Semaine du Neuf | A lot of chamber groove from collectif9 and Architek Percussions

Five contemporary works, as many composers. The common thread? In addition to the words woven by author Kaie Kellough – groove. Indeed, this element so rarely associated with creative music was the central element of the evening of March 15 at the Espace Orange du Wilder in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles. As part of the Semaine du Neuf organized by Le Vivier, a show entitled Quelque part, mon jardin / My Backyard, Somewhere was presented, bringing together the creative universes of two of the most original and dynamic ensembles on the Montreal/Canadian scene: collectif9 and its nine strings, and Architek Percussions and its four genial tappers and pickers… To find out much more about the origins of this concept, read the interview conducted by colleague Alain Brunet HERE. 

The interpretative strategy adopted by the artists is quite original: the five works are cut into various parts, and then mixed together to form a continuous framework lasting around an hour and fifteen minutes. A bit like taking five models of Lego blocks and reassembling them into a single new, entirely coherent construction. 

The evening’s sonic thread was criss-crossed by contrasts between the glitch/syncopated aesthetics of Nicole Lizée, post-minimalist/dissonant of Luna Pearl Woolf, chamber pop of Eliot Britton, almost muzak of Brett Higgins and neo-impressionist/rock of Derek Charke. Kellough’s lyrics sometimes chanted or declaimed by the artist himself, have a spoken word style and are very urban, sometimes pre-recorded and altered, marking the blow and offering a very street colour to the whole concert. 

Quelque part, mon jardin / My Backyard, Somewhere is a contemporary proposition whose topicality is rooted in the blurring it creates between the scholarly contemporary creation and multi-trend pop worlds. Above all, it is an attempt to include the swaying pulse of Black music rather than the metronomically regulated pulse of Minimalism, another stylistic school based on rhythmic affirmation. You may have to pass for lovers of harmonic modernity, or especially the avant-garde, as this is almost totally consonant territory. 

The end result is resolutely contemporary, yet very accessible, even for an audience unfamiliar with creative music. Perhaps even a little too “polished” for some, if a few of the comments I’ve heard are anything to go by?

Be that as it may, and as far as I’m concerned, Quelque part, mon jardin / My Backyard, Somewhere is one of the very good projects by collectif9 and Architek.

Luna Pearl Woolf: But I Digress… (2018) – 19 min

Bret Higgins: among, within, beneath, atop (2018) – 8 min

Derek Charke: the world is itself a cargo carried (2018) – 15 min

Eliot Britton: Backyard Blocks (2018) – 17 min

Nicole Lizée: Folk Noir/Canadiana (2018) – 14 min