Nicolas Bernier at No Type: Ail et l’eau faille

The Canadian No Type-Netlabel delivers Nicolas Berniers’ first soloalbum Ail et l’eau faille. Bernier appeared at No Type in company with Delphine Measroch under the name of Milliseconde Topographie. Their delightful two-track EP Paperasses éparses was an experimental investigation in delicate electronic textures and opulent acoustic instrumentations. At Ail et l’eau faille, you can catch Nicolas Bernier exploring his rather folkloristic influences. And you can call it Pop, if you’re a brave listener.

Bernier mixes handmade beats with acoustic guitars and sweet little synthesizers. Electronic music that sounds like build from Lego, experimental Pop that carries beautiful melodies without kitsch or additional icing. Song number one, Propriétaire d’un Chat aux Grands Yeux, is a good example for his way of compositing. Nice guitars, a smooth road piano, some bleeps in the back and a strange rhythm-section that does not care about synchronization. To make machine music so imperfect that it would become more human than human, as he states at the No Type-website. La tortue at position number three features a simple guitar-lick and surprises with groovy drum machine-grooves. Very loose, very good! If you like the oeuvre of Stephane Obadia, you’ll also dig this tune. The third Pop-song on Ail et l’eau faille is probably La ville est en feu, though this one lacks the optimistic mood of the first two reviewed tracks. Down-pitched beats, bubbling synthesizers and open chords on a stringed instrument that ain’t a guitar. Listen to Pop (sic!) by Slovenian musician Neuf Meuf for comparison.

At walking dance Sombre desert (#02) you can hear a somber guitar-motive with strong references to the folk music of the European Middle Ages. In concert with the semi-tonal vocals, you could imagine Matmos doing an Animal Collective-remix. Closer to Paperasses éparses, same for Je ne juge pas and Les écureuils réchauffent les arbres at four and six which both come off with an ambient twist. Montauk, finally, is Nicolas Berniers’ glitch-ridden farewell. Hissing, background noises and a distorted Fender Rhodes add up to an atmospheric piece of innovative lo-fi Pop.

Get the record here: Ail et l’eau Faille
Direct download: Get the zip-file!