#75 GoGooo - “Long, Lointain” CD (Baskaru)

As I write this review, two new GoGooo-records are online for download already. It’s hard to keep track with Gabriel Hernandez’ intimate Ambient alter ego GoGooo considering a release-policy of albums and EPs popping up every three or four month. The main problem herein: quantity does not negotiate quality. Up to now, I haven’t heard a boring GoGooo record. Let’s talk about his first real CD release “Long, Lointain” for the French Baskaru label.
—
With ten tracks and a playing time of just under 38 minutes, “Long, Lointain” resembles an EP rather than an album. With it’s mixture of dense, harmonic drones and folky elements on the one and field-recordings and electro-acoustic treatments on the other hand, “Long, Lointain” stands musically between GoGooo’s releases at Mandorla (the epic drones of “La Forét aux Petites Filles” ) and his stripped experimental research at “Nuages” (for the bygone EKO netlabel). His music is derived from mainly analog sources, Hernandez processes noise and hissing to tonal textures, improvises with guitar and percussion, mediates on layers of single synth-tones or invites you to sink into his sub rosa field-recordings.

At Baskaru, you can stream some of the most important songs on “Long, Lointain” . Here, “Les Nuages Flottent” is all about a simple synth/ organ-drone, very consuming, very dense. Not a typical track on this album, though. “Près De L’arbre” displays the more delicate side of GoGooo. Starting like a simple Folk-song, Hernandez processes his versatile play into something rich and ethereal very soon. Another song you are able to listen to is “Echappée” . Lo fi drones, enhanced with feedback-like sinewaves and strangely filtered field-recordings, this tune is not quite like GoGooo for beginners. Challenging and beautiful. Lo fi, by the way, is another feature that has to be mentioned to describe Hernandez’ music in a whole. This is also true for the last song you might want to stream at Baskaru: Opener “Derrière…” . Background noises waves through the song, a low-key piano melody is heard, field-recordings and synthesizers interfere. Very nice!

In case you’re into these songs, make sure to order the album. Tracks like “Partir Loin” , “Je Ne Te Vois Plus” and “Affleurement” are worth to spend 14€ (including postage) on this fine digipak CD. The artwork was crafted by Gabriel Hernandez himself, as usual. Along the music, “Long, Lointain” comes with four short video clips that support the GoGooo music in an ideal way.

You can buy the CD at the Baskaru shop for 14€ including shipping.