TRAFFIC D'ABSTRACTION

Such is the complexity and proliferation of Pascal Comelade's discography that it is difficult to say for sure where an album sits within it. The best I can say for this 1993 album is that while he had been on the music scene since around 1975, this is one of his early albums, at least in numeric terms.

Comelade's trademark is to use children's instruments or child-like sounds to create simple melodies which are then brought together to form a patchwork which hopefully adds up to more than the sum of the parts. Here we have 17 short vignettes with a mainly continental (European) flavour. They paint pictures of Paris street scenes, of mysterious liaisons, and of the relaxed life of rural villages in remote parts where nothing much ever happens (at least until the film starts). This is the music of late night B-movies in foreign languages with sub-titles. It is the music of holidays when the host wishes to give the visitor a taste of the "authentic" atmosphere of the locale.

From time to time, familiar melodies come and go, such as the Tango tune used on "Haïku De Tango" and the slightly drunken rendition of " L'Orquestra Del Titanic Plays 'That's Amore' ". One does have to listen a bit more closely to "Like a rolling stone" which is played out in waltz time or something approximating to it.

"Traffic d'abstraction" is primarily and avant-garde work, but one which is very accessible and easy on the ear. There is nothing challenging about the music, and if I am honest, nothing really progressive either. This is essentially mood music, with melodies your aunt will enjoy too.