I dare to detect a hint of deep-seated individualism in each of the components of this trio, arrived with "Raymond & Marie" at the second outing. Curiously enough, this three-minded sharp-sightedness is exactly what makes this music work so well. Differently from other EAI collectives, Mersault are perfectly conscious of the value of the single parts; if the total yields excellent results after all, it's only because their sense of self-restraint and will of not over-exceeding prevails on the potential struggle for the affirmation of a specific idea. Strong personality and egoism are indeed very different things, and these men know what they're doing. In this particular instance Tomas Korber (guitar, electronics), Christian Weber (double bass) and Christian Wolfarth (drums) seem to privilege the addition of strata, rough lacquers and laminae as opposed to subtractive processes and consequent quietness. While there are several instances in which one of the musicians might be found naked in front of an open door, exposed to a chilly current ("have todo something to get out of this hush"),

the ensemble playing is hardnosed as rarely heard in this zone, often capping a seriously boiling violence (mostly courtesy of Korber's electrically charged undulations and uber-hissing manipulations and Wolfarth's frictional use of cymbals and metallic objects) which explodes only in the final two minutes. Amidst the evil winds the tent is nailed to the ground by Weber, whose style has become deservedly recognized in recent times, quality low-frequency garnishing and unchristened plucking preventing the music from following the siren chant of undesired abstraction. Engaging moments of cohesive brutality see Wolfarth adding fractured rolls and skin mistreatment, alternated with sections where both Weber's arco and Korber's drones wrap our shoulders in a deadly embrace which is also the carrier of the most intense quaverings of the whole album. Raymond & Marie comprises thought-provoking, stimulating, unpleasingly beautiful playing for those who don't like security.


Massimo Ricci