Short Reviews [Fractale - 2011 - "Live Suranne"]

The French band FRACTALE was formed by composer and instrumentalist Julian Julien sometime around 2007, and consists of one drummer and six brass players. The "Live Suranne" EP is their first ever release. And it's quite an adventurous production one encounters. The steady rhythms form a solid foundation for the more or less improvised tapestry of brass instruments on top, with electronically treated instruments providing futuristic sounds contrasting the jazz and brass flavors of the additional brass section quite nicely, the latter divided between rhythm duties and improvised sounding intertwined soloing by two and occasionally three instruments. The arrangements are majestic, and the description “brass rock in space” is a tempting one to use on what the band itself refers to as electro jazz. The five parts of what appears to be a substantially longer whole presented on this EP are tantalizing, intriguing constructions, and of the two bonus tracks appended the latter one, Clementine, is a brilliant piece of work in its own right; this specific item without drums, and all the more impressive and interesting for that fact alone. This is a highly promising initial excursion by the French ensemble, and well worth seeking out by those who found the above descriptions interesting.

Olav M Bjornsen: April 19, 2012