Detailed Reviews [Fabrice Bony - 2008 - "Between Day"]

Prolusion. Fabrice BONY is a French drummer and composer, born in 1970. He first developed an interest in drums at age 6, and later in life chose to study the instrument, achieving a professional degree in the early ‘90s. He has played with a number of bands and artists since the early ‘90s and has also worked on composing music for television. "Between Day" is his first solo album, and was issued in March 2008.

Analysis. I have to say I'm somewhat impressed by the ambition of Fabrice Bony with this production. To create an instrumental concept album opening with a track called Birth isn't that uncommon, but after Thread of Life as the second track we're treated to Trauma and Coma, and whatever notions one might have had about this being a production exploring a lifecycle stops right there. While opening with the start of a lifecycle, it is the existence between life and death, the twilight zone where one can venture back to life or straight to the exit that is explored in the major parts of this album. An ambitious project for sure; and although only someone who's had that particular life experience can truly answer to whether or not it is successful in creating relevant moods and atmospheres, the musical journey is a fascinating one in any event. Bony has chosen to blend ambient passages with art rock of the symphonic variety to portray the various parts of the journey through this world between life and death, at times liberally sparked with space-tinged atmospheres. Bony is adept at producing fascinating compositions, or perhaps segments is a better word, having them in a pretty nice manner by introducing different elements and shifting with ease from one theme to the next, but most times revisiting sounds or themes to give the individual segments a strong identity. When moving on to the next segment, there's a strong sense of continuity as well, as there's always a shift in atmosphere and mood from one section to the next, yet always with a fitting and natural way of binding these together. As might be surmised by now, this album is one composition divided into 12 parts rather than 12 compositions making up a conceptual exploration. The synths are the musical red thread on this venture, providing floating space-tinged layers in the ambient passages and symphonic and quite often majestic ones in the symphonic tinged ones. The piano makes appearances in both sets of styles explored, adding some compelling nuances to atmospheres that might have become too droning and cold without it. Acoustic guitars are utilized just a tad more than electric ones in the symphonic passages, and prove to be an effective contrast to the synth layers. One of the parts of the album that needs to be mentioned in particular is Infini Journey. Not because it's that compelling in itself, but because it is markedly different from the other parts of this creation. In this aptly named part of the album repeated, slow droning and space-tinged sounds are served up for more than 11 minutes. Basically it's the same theme with slight alterations presented time and time again, with two major variations and several slight changes as this segment moves forward. As a stand-alone track it gets overly long, but it is an integral part of the composition as a whole and testifies to one particular aspect of this creation: It needs to be enjoyed as a whole to get the most out of it.

Conclusion. Fabrice Bony has produced a pretty interesting album with "Between Day". First and foremost to be regarded as an epic composition to be enjoyed as a whole, it is one that should intrigue those fond of music blending ambient electronic passages with art rock of the symphonic variety - or those that regard this as an interesting mix - in particular those who like their music instrumental in nature and with a fair deal of space-tinged textures added: a strong and promising debut overall.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: June 12, 2009
The Rating Room