ARS DE ER

Since 2016 ARS DE ER has released two or more albums per year for the most part and 2022 was no different with "Attacca Subito" and this one L'ADIEU AU MONDE. This is a completely new artist to me so i have zero references to any of his other works but after seeing his name pop up here and there lately i thought i'd better take the plunge and start diving into some of his music and what a surprise it is! This guy loves it weirdly dark and gloomy with darkwave in the cosmic dance with challenging angular avant-prog freakery.

L'ADIEU AU MONDE is a single near 32-minute track that reminds a lot of classic Univers Zero meets Art Zoyd in the period of UZ's debut "1313" and the even freakier sophomore unit "Heresie." After opening up with a gloomy atmospheric ambient haze the chamber rock aspects slowly ooze in until they become the dominate force. While no instrumentation seems to be listed anywhere this chamber prog appears to consist of a violin, viola, occasional saxophone, keyboards, piano and a bass. While a guitar seems absent for the most part there are moments when it's clearly a part of the equation. I'm not sure how typical this album is in comparison to the others but if somebody told me this was a long lost Univers Zero from the first phase of the band, i would totally believe them!

While originality isn't the strongest suit here, excellent musicianship and sense of composition clearly is. As the post-rock styled cyclical loops slowly build steam throughout the half-hour plus run the piano rolls become more proggy and music alternates between melodic sombre moments with knotty hairpin turn segments that offer satisfying avant-progginess. No vocals to be heard on this one as it is a gloom and doom procession down Lugubrious Lane. Clearly ARS has done his homework in studying classic Univers Zero, Present, Miriodor with ominous woodwinds adding brooding tones to a haunted string section. The darkwave atmospheres are anxiously surreal and mysteriously apocalyptic, something i haven't really experienced in the avant-prog world since UZ's "Heresie" itself which is the clear chief force of inspiration here.

It's not just a UZ / Art Zoyd clone though. ARS offers some stellar classical piano runs and more diversity with brooding moments of contemplation and dread followed up thunderous rock uproars that offer startling contrasts. The atmospheric backdrop serves as a sort of droning effect while the piano tinkling and swarms of strings improvise soundtracks of ominous suspense. ARS has mastered the art of contrapuntal elements perfectly with militant percussive drives and saddened string slides all conspiring to craft the perfect witching hour freak-a-thon. This music is actually brilliant even if it does follow a little too closely in the footsteps of classic UZ. The whole thing comes off more Belgium than Belarus.

From the looks and titles of ARS DE ER's other releases, it appears that his entire canon delves into the cold darkness of a similar effect. While this was my first stop in the canon it certainly won't be my last. Nobody's really replicated the classic Univers Zero sound so effectively so i'm beyond impressed with L'ADIEU AU MONDE as it sounds totally organic and not manufactured on a computer. And to think that every instrument is played by just one guy who seamlessly melds all the parts together like a real chamber orchestra. One of the biggest surprises of 2022, a year in which there have been too many great musical release to keep track of.

The album is fully instrumental. The first track, "Boite Noire" means literally "Black Box", but in French it may have a number of different meanings. The track itself starts with a cello sound which gives it a very dark flavor, this is why my mind goes to Art Zoyd. then in the second part the signature and the chord sequences remind more to the mentioned Latin Horse. Anyway, it's a very good example of chamber rock.

This is more or less what the album is made of, but there are remarkable passages here and there, like the quasi.metal drumming in the second track, but what surprised me more is the start of the little epic "Le Jardin d'Or? (The Golden Garden). It's melodic and you may expect Jon Anderson suddenly dropping in. Some passages can make think to Steve Howe even if made by keyboards. In any case, the track varies a lot, and it's full of the typical darkness of the genre.

You can also hear echoes of Emerson lake and Palmer in the closer "Dernier Element" (Last Element), very appropriate title for a closer, indeed.

In brief, Arseny Ershov shows a very good musicianship united to a lot of ideas and creativity. 4 stars for who loves this genre.

This 41 minutes single track is very well explained by its title. I interpret it as a journey into a dream. A first part is based on keyboard major chords with little variations. It's like the first phases of sleep, when the sleeper is initially relaxed. I can imagine to see landscapes, dreamy situations, the kind of things thatsometimes come to the mind when the conscience is relaxed and you are about to fall into a deeper sleep. It goes this way for about 10 minutes, then suddenly bass and drums put you into a different mood. It may be a nightmare, or just a different kind of dream. There is drums, then electronic noises like in many drones from the Berlin school. Now it's like being in a deeper dream, more detached from reality with things going on until only a piano note and a clock remain. The clock is suddenly replaced by a rock section introduced by bass seconded by electric guitar and percussion. At this point we are about at half the track and it unexpectedly turns into a sort of free jazz with a swinging bass, but without abandoning the main theme. When it ends, we are ready for the next section: dark chamber rock in an ART ZOYD vein. Another sudden change and a sort of remote wind is the background dor little rhythmic noises, but it's time for a church organ. From free jazz to classical in few minutes. My imaginary dreamer is having several different moments in his night. After the organ there's another dark section of keyboards and noises. I'm not sure about the album, but I think SENMUTH has done something similar revisiting in music the travel of Osiris in the realm of death.

Depending on the listener's state of mind, this part can even be considered spacey, as TANGERINE DREAM were in their Pink period, but the strange noises resembling a sort of melody in the background are closer to the way a sleeper's mind interprets the sounds heard while sleeping. It stops and a sort of wind remains, then tapes, piano strings manually hit, sound effects make it really weird. Let me say that there is continuity even with the sudden changes. This track is a journey and after more than 30 minutes one can start wondering what the outcome will be.

Some seconds of silence and it's organ and brasses. Now there's a melody. Dark, of course. I'm lost. I can't find my imaginary dreamer now, I can only follow the music trying to figure out where it's about to go. This organ stops and the piano continues its work. For about a minute I think to Claude DEBUSSY but it's quickly replaced by a harder section made of organ and dissonant keys, then relax again, bells and from the bottom, the initial keyboard raises slowly for a while. We are brought to the end of this sleepwalking journey by the bells...susrprise...I won't disclose it. I just say that the very last sound is the ringing of a wakeup.

I've had some fun describing it in this way, but more technically speaking, I have to say that the guy behind this project is a very skilled multi-instrumentist able to put a lot of ideas and make them work together. As in the story above, there's a bit of jazz, classical, noise, electronics, and even if I can't be 100% sure, I think there are true instruments, not keyboards only.

I have really enjoyed this journey into a musical dream. If you are in the right mood for a thing like this you just have to try it.

Next "Salle Vide" has brass sounds in foreground which make it sound very similar to ART ZOYD. Here it's where drums appear in the album for the first time. Every note seem to be carefully put in the right place, in a crescendo of tension. Later the sounds become more weird, with a sort of growling keyboard adding a horrorific effect to the mixture which ends with three "bumps".

The title track starts again fast and dissonant, but it's just the intro. The trumpet sound (is it a real trumpet?) makes it sound similar to the russian "YOJO", but that russian band is never that dark. The track is consistent. Every piece is placed in the right place, and also when the rhythm accelerates in a sort of crazy ballet it sounds very structured. Nothing sounds improvised, I mean. Another band using similar sounds and structures is the spanish OCTOBER EQUUS. The sudden end is probably the best way to close it.

"Le Ombrage (Retour)" has the effect of a pause: melodic church organ with a classical mood. More sad than weird, but so dark to recall the music of the Italian ZORA and ANTONIUS REX, luckily without speeches.

Now it's a time for a bit of rock. Of course with weird sounds and odd signatures but it's rock. A bit heavy, too. Not for all the track duration, anyway. There's another classically oriented interlude introducing the following rocking part. Not an easy listening, anyway, also because there are sudden changes that bring it back to the dark side. Interesting are the hits on the piano strings which close the track.

The sort of growling keyboard of the second track is used again on "Théâtre mécanique". It's another dark RIO track and again I think to ART ZOYD as possible influencers of this artist from Belarus. It's mainly two different tracks tied together as silence comes after 5 of the 10 minutes and is interrupted by a gong. Call me mad, but this part gives me the sensations of the studio disc of Ummagumma.

Finally, the initial track is reprised but it lasts twice the time and drums, bass, and sax are added to the base, so even if the chords are almost the same, it's completely another track. The melody is cnsistent enough to make it more "listenable", I mean listenable also to those who aren't used to RIO music. It's an excellent closer useful to avoid leaving the listeer with a sense of incompleteness. This track has the purpose of closing the album and couldn't have been placed in any other sequence.

A very solid dark composition. Just bear in mind that one must be used to this genre to fully appreciate it.