Misc for starters and Fievel is Glauque for dessert on Thursday July 3, at Studio TD in Brussels.
Brussels singer Ma Clément likes the Cocteau Twins, Whitney Houston and Björk. Keyboardist Zach Phillips cites Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Royal Trux, Annette Peacock, MF Doom, Mal Waldron and Carla Bley. And all these names in no way sum up the audible, rich and exciting result.
Fievel is Glauque has a vast palette and a vast program. With its penchant for polyrhythms, modern harmonies, chamber music, pop and chanson, this is a chamber orchestra with hybrid instrumentation.
These are not “songs” in the proper sense of the word, as the lyrics (in French and English) are set in long pieces that in no way subscribe to the criteria of pop culture. It’s hard to play, and you have to be a fan of complex forms to really appreciate it.
Ma Clément’s relatively slim voice (but always accurate and impeccable phrasing) is reminiscent of Lætitia Sadier (Stereolab), but with more technical demands and even more charged compositions. Saxophonist and flautist André Sacalxot is the main soloist in this full orchestra, which will be the subject of a cult following if it isn’t already. Truly a discovery.
Photo: Emmanuel Novak Bélanger
