Articles
Death Blues
Questionnaire II

Albums
36
Daniel Bachman
Blevin Blectum
Ulises Conti
Ian William Craig
Dakota Suite & Sirjacq
Death Blues
Yair Etziony
Fade
Hammock
Imagho & Mocke
Kassel Jaeger
John Kannenberg
Martin Kay
Kein
Kontakt der Jünglinge
Akira Kosemura
Land Observations
Klara Lewis
Oliver Lieb
Lightfoils
Machinefabriek
Nikkfurie of La Caution
Pitre and Allen
Pjusk
Michael Robinson
Sawako
Seasurfer
Slow Dancing Society
Tender Games
Tirey / Weathers
Tohpati
Tokyo Prose
The Void Of Expansion
wild Up
Yodok III
Russ Young

Compilations / Mixes
Dessous Sum. Grooves 2
Silence Was Warm Vol. 5
Under The Influence Vol. 4

EPs / Cassettes / Mini-Albums / Singles
Belle Arché Lou
Blind EP3
Blocks and Escher
Dabs
DBR UK
Fracture
Sunny Graves
Ligovskoï
Mako
Paradox & Nucleus
Pye Corner Audio
Sawa & Kondo
Slpwlkr
Swoon
Toys in The Well
Versa
Marshall Watson

Belle Arché Lou: Seeking Solace
Humanist Records

Without wishing to imply that the music Alexis and Wesley Paul produce under their Belle Arché Lou guise is in any way lacking in its regular form, the two definitely bolster the appeal of their Seeking Solace EP by including collaborations with singer-songwriter Benoît Pioulard and dudukist Hrair Hratchian. By splitting the fourteen-minute EP's content between original material by Belle Arché Lou and collaborations, the Pauls have produced something special.

With Alexis playing nylon guitar, percussion, and toy piano and Wesley vibraphone, cymbals, and glockenspiel, Belle Arché Lou produces a refreshingly pure acoustic sound that's stirringly represented on the two framing cuts. The haunting opener “Dans la gueule du temps” is distinguished by a graceful blend of nylon guitar and vibraphone textures, while the elegant “Un frère et la mer” closes the release with a lovely serenade that even makes room for some spirited fingerpicking by Alexis.

“Make Haste” suggests that the Pauls and Thomas Meluch should definitely consider collaborating again, given how splendidly their respective talents converge on the piece. Imagine a prototypical Benoît Pioulard ballad enhanced with vibraphone and other instrumental touches and you'll have a pretty good idea of the song's entrancing sound. And a true collaboration it is, too, as Meluch contributed lyrics, singing, and bass to the song. The mournful cry of Hratchian's doudouk gives “Solace” an entirely different and rather unearthly character, though the sparkling presence of nylon guitar and vibraphone once again draws a clear connecting line from the song to the EP's other tracks. In fact, the ones with Benoît Pioulard and Hratchian are so strong, Belle Arché Lou might be wise to consider a full-length album conceived along similar grounds.

August-September 2014