Ouvre-Glace
Circum-Disc, 2021
8/10
The acoustic version of Toc, the trio of Peter Orins (drums), Ivann Cruz (acoustic guitar) and Jérémie Ternoy (piano) welcome Sakina Abdou (sax, recorder) and Barbara Dang (piano) on this very unusual and highly creative interaction between the 5 artists under the Adoct moniker.
The title track starts the listen with plenty of assorted background noises, as a random piano key here and a guitar pluck there come and go. Closer to the middle, percussion becomes the focus as the setting gets quite adventurous, before slipping into a bare display of restraint. Near the 20 minute mark, we’re into a busy climate of hypnotic recorder and swift, frantic drumming, before the minimal exit.
The remainder of the tracks aren’t as long, but are certainly just as exciting, including the playful guitar of the raw “Carentiel”, while “Immobilisme Poreux” unfolds in two parts that brings frisky saxophone and firm keys that can get nearly chaotic just as they can dreamy. “Démenti Conforme” exits the listen, and brings traces of post-rock, avant-garde sounds and jazz sensibilities to a very atypical finish.
A project that was birthed during the pandemic in France, let’s hope that this isn’t a one off effort as Adoct manipulate free improvisation, minimalism, and variations of jazz in unpredictable and exciting ways.
Travels well with: Murmur Metal- Maelstrom; David Dunn- Verdant