Melodium - Hum Hum & Bla Bla (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Untitled 1 (1:25)
Hellomusic (Ochre Remix) (7:05)
Untitled 2 (2:47)
Interlude Pour [Chiens] Depressifs (Audioroom Remix) (2:56)
Untitled 3 (2:59)
Untitled 4 (2:22)
Untitled 5 (3:41)
La Fin De Tout (Marsen Jules Remix) (4:00)

Here comes the Hum Hum & Bla Bla EP from Melodium, a french artist with his own quirky style of music. His work is a lot more electroacoustic and instrumental than electronic in nature. The instrumental nature of the EP also makes it sound more human.

The EP is also slightly experimental with the use of irregular sounding clicks and pops and lots of other weird but overall mellow sounds. In the midst of all the varied sound sources lies very nice musical arrangements that won’t disappoint.

Favourite tracks:
Hellomusic (Ochre remix)
Sounding almost classical in nature, a strange contrast is brought about in the listening experience by the clicky and poppy percussion that goes on for most of the track. The track transforms itself beautifully as it progresses in an almost strange manner for most electronic music which involves just adding more harmonies and playing louder. Leveraging on the concept of dynamics that most electronic musicians forget about. The only complaint I have about the track is that the percussion doesn’t sit that nicely in the mix during the later parts.

Untitled 5
This track sounds like it started its life as a pop piano piece. Sprinkle in glitchy sounding percussion, strings and uplifting arpeggiated synths and you have a kind of playful pop piece that sounds like it belongs in a vintage videogame.

La fin de tout (Marsen Jules remix)
A perfect ender track for the EP. Guitar chords and melodies are superimposed with the sounds of atmospheric pads and a synth that wails on in the background echoing memories of farewells that are both beautiful and sad at the same time.

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Melodium - La Tête qui Flotte (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Hellomusic (4:06)
Les Psychotropes Sont Mes Amis, Puis Mes Ennemis... (3:46)
Se Rayer Provisoirement De La Liste Des Vivants (3:33)
Kill Me With A Smile (3:36)
Emptykuerten (3:36)
Le Creux Est Ma Matière Première (3:34)
L’Attachement Aux Symptômes (3:42)
Mon Baromètre Mental (2:51)
Interlude Pour Dépressifs (2:08)
Gamm-recomposé (4:56)
Marcher A L’Envers Dans Nantes-Atlantique (2:28)
Greg Davis > Craig David (1:32)
La Chanson De Laïs-Salomé (1:19)
La Fin De Tout (2:46)
La Vie Est Plus Belle Depuis... (2:40)

Most electronic music is preoccupied with the beat. There are a number of reasons for this, both historical and technological, but it has only been in recent years that musicians have begun to truly explore the possibilities of melody in an electronic context. In the past few years artists such as Four Tet and M83 (to name just a couple) have successfully placed the concept of melody-driven electronic music at the forefront of the scene. This is not to say that they were the first artists to do so—but the creation of an entire subgenre of electronic music dedicated to the manipulation of acoustic—or pseudo-acoustic—melodies is definitely a recent development.

Electronic music hinges on the malleability of sound, the ability of musicians to take simple and familiar sounds and transform them into something unfamiliar, exotic and provocative. There’s no reason why the acoustic guitar and piano shouldn’t be as ripe with potential as the drum kit and synthesizer. The creation of an entire new sub-genre—the deceptively named “folktronica”—to describe this phenomenon was inevitable, given the rapid, maniacal drive towards speciation in the electronic music community. It’s not a particularly accurate or descriptive label, but hey, neither are IDM or UK garage / two-step (whu-huh?).

In any event, Melodium’s La T&#234te Qui Flotte is a veritable feast of fragile, intricate melodic composition. Melodium (a contraction of “melody” and “medium"), is Laurent Giraud, and with the exception of a handful of vocal bits and string samples, every noise on La T&#234te Qui Flotte has been created, processed and edited by him. The effect is startling, sparse and ethereal.

Many tracks, such as “Les psychotropes sont mes ami, puis mes ennemis...” and “Le creux est ma mati&#232re premi&#232re”, begin with a familiar acoustic noise, such as a gentle piano melody or acoustic guitar chord being fingered, and then elaborate on said melody, introducing layers of altered sound until the entire song is filled. Percussion is created from what sounds like a wide variety of found noises—hand claps, snapping fingers, knocking on wood—morphed and transformed into something unmistakably organic. The patterns are intricate but by no means distracting. The overall effect is pleasingly pastoral.

In other instances, the tracks begin strangely and expands outward. For instance, “Se rayer provisoirement de la liste des vivants” begins with a droning wheeze, like a bit of phantom guitar feedback, until suddenly transforming into a pendulous guitar chord strumming against the backdrop of haunting, discordant string samples. Even when more conventional percussion is utilized, as on “Kill me with a smile”, which features something resembling a conventional electronic breakbeat, the effect is alien. Juxtaposed against the universe of warped acoustics on display, the comparatively normal elements are transformed.

Certainly, La T&#234te Qui Flotte is nowhere near as ambitious as it could have been. Girard seems happy, in most cases, to craft comparatively minor arrangements, at least in comparison to some of his more cosmic-minded peers in the world of electronic music. But still, on tracks like “Emptykuerten” and “La vie est plus belle depuis...”, Melodium succeeds in opening up entirely new vistas through surprisingly humble means. The overall effect is invigorating.

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Melodium - Music for Invisible People (Autres Directions in Music, 2006)

As his previous album, La Tete Qui Flotte, was being warmly welcomed, the prolific Laurent Girard aka Melodium started working on the new step in his discography. Encouraged by an acclaim both from the public and the media, as the sunny days of 2005 were on their way back, he composed his most orchestrated album to date : Music For Invisible People which is about to be released now, just before the coming of winter.

On La Tete Qui Flotte, Melodium had the courage to open the doors to acoustic guitars and pop melodies, which gave a great breath of air to his chamber electronica. He was at the same time revealing himself as a singer on a duet with his girlfriend. A surprising singer with sorts of lyrics, to be exact. With Music For Invisible People, this opening has been pushed yet one step further : here the guitars (1 being electric) are queens, and he sings everything himself. In an atmosphere as intimate as hospitable.

Composed during a summer stay on the isle of Oleron, most of the time sitting in a garden, then reworked and arranged at home (flutes, melodicas, xylophone, keyboards, jembes, computer), this new album rid of complexes marks a new stage on the route of this artist. It’s a quiet and matured release, that offers in turns beautiful sunny songs -although stamped by a certain melancholy- and others, turmoiled and romantic. More pop and more folk, Music For Invisible People is an organic whole, extremely melodious.

Autres Directions

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