LIVE SURANNÉ

Julian Julien's group based on large brass ensemble supported by drums whip out their release debut as live recording. The stands as a great way of presenting new music, giving a very convincing first impression on the performers, and allowing to hear the real interaction of players.

The music has quite clear themes, multiple harmonies in structured and controlled musical entity, pulsing on tunnel of rhythmic groove, and enriched by myriad details of instrumental solo decorations. More traditional jazzy tones merge to cosmic electronics, introduced on the spacey second track, and later hovering around the compositions as a fully adopted aural element. The Suranné suite evolves from the upright start and ethereal celestial moment towards more anticipating feelings, both cosmological surroundings and earthbound lead themes circling each other. The intense growth of composition is honored with fine tight arrangements, and sharp concentrated playing.

Though the cover picture and group's name gave me some chaotic association, the music is very coherent, improvised variations bursting as logical branches supporting the main compositions. I actually studied the booklet quite much before starting to listen, and I think this affected my experience and thoughts on the album decisively. The pictures within seem as glimpses of life, and the theoretic time qualities of fractal mathematics and contemplations of Javier Marias were declared as philosophic basis of this music. Forming my own understanding to this, which might deviate from the artists intentions, the song chapters and their musical progression started to appear following the logics of human lifespan; most early chapters like memories of childhood missing, and the last movements growing longer, stagnant, and separate from the most concentrated and intense middle sections... So I thought the word "Live" on the album title could have another larger semiotic meaning for this release, in addition of describing the recording method on stage. From the quotes of the book mentioned as inspiration, I found some correlations with essays of cosmological and quantum physic writes, referring to reductionism as quality of consciousness observing the information from human senses. I have found all kinds of approaches to metaphysics as interesting attempts to try reach answers for the fundamental questions of life's true essence, and I recognize art as one of the most interesting channels to this quest man almost seems to be made of. From the void of energy fields ghostly flickering shapes emerge, these fusing together, creating units and functions which meaning might be only a creation in minds of performer and listeners; however these sensations are factual to the entities in the world, and though man's created fractures in time might not be infinite like the theoretical mathematic forms of chaos, they are permanent on human life scale, like this pleasant evening on Suranné caught to the tapes.

The two bonus tracks outside this concept have slightly different lineup, and the sound quality on these earlier captures from Paris aren't as good as on the main tracks. However stylistically being quite similar, these pleasant brass lounging colored by the electronic aural illuminations document the progress of this fine French cosmic brass rock group.