SYMPHONIE CONSTERNATE

The eccentricity still runs deep on French multi-instrumentalist Sébastien Gramond's eighth 'virtual symphony.' An avid composer by any standard, Gramond tends to cross through a great many genres even over the course of a single album. Despite giving the initial impression that this is solely a classical album, Gramond gives quite a surprise around the halfway point. Although 'Symphonie Consternate' has some interesting twists and turns however, it does so at the total loss of coherence, and due to some preexisting weaknesses in the formula.

As anyone who has heard a neoclassical album from Gramond before knows, the orchestrations are not those of real instruments, but rather a computer program that cheaply imitates the sounds. While I have usually appreciated Sébastien Gramond's classical work on a compositional level, it almost always ruined the musical experience for me, leaving only a couple of times where the tinny, mechanical feel actually worked in its favour. Here, things sound a little better than usual, but it would not take any brand of audiophile to understand that it is a computer program they are listening to. Even reprising some works by such artists as Igor Stravinsky, the classical work might have the potential, but it alway lacks the medium.

About halfway through, it seems like Sébastien Gramond gets tired with neoclassical orchestration, so he decides to flip the music on its side and go down the route of dance music and hip-hop. Yes, about as random a change as anything someone is going to hear, but the dance tracks here actually turn out fairly well. Although it does get a little silly to have samples of a generic rapper talking about the 'west side' on an album written by a long- haired French hippie, it is an interesting experiment by the man that would be cool to hear some more of on future records.

A very hit-or-miss album, but it has some interesting charms to it.