Oh, so you think that a mind free of convolution is the key to artist productivity? French musician Baptiste Martin a.k.a. Les Halles is here to testify to the contrary, as he recently regaled us with a revealing tale describing the various emotional states that have imbued (since 2012) his recent pan flute meditations. “Watching the summer sky” and an Elton John-inspired feeling of nostalgia brought about the initial creations, and as his production increased concurrent with tapes for Constellation Tatsu and Noumenal Loom, he was alone in Montpellier. Martin welcomes the idea of being forced to handle wet plastic bags every day, because as he describes his process, “Somehow I need to feel bad to look for an escape and then make music.”
Transient is out this Friday, June 17, on Not Not Fun, and even though its context might include an abundance of soaked-through tissues, the music itself is a discernible distance away from melancholic. The Amerinidian flutes (sampled and otherwise), addended by keyboards and recorded to tape, sound like manufactured relief. The therapy profession would dissolve if the rest of us were as motivated, I gather.
TMT has the pleasure of premiering “Thresholds” last week. Listen to it below, followed by the album’s tracklist.
Transient tracklisting:
01. Hypochondria of the Heart
02. Thresholds
03. Roundelay
04. Above Dust
05. Our Way In The Flowing Sand
06. Living
07. Skies That Soar
08. Transient
More about: Les Halles
