Thierry Zaboitzeff | Miniaturen

Reviews

Impro Jazz (F) - Babyblaue Seiten (D) - Traverses (F) - Progvisions.net (UK) - Exposé (USA) - Chronic-Art (F)

IMPRO JAZZ (F)
by Marc Sarrazy (2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

Here, everything has a distinctly otherworldly feel to it. We glide delightfully between the murky undertones of London Gothic and the frenzied excesses of German Expressionist cinema – a sort of dance between Jack the Ripper, Mabuse, Nosferatu and Frankenstein…
Cast within complex and bizarre structures, the music is a model of balance within the soundscape (tapes, vocals, clarinet and drums by The Crew, electric bass…). The vocals, above all: feverish, delivered at the very end of an exhalation, they chill as much as they burn. Insane rhythms, haunting fragments of melody, choruses of dark lyricism, ostinatos caught in the maelstrom, sonic breaks: one is reminded of Magma (minus the heaviness and rumbling), Palo Alto, and above all Art Zoyd (at times, one can even hear echoes of the album *Faust*)… Excellent!

IMPRO JAZZ (F)
Marc Sarrazy

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BABYBLAUE SEITEN (D)
by Achim Breiling (2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

After he left Art Zoyd, Thierry Zaboitzeff worked mostly solo, composing music for various dance theater productions. Three of these – Heartbeat (1997), India (1998) and Alice (1999) – are included in the cd being reviewed here. Unfortunately, these works don’t always manage to capture the listeners attention without the visual support.

Zaboitzeff augmented his production of ‘Miniaturen’ in 2000 by colleagues Christian Kapun (clarinette) and Peter Angerer (drums) and the cd was labelled ‘Zaboitzeff & Crew’. Although Judith Lehner’s voice can still be heard on some of the tracks, apparently she doesn’t belong to the official band line-up.

‘Zoidan Suite in 3 Movements’ is the subtitle of this work, complemented by ‘Dance piece for 9 female dancers and 18 wintercoats’. Zaboitzeff lines up 40 tracks (condensed into 3 movements and the finale) filled with countless ‘zoydic’ sound fragments. Art Zoyd experts (especially ones who know their albums from Marathonnerre to Häxan) and those familiar with Zaboitzeff’s solo works (especially Dr. Zab & his robotic strings orchestra) will recognize them. New ideas and sounds, bizarre voices (especially Zaboitzeff’s growling song) and the two crew members’ clarinette and percussion playing add a new dimension to the old sound. The recording is powerfully mixed and, especially when enjoyed via headphones, a true tour de force through Zaboitzeff’s soundscape.

Nevertheless we must deduct a few points in the category ‘B grade’ (creativity). Overall, this cd is more or less ‘recycled’, because Zaboitzeff reuses most of the old Zoyd samples without hardly changing anything, so parts of it sound as if he had just remixed tracks from old cds. That said, the old material is still simply brilliant, so even a ‘remix’ is worthwhile. Plus, the addition of two musicians and diverse new ideas leaves much to be discovered on Zaboitzeff’s cd. Nice piece!

BABYBLAUE SEITEN (D)
Achim Breiling

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TRAVERSES (F)
by Stéphane Fougère (octobre 2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

… A change of scene with *Miniaturen*, Thierry ZABOITZEFF’s latest production for Editta BRAUN’s new piece, created for the opening of the 1999 “Salzburger Festspiele”: this time, Dr ZAB did not merely set his robotic and mechanical string orchestra in motion. Contrary to all expectations, he has assembled a small team of musicians made of real flesh and blood!

As one surprise never comes alone, *Miniaturen* was also composed using old pieces that Thierry had written for ART ZOYD! No fewer than 41 miniature pieces were therefore re-recorded and assembled to create a ‘Zoydian suite in three movements’. Each movement lasts around 20 minutes and evokes a particular sensation: beauty (Schön), delicacy (Zart) and cold (Kalt). To tell the truth, this last description does little justice to the qualities of this new album. One suspects, in fact, that the presence of musicians lends an undeniable extra warmth and dynamism to this record, especially as some parts were recorded live.

Whilst ZABOITZEFF still handles a good number of instruments (guitars, bass, cellos, vocals, programming and ‘soundscapes’), the clarinets are played by Christian KAPUN, the drums and percussion by Peter ANGERER, whilst Judith LEHNER’s soprano voice provides a welcome counterbalance to ZAB’s terrifying ghoul-like voice. It should be noted that the musicians in question are not merely subservient ‘decorative’ guests; their contributions are truly significant, and they have even been given a few solo passages.

As for the various movements of this suite, they are full of twists and turns, as each consists of ten to fifteen miniatures with highly varied atmospheres, resulting in a work of epic character, just as ART ZOYD has indeed been capable of creating. Refined dramatic tensions, whiffs of dark romanticism, medieval-inspired atmospheres, funeral marches, schizophrenic outbursts and ambiguous contemplations follow one another without warning, leaving the listener no time to succumb to bored indifference. The movements follow one another, sometimes echoing each other, with certain miniatures being repeated. The soundscape is also punctuated by recurring sound effects, such as church bells, barking, armoured doors slamming, camera shutters clicking and erotic moans. And then there are those themes that give the impression of having been heard before… From ZAB? From ART ZOYD? In any case, the success of *Miniaturen* lies not only in having rediscovered the ‘ART ZOYD spirit’, but also in a spirit that even some people could no longer find within ART ZOYD itself. That speaks volumes about what lies ahead.

TRAVERSES (F)
Stéphane Fougère

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PROGVISIONS.NET (UK)
by José Nafría (2000)

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

I had been waiting for a long time for this to happen. The resurrection of Thierry Zaboitzeff, the wonderful French musician, member during many years of my adored Art Zoyd, who in his last solo album (he has published three since his definitive exit of Art Zoyd in 1997) has abandoned the techno-ethnic caprice completely (shown for example, in the interesting India that nevertheless, was not what one expected) to de- voted himself to what I like more, to develop the experimental RIO side he played for years in Art Zoyd.

This last CD of Thierry is a marvel that recaptures the best and darker essences in the Art Zoyd of the 90s (mainly in some moments that come directly from "Haxan" or "Marathonerre" directly), as the subtitle of the album already indicates ("Zoydian Suite in three movements") and as forty (and one) small, dense and atmospheric mu- sical miniatures.

The group of Thierry is formed in this album by Christian Kapun (clarinets), Peter Angerer (drums) and the own Thierry (cello, bass, guitars, soundscapes, voices and programming), with the help in some miniatures of Judith Lehner's feminine voice.

This "Miniaturen: Zoydian Suite in 3 Movements" is the musical part of “a dance piece for nine dancers and eighteen winter coats" (??), created by Editta Braun's com- pany in 1999 for the opening of the Salzburg festival.

As I have commented previously, the album includes three movements: "Schön" in thirteen parts and 19 minutes, “Zart” in seventeen fragments and 21 minutes and “Kalt” in other ten parts and almost 18 minutes, concluding with the independent piece "Finale" of five minutes of duration.

How can I define these musical miniatures? In general, I can say that the sound gen- erated by the programmed tapes, rhythms and convoluted percussion, gelid passages of electro-acoustic music and the wonderful and lonely clarinet brings us to the ghastly, dark and dense atmospheres created by Art Zoyd or the last albums of the Belgian Univers Zero. It is curious how the musical careers of these two big groups continues to intermingle: in this way for example, Daniel Denis, drummer and main composer of Univers Zero has played in many disks of Art Zoyd and in direct, the same as Michael Berckmanns (oboe and bassoon in UZ), Univers Zero last album is co-produced by Art Zoyd's people, Thierry Zaboitzeff played a song in "Ceux du Dehors" of Univers Zero.

Over this sound base loaded with emotional force, we enjoy devastating floods of guitars and bass, desperate voices full with pain, sweet moments amongst whispers, caresses and choral voices, followed by full outbursts of electricity and dirty noise, uneasiness charged with madness and illness, all kind of ambient sounds (orgasms, wailing, clicks of cameras that act as sound flashes during the different sequences of the suite, animals, water...), even, I swear, I can hear some musical fragments that seem pure metal mixed by the blend of Art Zoyd.

This is pure assonant dissonance, the unhinged world of Lovecraft or Kafka made reality, darkness made contemporary music. Truly I cannot imagine how anyone one can make dance out of this no matter how modern it is, with this music without structures, replete of discontinuity and holes, loaded with surprises, changes, sound mutations, rock, free jazz, contemporary, electronic classic..... a whole world that fits in this fabulous sound bible.

PROGVISIONS.NET (UK)
José Nafría

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EXPOSE (USA)
by Mike Ezzo (2000)

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

This release shows Thierry to have come full circle in his solo artist work. It reaches back to partake in a dialogue with elements and gestures cultivated from his earliest days in Art Zoyd, all the way through his experiments with sampling and keyboard-centered composition, and up to the present work he has done for dance and theater. The music runs continuously for three separate 20-minute movements (plus a short finale). As with "Heartbeat" Thierry focuses on his bass playing and singing, but this time in a direct, live-performed framework. The contributions of a drummer and clarinetist bring out the colors and demeanor of his compositions in a more vivid and palpable fashion than his purely solo work (and indeed most of his former band's material from the last decade). Along the way themes from past albums, as well as some of Art Zoyd's "Haxan" and others, are revisited and presented under a completely different guise. The closest he has yet come to portraying his music in a band concept, the "Miniaturen" suite represents what I consider to be his finest hour yet.
EXPOSE (USA)
Mike Ezzo

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CHRONIC'ART (F)
by Jérôme Schmidt

Miniaturen - Thierry Zaboitzeff & Crew

First and foremost known for his brilliant compositional work with the cult band Art Zoyd, Thierry Zaboitzeff established himself as a leading figure in so-called ‘new music’ as early as the mid-1980s. A brief historical overview: Art Zoyd was formed in 1976, an unlikely fusion of Bartók, Stravinsky and Magma. Their early albums, which stood in stark contrast to the scene of the time, laid the foundations for a movement at the crossroads of contemporary music and a certain style of French rock. Strangely enough, such a radical approach managed to overcome the moral and financial erosion caused by the prevailing and widespread musical vulgarity, surviving thanks to the support of national and local authorities. For once, the value of state funding for music has been proven.

Initially associated too hastily with his original band, Zaboitzeff succeeded, over the course of a few albums, in forging a sound and an instantly recognisable identity. In the great tradition of ballet music, he embarked on an ongoing and fruitful collaboration with the choreographer Editta Braun. With *Heartbeat*, *India* and then *Alice*, Zaboitzeff (Dr Zab to his friends) has defined a soundscape that is more techno and electronic than his previous works. Returning here to a more spartan, less flashy and, above all, much more acoustic instrumentation, he has produced a series of extremely compelling musical miniatures, leaning even further towards new sounds. Brilliant ideas, as ever, and delivered – true to form – with a dry yet expansive, perfect yet decidedly human interpretation. From the string ensemble to the discreet use of synthesis, Zaboitzeff’s compositions veer neither towards excess nor towards the banal or the ordinary. This grand, miniaturised showcase of music that remains as contemporary as ever in spirit and form is every bit a light-hearted demonstration of strength by a musician who is, sadly, all too often overlooked.

CHRONIC'ART (F)
Jérôme Schmidt

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Miniaturen remastered

Reviews

IMPRO JAZZ (F)by Marc Sarrazy (2000)Chronique de la version originale sur CD

BABYBLAUE SEITEN (D)by Achim Breiling (2000)Chronique de la version originale sur CD

TRAVERSES (F)by Stéphane Fougère (octobre 2000)Chronique de la version originale sur CD

PROGVISIONS.NET (UK)by José Nafría (2000)

EXPOSE (USA)by Mike Ezzo (2000)

CHRONIC'ART (F)by Jérôme Schmidt

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IMPRO JAZZ (F)
by Marc Sarrazy (2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

BABYBLAUE SEITEN (D)
by Achim Breiling (2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

TRAVERSES (F)
by Stéphane Fougère (octobre 2000)
Chronique de la version originale sur CD

PROGVISIONS.NET (UK)
by José Nafría (2000)

EXPOSE (USA)
by Mike Ezzo (2000)

CHRONIC'ART (F)
by Jérôme Schmidt