magnifique, très très touchant. Et moi, ça m’a beaucoup touché parce qu’effectivement j’ai beaucoup apprécié cette scène industrielle, préindustrielle, post-industrielle, anglaise avec Zoviet France et compagnie…”

KFUEL radio show, September 2024 (link)

Jac Berrocal David Fenech Vincent Epplay – Broken Allures: Un disco che solca territori inesplorati, puro spirito francese di avanguardia, alla scoperta di un esagono occulto e musicalmente ricchissimo

Un disco che solca territori inesplorati, puro spirito francese di avanguardia, alla scoperta di un esagono occulto e musicalmente ricchissimo, ospiti eccezionali e un differente senso di intendere la musica, scritta come un film che si guarda con la mente, perché gli occhi sono chiusi, viaggi mentali estesissimi e quasi perfezione.

Quinto disco per il trio francese composto da Jac Berrocal, David Fenech e Vincent Epplay, intitolato “Broken Allures” e primo per loro per la meravigliosa etichetta inglese Cold Spring. I tre francesi hanno delle carriere che per descriverle ci vorrebbe la grandezza del nostro sito, per cui le descrizioni che seguono sono molto parziali. Jac Berrocal è il trait d’union fra la tradizione della canzone francese e l’avanguardia della stessa, trombettista, poli strumentista e compositore è in giro da eoni musicali ed è sempre riuscito ad andare oltre, come in questo disco.

David Fenech è più giovane di Berrocal, è un chitarrista, cantante e produttore che ha al suo attivo tantissime produzioni sempre in direzione fast forward, e con il suo approccio speciale ha collaborato con Felix Kubin, Jad Fair, Tom Cora, Gary Lucas, Nurse With Wound, Pierre Bastien e Ghédalia Tazartès fra gli altri. Vincent Epplay è un musicista e artista visivo nonché produttore eclettico e molto poco ortodosso, ha collaborato fra le altre cose con Sebastien Rouxper la colonan sonora del film “Nanook” di Robert Flaherty e di recente ha realizzato per il Centre Pompidou di Parigi su alcune musiche di film diretti da Jean Painlevé. Broken allures” è un oggetto non identificato, un qualcosa che non rientra in nessun canone normale e nemmeno lo vuole, energia musicale e ritmica nella sua forma più pura, pulsante, fisico e sanguinolento, neuronale e limbico, preponderante e sottile, irritante e mellifluo, caos e ordine che si penetrano a vicenda in un fluido industriale e non umano, cyberpunk e tradizionale.

Minimalismo sonoro ricchissimo, un tappeto coloratissimo di suoni, un disco che racchiude al suo interno un negozio di dischi, un viaggio musicale lunghissimo eppure breve, rotto e ricomposto senza soluzione di continuità, suoni espressi direttamente dalle sinapsi degli autori, avanguardisti impavidi che appartengono a quella genia di esploratori sonori che vanno avanti senza aspettare e senza aspettarsi nulla. Tutto ciò è reso possibile grazie alla competenza, alla tecnica e alla saggezza musicale messa in campo da tre personalità per fortuna molto differenti e che si compenetrano benissimo. Dentro al tutto c’è l’elettronica, il suono post mondiale, l’industria ma soprattutto uno sguardo moderno e al contempo talmente antico da cogliere l’essenza vera e definitiva del logos sonoro.

Berrocal è il totem, Fenech e Epplay sono le nuove sonorità e poi ci sono due ospiti di eccezione, che confermano l’appartenenza di questo lavoro a quella avanguardia che ha cominciato a macinare mondi sonori cinquanta anni fa e non si è più fermata : Cosey Fanni Tutti e Jah Wobble. Cosey Fanni Tutti già con Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey e COUM Transmissions fra gli altri, vero e proprio Alesited Crowley dell’oltre Stige della musica moderna, collabora alla sua incredibile maniera in tre pezzi, tutti particolari a loro modo, con quel gusto particolare che porta sempre con sè.

La frequenza musica particolare di Jah Wobble, quel qualcosa che solo lui far vibrare in quella maniera compare in una traccia, “Broken allures”, ed è sempre magia.

Un disco che solca territori inesplorati, puro spirito francese di avanguardia, alla scoperta di un esagono occulto e musicalmente ricchissimo, ospiti eccezionali e un differente senso di intendere la musica, scritta come un film che si guarda con la mente, perché gli occhi sono chiusi, viaggi mentali estesissimi e quasi perfezione.

Massimo Argo – In your eyes, September 2024 (link)

Avantgardists do electric musique concrète

This is the fifth album Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Vincent Epplay have released as an experimental dark-jazz trio. but there’s a quality running all the way through ‘Broken Allures’ that draws you into their futurist otherworld in a manner which feels like a creative peak. And while they further the noble French musique concrète tradition here, the addition of their electronically inclined guest players enables them to weave disparate but complementary oeuvres. Throbbing Gristle’s Cosey Fanni Tutti and PiL founder Jah Wobble feature on the manipulated found sound and abstract jazz distortions with perfectly weighted aplomb. Jacques “Jac” Berrocal is a veteran of the French avant-garde, with a career that spans over half a century and has taken in French chanson, punk and free jazz. Along this circuitous road he’s patiently honed his singular trumpet style – part Jon Hassell, part Miles Davis, but still distinctively his own – and it’s his telling contribution throughout that truly defines the substance of the album. Also onboard are avant-pop experimentalist David Fenech, who’s worked with Nurse With Wound and Felix Kubin, among others, and sound artist Vincent Epplay, and together the trio set the opening tone with a subtle interpretation of David Bowie’s ‘Warszawa’. The bleakly emotive instrumental interlude from 1977’s ‘Low’ saw Bowie and Brian Eno firmly nail their colours to the European avant-garde mast. Cosey Fanni Tutti contributes cornet and electric guitar, as well as her uniquely alluring and underrated vocals, to three tracks here, the brain-melting ‘Viva La Hacienda’ included. In what comes over like a seance of the underground on ‘Tones Of Blue And Red’, she and Jac Berrocal summon the ghost of Miles Davis, leading the track into the dark ambient, free jazz territory he may well have journeyed deeper into, had his extraordinary tenure on this mortal coil continued a little while longer. Jah Wobble contributes once, on the mesmerising title track. His mutant outsider-dub bassline follows a tribalistic course on a steady-as-she-goes voyage to the deep unknown. Like much of the rest here, it’s as if it comes from another dimension.

Carl Griffin – Electronic Sound, Issue 117, September 2024 (link)

Jac Berrocal wird in diesem Jahr 78 Jahre att. Doch seine Musik ist alles andere als altersmüde. Der französische Trompeter liebt nonkonforme Sounds. Zusammen mit David Fenech und Vincent Epplay kreiert er surrealistische Tongebilde im Stile der Underground-Elektroniker aus den späten 70ern. Kein Wunder, dass beim neuen Album “Broken Allures” auch alte Bekannte aus dieser wilden Zeit mit an Bord sind.

Drei Schwergewichte der Avantgarde prallen hier aufeinander: Jac Berrocal, David Fenech und Vincent Epplay haben bei ihrer Kunst stets “outside the box” gedacht und sich auch keinen Genregrenzen unterworfen.. Sowohl im Jazz als auch im Progressiven Pop und als Soundtrack Bastler für Kunstausstellungen reüssieren die drei gestandenen Herren. “Broken Allures” ist bereits ihre fünfte gemeinsame Arbeit, und man merkt ihnen ihre gegenseitige Vertrautheit an.

In offenen, meistens kurz gehaltenen Improvisationen treffen dubbige Trompetensätze Berrocals auf die umhennabernden Elektrosounds von Fenech und Epplay. Zusammen bilden sie surreal-psychedelische Klanggebilde, hinter denen sich die musikalische Sozialisation der drei Männer erkennen lässt Dass als Gäste Jah Wobble (Public Image Ltd.) und Cosey Farmi Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey) die Szenerie bereichern. ist nur folgerichtig, ist der Sound des Dreiergespanns doch eine klare Reminiszenz an die anspruchsvollen Underground-Elektroniker der späten 1970er Jahre, bei denen mit Samples, Synthesizern, Verfremdung Effekten und Motorik-Beats wild experimentiert wurde.

”Broken Allures” weckt die alten subversiven künstlerischen Kräfte erneut zum Leben und fordert damit die Hörerschaft extrem. Diese ungeschliffenen Klangbrocken müssen nämlich erst einmal erschlossen werden. Wenn man sich aber darauf einlässt, kommt man einer außerkörperlichen Erfahrung schon extrem nahe.

Daniel Dreßler – Sonic Seducer, September 2024 (link)

Tak, tak to już piąty tytuł sygnowany przez to trio, nie licząc wymiennych kombinacji składowych zawierających choćby: Ghédalia Tazartès, czy Timo Van Luijka, Pascala Comelade, a o których mogliście wcześniej poczytać na łamach magazynu. Czas płynie, a powyższe trio, w pewnym sensie za każdym kolejnym razem, ukazuje nam swoje nowe oblicze. I za każdym razem podnosi poprzeczkę do góry.

Broken Allures jest jak dwunasto taliowy zestaw kart, który podczas rozkładania (odsłuchu) odkrywają nam swoje, wcześniej utajone atuty. To nie jedyne niespodzianki, jakie czekają nas podczas absorbowania tego materiału. Pozwólmy jednak na swobodne przyswajanie, konsumowanie, aby się nie zachłysnąć i zakrztusić jak małe bobasy spragnione wszystkiego naraz.

Pierwsze minuty dobiegające z głośników i uświadamiamy sobie jak bogate brzmienie, wręcz uchwytne fizycznie udało się uzyskać podczas pracy nad tym albumem. Jego ekspansywna kolorystyka wypełniająca przestrzeń, w jakiejkolwiek słuchamy tego albumu. Nieustające wrażenie jakby warstwy pulsującego basu zostały wysunięte do przodu w porównaniu z poprzednimi wydawnictwami, a pasaże gitary delikatnie przysłonięte. W skrócie możliwe, że David przesiadł się z sześciostrunowca na basowy pojazd czterostrunowy. Oczywiście nie do końca tak się dzieje.

Dwoma ukrytymi kartami w naszej talii są dwa asy w postaci: Cosey Fanni Tutti i Jaha Wobble, których nikomu nie trzeba przedstawiać, a w doskonały sposób swoim wkładem rozszerzają pole rażenia przy słuchaniu. Powolny Tones Of Blue And Red sączy się i rozlewa z głośników z automatycznie rozpoznawalnym głosem Cosey emanującego z zamkniętej przestrzeni w towarzystwie spacerującego basu i tykającej elektroniki. Kolejne dwa utwory również powstały przy jej udziale.

Outspoken Caress wręcz przykrywa nas jej intymnym głosem, który wprowadza dziwny stan spokój w trwający kawałek wypełniony monotonnym pochodem basu z rozgrywająca się dźwiękową kawalkada muzyki konkretnej w tle. Dla pobudzenia następujący Viva La Hacienda to już industrialny przemarsz z gitarowymi nawałnicami, przypominającymi gdzie pani Cosey rozpoczynała swoja soniczną przygodę, a wszystko to w dzikim akompaniament wokalnym Jaca. Musimy sobie uzmysłowić, że tutaj brakuje zasad czy pewnych reguł. To są muzyczni, awangardowi anarchiści, którzy wyskakują ponad te cholerne, społeczne normy i skutecznie prą do przodu łącząc, przebudowując, rozwijając, nie oglądając się do tyłu. Nie trzeba tego robić wulgaryzmem, siłą per se. Subtelnie działa może wolniej, ale skuteczniej, dogłębniej. Przykładem może być tytułowy Broken Allures, którego współtwórcą jest Jah Wobble, dodając swoją klasyczną, dubową, zapętloną linię basu, z której słynie od lat. Ponownie uzupełnione post punkową, ostrą, dla kontrastu gitarą i abstrakcyjną elektroniką.

Wcześniej, wspominałem o produkcji każdej z płyt trio, obecna, opisywana nie zawodzi pod tym względem od poprzednich. Wielopoziomowość kompozycji czy ich sama budowa zaskakuje przy każdorazowym słuchaniu, zestawienia rodem z muzyki konkretnej ubrane w krótkie formy songów (żaden z utworów nie przekracza pięciu minut), pokazują jak bogaty może być sformułowany przekaz. Forma trybalności, która praktycznie zapewnia ciągłość całości, ukryta w rdzeniu, prowadzi nas raz wolniej, raz z przyspieszonym tętnem z narracyjnym, emocjonalnym głosem Jaca (Coiffeur Pour Vince), z miażdżącym, przesterowanym basem i nocną elektroniką spinająca całość. Mało? Przysłuchajcie się (Christal Venus) side real elektroniki z błądzącym partiami à la fortepianu i ciepłym basie z kontrolującym wszystko opisującym monologiem Jaca – jeden z najpiękniejszych momentów na tej płycie, a wszystko to w zaledwie niecałe trzy minuty. Po takiej dawce niesamowitości rodzi się tylko jedno pytanie: co będzie następne?

Marek “Lokis” Nawrot – Anxious Magazine, September 2024 (link)

Broken Allures is the fifth album by the trio of Jac Berrocal, David Fenech and Vincent Epplay, respectively playing saxophone and voice, guitar and electronics. With such a run time they could have picked a band name for their ongoing concern, but they didn’t. I reviewed two previous albums by them, Vital Weekly 1227 and 1367, and Jah Wobble returns to play bass like on the last one. A new guest on the new album is Cosey Fanni Tutti makes her presence playing guitar, cornet and voice. What I liked about this trio’s music is what they continue to do here. Music that may have its origins in improvisation, and no doubt many of these pieces got their kick-off by jamming around, but the eye is on the result, and the result is a more pop-oriented album, for the lack of a better word. Please don’t believe this music will be popular one day, but I use the word lightly because these five pieces use a shorter time frame to create a song, and they do that well. The changing spectrum of male and female voices adds an exciting dynamic to the album, also reflected in the use of the saxophone and cornet. Wobble’s bass adds, as before, a jumpy, dubby element to the music without being overtly dubby. Cosey’s guitar sometimes sounds like the old Throbbing Gristle days, which perhaps forms an odd combination with the film noir trumpet. As always, I have no idea what these lyrics are about. The titles sound more poetic, such as ‘Warszawa’ (not sure if it’s a cover of the Bowie song), ‘Tones Of Blue And Red’ (with Cosey vocals and very much a Cosey title), ‘Zadar Melodia’ or ‘Sondelimosa’. The resulting songs are very cohesive, thanks to the use of rhythm machines and sequences, an obvious choice if you want to avoid the world of improvisation. They range from dark and darkest to a bit brighter and lighter (at least, that’s my impression). 37 minutes may be a bit short, but it’s also available on LP for those who love vinyl.

Frans de Waard – Vital Weekly 1453 (link)

Dieu soit loué, il y a toujours des artistes pour nourrir notre insatiable appétit d’expériences psychiques, d’échappées vers des territoires étranges fascinant par les paysages mentaux inouïs auxquels ils donnent accès. On pourrait y vivre, on y respire, on y est accueilli. C’est le cas, à chaque livraison, de l’impeccable autant qu’inclassable trio formé par le génialissime “souffleur de trompette” Jac Berrocal, à qui il conviendrait d’édifier un jour un temple, David Fenech à la Les Paul trafiquée, triturée, caressée, et Vincent Epplay, génie des machines aux textures synthétiques affolantes. Et d’accueil, il ne cesse d’être question ici dès l’ouverture : nappes de Moog en spirales, trompette réverbérée, fragments de guitare comme des éclats de lumière, on reconnaît la reprise, “Warszawa” du tandem Eno-Bowie, annus mirabilis 1977. La couleur est annoncée : le meilleur du post-punk est ici convié, et l’on n’est guère étonné que ce soit Cold Spring qui publie ce cinquième album. On lui doit des pépites de Nine Inch Nails, de Coil ou de Throbbing Gristle. Et si la basse minimal-dub de Jah Wobble apparaît sur le titre “Broken Allures”, sur fond de stridences au couteau de Fenech (un conseil : précipitez-vous sur son dernier “Mountains Of Night” !), c’est toute la face A du vinyle qui convie l’Imperatrix indus, la Pythie sublime Cosey Fanni Tutti ! Sans oublier l’hommage à l’ami, le saint protecteur de tous les rockers, Vince Taylor (“Coiffeur Pour Vince”). Des propositions pareilles, on en pleurerait de joie ! Entre amblent, indus et field recording, cet album est tout simplement un bijou.

Alexandre Breton – Rock & Folk 686, September 2024 (link)

Gebrochene Verlockungen: Das wären vermutlich die zwei Begriffe, die sich aneinander reihten, würde man versuchen, »Broken Allures« von Jac Berrocal, David Fenech und Vincent Epplay nach ein paar Bier beim Philosophie-Stammtisch zu erklären. Und genau das macht den Titel auch zum Programm: Die Tracks werden zu Wegweisern durch eine seltsame Dunkelheit, während man von »Warszawa« seine Wanderung nach »Preacher Feature« antritt. Vor dem dystopischen Hintergrund einer kristallinen Venus werden französische Texte rezitiert, die unheimlich in den Untergang schlittern. Geleitet vom französischen Avantgardisten Jac Berrocal, der einen mit seinem charakteristischen Trompetensound an in den Abgrund hängenden Soundfetzen vorbeiführt, bieten Fenech und Epplay den düsteren Klangteppich, auf dem man sich zwischenzeitlich ausruhen möchte. Aber daran ist in den zwölf Tracks kaum zu denken.

Schon wird man von Cosey Fanni Tuttis Stimme (oder Kornett) aus dem finsteren Wahn gerissen. Aber auch Jah Wobble, wurde von den französischen Experimental-Musikern zum Album eingeladen. Das Gründungsmitglied von Public Image Limited steuert den Bass zum Titeltrack »Broken Allures« bei. Am Ende der knapp fünfunddreißig Minuten ist man verwirrt. War man auf einem Doom-Metal-Gig? In einem düsteren Jazz-Wunderland? Oder ist man nur entlang der Klippen einer steinigen Meeresküste spaziert? Das schönste am Album ist, dass es unprätentiös alle Möglichkeiten offen lässt und einen trotzdem verlockt, nach etwas zu suche

Ania Gleich – HHV Mag, September 26 2024 (link)

Ci lasciamo con l’ultimo brano a proposito di grandi personaggi della scena industriale. Qui ne abbiamo un altro in questo caso è ospite alla voce sto parlando di Cosey Fanni Tutti ovviamente di Throbbing Gristle. E l’album però è a firma Jac Berrocal, David Fenech e Vincent Epplay sono un trio che sono già giunti al quinto album. Un paio erano usciti anche su Blackest Ever Black. Loro si muovono tra jazz, elettronica, sperimentazioni varie, un po ‘avant garde. In questo album c’è ospite anche in un’altra traccia, che magari ti ascolteremo in una delle prossime settimane Jah Wobble in questa in un’altra invece come dicevo ospite Cosey Fanni Tutti qua presta la sua voce sempre super sensuale. Ed è con questa traccia intitolata Outspoken Carress estratta dall’album che invece si intitola Broken Allures che noi ci salutiamo l’appuntamento con Area contaminata

Area contaminata – October 10 2024 (link)

This trio, which brings together two generations of the French underground, have drifted between labels, including Blackest Ever Black and Akuphone, while fine-tuning their collaboration. Broken Allures, their fifth and perhaps their best, brings in high-calibre guests in the form of Cosey Fanni Tutti (who provides unmistakable vocals, guitar and cornet as well as lyrics for two tracks) and Jah Wobble. The expanded team flesh out the group’s dark Fourth World-y sound – but not too much; it still retains its wraithlike eeriness, with Berrocal’s trumpet lines snaking around industrial grooves, tribal rhythms, atonal stabs of guitar, stark electronic pulsations and probing bass.

David McKenna – The Quietus, October 2024 (link)

Interesantní francouzská trojice Jac Berrocal, David Fenech a Vincent Epplay přišla v září 2024 se svým pátým společným dílem. Připomenu jejich dřívější alba. Antigravity (2015), Ice Exposure (2019), Exterior Lux (2020) a Transcodex (2022). Na novince Broken Allures přivítejme vzácné hosty. Anglická zpěvačka a kytaristka Cosey Fanni Tutti, známá ze svého působení v úžasné skupině Throbbing Gristle, zpíva dvě skladby, ve strašidelné instrumentálce Viva La Hacienda hraje kytaru. Anglický multiinstrumentalista Jah Wobble, velmi činorodý hudebník, mimo jiné zakladatel kultovní kapely Public Image Limited, složil titulní skladbu a tvrdí v ní svou perfektní dub basu. Sekvencery, trubka, syntezátory, kytary, samply, efekty, elektronika, terénní zvuky, francouzský a anglický zpěv. Abstraktní jazzové tóny, energický industrial, ambient, avantgarda, experimental. Každým svým albem posouvají své hudební hranice výš a výš. Tak se ptám. Čím nás překvapí příště? Broken Allures je zvláštní, podmanivá, mnohobarevná deska. Prostě paráda!

Jiří Kalemba, Kali Music – October 2024 (link)

Per la quinta volta, i tre esperti e rinomati artisti francesi dalla lunga carriera alle spalle si ritrovano in occasione di un full-length a sei mani, il primo ad essere patrocinato dalla britannica Cold Spring in un essenziale digipack, oltre alle due versioni in vinile (classico e giallo, quest’ultimo in sole 150 copie). Con Epplay impegnato principalmente con macchine e field recordings, Fenech incaricato in primis di chitarre e basso e Berrocal, storico collaboratore di nomi di peso d’ogni tipo (Nurse With Wound, per attenerci a ciò che ci compete), chiamato in causa soprattutto per la sua inconfondibile tromba, figurano ospiti di prestigio come Jah Wobble (membro fondatore dei Public Image Limited e già collaboratore di nomi quali Brian Eno, Björk, Bill Laswell, Primal Scream, Sinéad O’Connor etc.) e Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, COUM Transmission), altri iconici veterani dell’esplorazione sonora. Soprattutto Cosey dà un contributo importante ad un lavoro che a grandi linee potremmo inquadrare nell’ambito di un dark-jazz avanguardistico e post-industriale, ma che offre molto di più fra le pieghe delle sue sonorizzazioni notturne; l’artista britannica presta la sua voce a due dei momenti più riusciti di un’opera multiforme, sussurrata nella pulsante “Tones Of Blue And Red” (bene il crescendo d’intensità), e viceversa più ipnotica e sensuale nell’oscura e sinuosa “Outspoken Caress”, scandita da un pattern asciutto e penetrante. Ancora Cosey, stavolta alle prese con una chitarra noisy di scuola industrial, fra le nevrosi glitch e le incursioni analogiche di “Viva La Hacienda”, presto accesa da un groove ossessivo che la caratterizza, mentre gli altri momenti salienti dell’opera sono da rintracciarsi fra gli oscuri esotismi di “Morocco Shangai”, con mirabili tratti di probabile improvvisazione, e fra le pieghe filmiche della sinuosa e notturna title-track, ennesima dimostrazione di come sia la tromba di Berrocal, vera protagonista, a fare la differenza, sfumando nel buio con classe e trasporto. Qualche deriva avanguardistica verso il finale, marcatamente teatrale in “Christal Venus” e più accattivante in “Sondelimosa”, sposta il focus dai momenti più affini in spirito ad una certa scuola industriale, rimarcando per buoni tratti l’inevitabile impronta francofona, ma è prerogativa di musicisti così esperti e liberi da vincoli stilistici lavorare in ampiezza senza porsi limiti, anche per cercare vie per infrangere quelli conosciuti. Non certo un lavoro “facile”, ma sicuramente uno sforzo collettivo affascinante sotto molti punti di vista.

Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi – Darkroom Magazine , November 2024 (link)

 

Depuis quelques années – on se souvient en particulier de leur excellent disque Antigravity publié en 2015 chez Blackest Ever Black – le trio Berrocal Fenech Epplay poursuit une entreprise d’exploration musicale fouinant aux confins du jazz, des musiques électroniques bricolées et/ou d’inspiration filmique, et de l’avant rock industriel/improvisé. Un credo qui ne fonctionnerait évidemment pas sans la grande liberté créatrice que les trois protagonistes octroient à leur projet, particulièrement truculent et manifeste quand il s’exprime en live. C’est en effet dans ce contexte que l’on peut se frotter visuellement aux instrumentations autant expérimentales que ludiques des trois musiciens et aux projections vidéo mêlant toujours archives improbables et esthétique hypnotique digne du meilleur du cinéma expérimental. Bref, le trio réunissant Vincent Epplay, le guitariste David Fenech et le trompettiste Jac Berrocal est une aventure musicale en soi, singulière et pleine de diversité (les accents ethno-world/dubbysants de Sondelimosa côtoyant les ambiances crépusculaires et urbaines de Preacher Feature, les frémissements amblent de Zadar Melodia se figeant en opposition au bagout plus voyageur et nomade de Morocco Shanghai, où se croisent les ombres fugitives du trompettiste Jon Hassell et du Nurse With Wound de Steven Stapleton, etc.).
Deux ans après un Transcodex passé un peu sous les radars, la triplette revient en forme avec ce Broken Allures particulièrement disert et fringant. Le décor – car on peut parler de décor, dans un sens quasi cinématographique, tellement l’écoute de l’album donne l’impression de baguenauder dans des univers fictionnels en lévitation permanente – est d’une prégnance totale. La trompette de Berrocal reste constamment en équilibre sur des fils harmoniques perchés au-dessus d’atmosphères mouvantes, véritables scénarios acousmatiques d’un grand théâtre du leurre auditif qui viendrait se figer ici dans une ambiance de film noir des années 50/60, croisant le fer avec des accents jazz/no wave new-yorkais tout aussi abrupts. Si on peut évidemment parfois songer aux ambiances poisseuses d’Ascenseur pour l’Échafaud (la rencontre de Louis Malle et Miles Davis), l’éponyme Broken Allures donne plutôt l’impression, par son caractère confiné et inquiétant, de venir se lier aux personnages suspicieux du The Connection de Shirley Clarke, et à son huis clos Brechtien mêlant marginaux fantasques et jazz addicts.
Sur ce même morceau, la basse de l’inestimable Jah Wobble (membre fondateur de Public Image Limited, bien sûr, mais aussi éminent collaborateur d’African Head Charge, Brian Eno, Björk, Bill Laswell, Primal Scream ou Evan Parker) assure une présence quasi charnelle, qui évoque presque l’ombre planante de celle de Peter Principle dans Tuxedomoon, épousant les contours du saxophone de Steven Brown. Déjà présent sur deux titres de Transcodex, Wobble amène la rondeur souple de son instrument pour la confronter en particulier aux effets, dispositifs et contorsions de jeu du guitariste David Fenech, dont elle constitue le parfait contrepoint tandis que les schémas expressifs de décor auditif d’Epplay (Christal Venus) et les tonalités cuivrées vagabondes de Berrocal se partagent le reste de l’espace sonore extensif. Chacun est à sa place, mais la place est énorme, et la distribution pas totalement terminée, puisque la prêtresse de Throbbing Gristle et Chris & Cosey, Cosey Fanni Tutti en personne, se voit invitée à poser sa voix sur trois morceaux. Toute en retenue distante et en préciosité verbale sur le délicat Tones Of Blue And Red et le rampant Outspoken Caress, elle se laisse aller à des plans plus obsessionnels et fantomatiques sur le vitupérant Viva La Hacienda, hommage furtif à une scène artistique anglaise underground des années 70/80, incarnée ici par l’ancien célèbre club de Manchester. Bon voyage !
Laurent Catala – NEW NOISE MAGAZINE (link)