By: Gareth Watkin
Benoît Pioulard | facebook |
Musician and composer Thomas Meluch, better known under his moniker of Benoît Pioulard, has certainly been busying himself this year. With the release of his latest studio album Sonnet on Kranky Records, and the two companion releases of Stanza‘ and Stanza II, Meluch now offers his latest EP release Noyaux. The new EP continues Meluch’s ambient projects, offering four new droning compositions. Those who enjoy and are familiar with the work of Meluch, especially his most recent releases, will most likely find Noyaux to be another enjoyable and strong release, once again showcasing the musician’s talents as an ambient composer in a great light.
Noyaux comes across as an interesting ambient release, and one that perhaps has more strengths than the previous releases of Stanza and Stanza II. On this latest release, Meluch bookends the EP with two long droning compositions, lasting 9 and 8 minutes respectively. This sandwiches together two shorter compositions, that have less time to make themselves known, but do so with effortless ease. All in all it’s another beautiful and dreamy release, and one that lovers of ambient drone will find delightful and easily accessible. Although Noyaux is less daring and experimental than Meluch’s album release of Sonnet, and is perhaps a release that doesn’t showcase the absolute greatest limits of Meluch’s abilities, it does offer a simple and enjoyable ambient experience.
Noyaux is perhaps less ambitious than some of Meluch’s earlier works, though it achieves what it ultimately sets out to do. The droning qualities of the opening track slowly lull us into the album experience, washing over us through two shorter tracks and then slowly escaping away on the final track, leaving us with a sense of calm and perhaps refreshment. It’s easy music to get lost into, as well as perhaps rewarding those who are more attentive to each and every detail in each of the songs. It seems that Meluch is continuing to push out releases at an incredible rate this year, and one wonders what will be coming out next.
