Melodium - Anaemia (Audio Dregs, 2004)

1 Reality is Decaying
2 Iopak Bis
3 Floating Blood
4 Industrial Reminiscence I
5 Chan's Escape
6 Pseudo Anomali
7 Industrial Reminiscence II
8 Residual Song
9 Be Away
10 Platitudes & Cloportation
11 Felt Melt (Primitive Version)
12 Compose Organique Volatil II

Les mystères du journalisme musical veulent qu'on encense M83 et ignore le nouvel album de Melodium. Si les deux projets diffèrent sous bien des aspects, ils sont néanmoins proches dans leurs tentatives d'utiliser l'electronica pour construire des chapes de brume sonore.
Melodium aka Laurent Girard, pianiste de formation, est assez bon architecte dans le domaine. Sans révolutionner le genre, son électronique économe et assez inquiétante est faite de bruits étouffés, de pulsassions sourdes, de nappes de clavier et de bips sous-marins. A l'instar des productions de Morr Music, des disques d'Anne Laplantine ou de Lali Puna, "Aenemia" est ainsi une plongée dans un univers à la fois robotique et désuet, comme la rencontre du sampler et du sonar.
L'album s'écoute un peu comme se regarde la fin de "2001, L'Odyssée de l'Espace". C'est une traversée, une plongée dans un univers extra-terrestre et hors du temps, une musique qui privilégie l'imaginaire plutôt que le mélodique. Cette attitude révèle une certaine forme d'intransigeance artistique et force l'admiration.
Evidemment l'aspect vaporeux de la musique de Melodium ne favorise pas l'enthousiasme total. Pas de tubes, pas de mélodies à chanter sous la douche, pas de chansons qui réchauffent le coeur. Mais "Aenemia" se mérite peut-être à ce prix là. Et au fil des écoutes, on apprend à cerner les ritournelles semées par Melodium, telles "Iopak Bis", "Felt Melt" ou "Composé Organique", qui sont parmi les plus réussies et reposent sur une vraie belle construction mélodique. Ces morceaux-là n'ont rien à envier au "Kid A" de Radiohead.
Vous l'aurez compris, dans un monde parfait on nous parlerait autant de Melodium que de M83.
Popnews

I'm not so sure if Laurent Girard went all the way to suffer for his art since the album hardly shows deficiencies in melody. Maybe it's Girard's conservatory degree as a pianist that lead him to name this set of compositions 'Anaemia'. Melodium is at the crossroads of piano magic and glitsch harmony. But as he defies to be pigeon-holed, and as I would expect his work is too alien to most of his former students, the body of work is rather solid and groovy!
Rather than break new ground, Melodium is a today's pianist with his digital orchestra. Squelching sounds coming from the keyboards substitute for the horn section, the strings take on the melodies while Girard's superb piano play directs the compositions. Traditional by heart, Melodium is a conductor lost without his symphony orchestra. 'Anaemia' progresses from subdued excitement in 'Iopak Bis' to the dubby elektro acousitics of sound sketches like 'Pseudo Anomali'. The intermezzos reshuffle the seemingly false starts to pave the way for outright magnificent compositions. Classical by nature, Melodium succeeds in building layers and as distorted the mechanics sound at times, there is no juxtaposition. The layers read exactly the same as the composition does. 'Anaemia' instead reaches a beautiful spleen like momentum in 'Composé Organique Volatil II' which is the grand finale to a wonderful album.
-Maarten Schiethart, Penny Black

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Melodium - My Mind Is Falling to Pieces (Arbouse Recordings, 2008)

1. I've been here before

2. You're acting like you lost your mind

3. Kiss me, then shoot me

4. Christiane

5. A sort of happy melancholy

6. You could feel space and atoms

7. Death will take me away from this world

A la seconde où je vous parle de "My Mind Is Falling to Pieces", sachez qu'une nouvelle œuvre (encore plus neuve, je veux dire) dénommée "Cerebro Spin" est déjà disponible. Eh oui, c'est du Laurent Girard tout craché ça : pas le temps de souffler, que le touche-à-tout aspire déjà à emboîter le pas à son insatiable besoin de création. Les amateurs – dont je suis – ne s'en plaindront pas, car le Français a le don pour concilier la quantité avec la qualité, et ce, sans perdre un iota de crédibilité. Pour l'heure, c'est donc " My Mind Is Falling to Pieces" qui retient notre intérêt. Composé en 2006, c'est seulement depuis peu, sous l'estampille du label français Arbouse Recordings, que ce mini album sept titres (de 48 minutes quand même) s'offre au public. Et, pour rendre cette petite chose délicate encore plus intime, seul un tirage limité à cinq cents pièces sera disponible. Faut-il se ruer sur l'objet rare ? J'ai envie de dire oui. Oh, il ne s'agit pas de l'album du siècle, juste d'un immense vecteur d'émotions dans lequel chacun se retrouve un jour. En toute humilité, l'electro-bidouilleur nous plonge dans une atmosphère cotonneuse particulièrement mélancolique. En guise de décor : rien d'autre qu'une épaisse couche de brume. Assiégé, le corps n'a d'autre alternative que d'oublier qu'il existe, et lâche prise. Dans ce no man's land, seul demeure l'esprit. Léger et libre, il s'abandonne au méandre ambiant jusqu'à ce que, guidé par le murmure rassurant de notre hôte, il finisse par emprunter une voie moins sombre : "A Sort of Happy Melancholy". Le voile opaque tombe et s'ouvre, alors, une petite pièce chaude, enluminée de guitares acoustiques. La mélopée qui s'y diffuse est bougrement réconfortante mais ne dure qu'un temps. Subrepticement, le cycle infernal enfile son habit de pluie, les rayons lumineux ne parviennent plus à transpercer la brume latente et l'atrabile répand à nouveau sa noirceur élégiaque, jusqu'à la prochaine éclaircie. Ainsi va la vie : "Kiss Me, Then Shoot Me".

David Vertessen Pop News

Since his first 7" release in 1999, Frenchman Laurent Girard has been quietly carving out a niche and making a name for himself in the world of ambient electronic music. Released on a multitude of different labels (Static Caravan, audio dregs, Autres Directions in Music) under the name Melodium, Girard's catalogue is as sizeable as it is impressive – My Mind Is Falling To Pieces is his twelfth CD album, and audio dregs are imminently about to release number thirteen.

And while there are hordes of bearded laptop composers scattered throughout Europe's towns and cities, Girard is particularly noteworthy for combining gentle ambient soundscapes with more human elements, such as folky acoustic guitars and his limited yet charming vocals. Another important ingredient is humour; 2005's La Tete Qui Flotte featured a track titled Greg Davis > Craig David, which still raises a smile to this day. Although its name would suggest otherwise, My Mind Is Falling To Pieces is no different in this respect.

Although sufficiently impressed to award it a 7/10 rating, I noted that 2007's self-release Vilnius lacked the personal touch that had helped to propel his earlier works beyond those of his contemporaries. At the time I wondered whether Girard might be running out of steam and ideas.Thankfully My Mind Is Falling To Pieces has quashed these doubts in the most emphatic fashion: it's arguably his strongest recording to date.

Key to the album's success is the way in which Girard's voice, guitar work and electronic compositions are moulded together. It all sounds seamless. Previously certain movements within tracks have sounded clumsy, with programmed beats struggling to keep time with harshly strummed acoustic guitars. Here, however, Girard's delicate finger-picked guitar patterns dance happily over the whirling synths and sparse beats. Tracks like the superb folk-infused finale Death Will Take Me Away From This World represent a real leap forward in terms of composition and performance. The faint tape hiss of old has been replaced by a new professional sheen, but this step up in production values has not come at the expense of character.

My Mind Is Falling To Pieces confirms Laurent Girard's place at the top table of European electronic music. Latecomers to the Melodium party would do well to start their obsession here.

Noripcord

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Melodium - Cerebro Spin (Audio Dregs, 2008)

1. Choanal Imperforation

2. Eustachian Tube

3. Not Yet 1

4. Kissing Disease

5. Meniere's Vertigo

6. Not Yet 2

7. Social Phobia

8. Vocal Cord Polypus

9. Not Yet 3

10. Panic Disorder

11. Scoliosis + Astigmatism

Dans ce monde stressant, plein d’incertitude, il y a des repères qui rassurent : Noel, puis les voeux, puis la galette des rois, puis les crèpes de la chandeleur, puis les oeufs en chocolat à Pâques. En musique, il y a des artisans qui ont un rythme de croisière : ainsi donc nous chroniquons ce qui est déjà le quatrième album de Melodium. La recette est inchangée : "j ’ai enregistré tout seul (comme d’habitude) et chez moi (comme d’hab’ aussi), explique Girard. J’ai utilisé des samples d’instruments (violoncelle, clarinette, flute...) et ai assemblé des mélodies note par note, ce qui est un peu laborieux. " Laborieux pour l’artiste certes, mais charmants pour les amateurs de détails sonores que nous sommes. "Sinon j’ai joué moi-même de la guitare et des claviers" ajoute l’artiste. Voici donc une musique moitié organique, moitié électronique, qui a le charme des boites à musique de notre enfance et un petit côté "comptines du futur" qui n’est pas pour nous déplaire. Allez, merci pour ces petites musiques idéales pour se laisser bercer, et à l’année prochaine Laurent.
M la Music

Laurent Girard, or Melodium as he’s known, creates some very dreamy sounds indeed on his latest album of mainly instrumental music, Cerebro Spin. Displaying clever usage of slower time signatures, particularly the drum programming/sampling throughout, Melodium’s world is a gentle place, it’s nuances not unlike those displayed by Scott Heron’s gorgeous Savath & Savalas project. The composer from France is no slouch either, with an output of 10 albums in 7 years or so.

Throughout Cerebro Spin, there are explorations of military drum parradiddles, heavily chorused and flanged guitars, gently tinkling and padded keys, flute lines meandering like snakes and a splash of psyche-lite thrown in for good measure (such as back masking, harmonium and muted trumpets).

A track such as “Kissing Disease” with it’s fragile piano and spoken word overlay wouldn’t sound out of place on the Yann Tierssen “ Amelie” soundtrack. Elsewhere, classical guitar pieces nestle alongside skittish acoustic cut ups. There’s a neo-classical feel to “Panic Disorder” and “Not Yet 2” sees Girard convert his sound to folk pop, complete with hazy vocal and warm synth melodies.

The album is an enjoyable listen that I suspect will reward the listener upon repeated visits, it’s only flaw is that the production on the tracks is quite samey, with similar instrumental structures (as varied as they may be) used throughout.

Lyndon Pike, Cyclic Defrost

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Melodium - Gamm (Active Suspension, 2001)

Gamm
Cyclamen I
Hiko
Cyclamen II

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Melodium - There Is Something in the Universe (Disasters By Choice, 2006)

Prologue (1:30)
The Plio-Scene Is Away (5:18)
Weird Voices Inside My Head (3:19)
Please, Destroy The Piano (3:25)
He Will Be Killed Tomorrow (1:22)
In A Complete Solitune (2:58)
You Are No One, Like Everyone (3:29)
Dragged Down Into The Bottomless hole (2:47)
The Can't Get Inside Of You (3:19)
The House Is Surrounded (5:39)
Interlude Double (2:04)
I Know Is Crimes (3:58)
Do You Remember That? (3:20)
Of Course, I'm Guilty (4:00)
There Is Something In The Universe (4:38)

… Before the 'poppy' "la tete qui flotte" (Autres Directions 2005), Melodium composed a quasi instrumental album based on acoustic guitar and analogic sounds... the aim is always to express feelings through the use of simple and melancholic melodies...
… A refined, sweet and nostalgic sound, distracted in its interferences, highlights the gentleness of Laurent Girard’s touch, for his third album on Disasters By Choice.

Disasters By Choices

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Melodium - Silica (Static Caravan, 2000)

A1		Silica (4:30)
A2		Hymnotic (2:21)
B1		Quarsep (4:39)
B2		Death To Frequencies (2:30)

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Melodium - A Slight Difference in Air Pressure (Disasters By Choices, 2002)

01		Thoughts Are Made Of Plastic (6:22)
02		Kyuten (4:16)
03		Ystyc 100 (2:54)
04		Emissions Des Sources Mobiles (7:29)
05		Life In A File (3:20)
06		Interruption Sonore (3:16)
07		Ystyc 2 (3:38)
08		Deux Heures Par Minute (9:53)
09		Ipal & Imal (4:38)
10		How To Make Music Within A Box (7:30)
11		Dirty Reprises (5:53)

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Melodium - Hum Hum & Bla Bla (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Untitled 1 (1:25)
Hellomusic (Ochre Remix) (7:05)
Untitled 2 (2:47)
Interlude Pour [Chiens] Depressifs (Audioroom Remix) (2:56)
Untitled 3 (2:59)
Untitled 4 (2:22)
Untitled 5 (3:41)
La Fin De Tout (Marsen Jules Remix) (4:00)

Here comes the Hum Hum & Bla Bla EP from Melodium, a french artist with his own quirky style of music. His work is a lot more electroacoustic and instrumental than electronic in nature. The instrumental nature of the EP also makes it sound more human.

The EP is also slightly experimental with the use of irregular sounding clicks and pops and lots of other weird but overall mellow sounds. In the midst of all the varied sound sources lies very nice musical arrangements that won’t disappoint.

Favourite tracks:
Hellomusic (Ochre remix)
Sounding almost classical in nature, a strange contrast is brought about in the listening experience by the clicky and poppy percussion that goes on for most of the track. The track transforms itself beautifully as it progresses in an almost strange manner for most electronic music which involves just adding more harmonies and playing louder. Leveraging on the concept of dynamics that most electronic musicians forget about. The only complaint I have about the track is that the percussion doesn’t sit that nicely in the mix during the later parts.

Untitled 5
This track sounds like it started its life as a pop piano piece. Sprinkle in glitchy sounding percussion, strings and uplifting arpeggiated synths and you have a kind of playful pop piece that sounds like it belongs in a vintage videogame.

La fin de tout (Marsen Jules remix)
A perfect ender track for the EP. Guitar chords and melodies are superimposed with the sounds of atmospheric pads and a synth that wails on in the background echoing memories of farewells that are both beautiful and sad at the same time.

Gratisvibes

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Melodium - La Tête qui Flotte (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Hellomusic (4:06)
Les Psychotropes Sont Mes Amis, Puis Mes Ennemis... (3:46)
Se Rayer Provisoirement De La Liste Des Vivants (3:33)
Kill Me With A Smile (3:36)
Emptykuerten (3:36)
Le Creux Est Ma Matière Première (3:34)
L’Attachement Aux Symptômes (3:42)
Mon Baromètre Mental (2:51)
Interlude Pour Dépressifs (2:08)
Gamm-recomposé (4:56)
Marcher A L’Envers Dans Nantes-Atlantique (2:28)
Greg Davis > Craig David (1:32)
La Chanson De Laïs-Salomé (1:19)
La Fin De Tout (2:46)
La Vie Est Plus Belle Depuis... (2:40)

Most electronic music is preoccupied with the beat. There are a number of reasons for this, both historical and technological, but it has only been in recent years that musicians have begun to truly explore the possibilities of melody in an electronic context. In the past few years artists such as Four Tet and M83 (to name just a couple) have successfully placed the concept of melody-driven electronic music at the forefront of the scene. This is not to say that they were the first artists to do so—but the creation of an entire subgenre of electronic music dedicated to the manipulation of acoustic—or pseudo-acoustic—melodies is definitely a recent development.

Electronic music hinges on the malleability of sound, the ability of musicians to take simple and familiar sounds and transform them into something unfamiliar, exotic and provocative. There’s no reason why the acoustic guitar and piano shouldn’t be as ripe with potential as the drum kit and synthesizer. The creation of an entire new sub-genre—the deceptively named “folktronica”—to describe this phenomenon was inevitable, given the rapid, maniacal drive towards speciation in the electronic music community. It’s not a particularly accurate or descriptive label, but hey, neither are IDM or UK garage / two-step (whu-huh?).

In any event, Melodium’s La T&#234te Qui Flotte is a veritable feast of fragile, intricate melodic composition. Melodium (a contraction of “melody” and “medium"), is Laurent Giraud, and with the exception of a handful of vocal bits and string samples, every noise on La T&#234te Qui Flotte has been created, processed and edited by him. The effect is startling, sparse and ethereal.

Many tracks, such as “Les psychotropes sont mes ami, puis mes ennemis...” and “Le creux est ma mati&#232re premi&#232re”, begin with a familiar acoustic noise, such as a gentle piano melody or acoustic guitar chord being fingered, and then elaborate on said melody, introducing layers of altered sound until the entire song is filled. Percussion is created from what sounds like a wide variety of found noises—hand claps, snapping fingers, knocking on wood—morphed and transformed into something unmistakably organic. The patterns are intricate but by no means distracting. The overall effect is pleasingly pastoral.

In other instances, the tracks begin strangely and expands outward. For instance, “Se rayer provisoirement de la liste des vivants” begins with a droning wheeze, like a bit of phantom guitar feedback, until suddenly transforming into a pendulous guitar chord strumming against the backdrop of haunting, discordant string samples. Even when more conventional percussion is utilized, as on “Kill me with a smile”, which features something resembling a conventional electronic breakbeat, the effect is alien. Juxtaposed against the universe of warped acoustics on display, the comparatively normal elements are transformed.

Certainly, La T&#234te Qui Flotte is nowhere near as ambitious as it could have been. Girard seems happy, in most cases, to craft comparatively minor arrangements, at least in comparison to some of his more cosmic-minded peers in the world of electronic music. But still, on tracks like “Emptykuerten” and “La vie est plus belle depuis...”, Melodium succeeds in opening up entirely new vistas through surprisingly humble means. The overall effect is invigorating.

Pop Matters

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Melodium - Flacana Flacana (Audio Dregs, 2006)

1		Untitled 1 (3:22)
2		Untitled 2 (2:00)
3		Untitled 3 (2:50)
4		Untitled 4 (2:10)
5		Untitled 5 (3:17)
6		Untitled 6 (2:19)
7		Untitled 7 (2:35)
8		Untitled 8 (3:49)
9		Untitled 9 (0:50)
10		Untitled 10 (2:42)
11		Untitled 11 (2:10)
12		Untitled 12 (2:29)
13		Untitled 13 (2:18)
14		Untitled 14 (1:28)
15		Untitled 15 (1:40)
16		Untitled 16 (2:59)
17		Untitled 17 (1:45)

Melodium is one man band Laurent Girard whose music seems to draw influence from all things folktronica. The closest points of reference for Flacana Flacana would be Tunng, once stripped of vocals or even Hausmeister, but there are hints at more ambitious composition on the untitled thirteenth track, which sounds uncannily like a lo-fi bedroom production of a Max Richter piece. There’s undoubtedly a charm and intimacy to the seventeen pieces collected here, and the fact that they have such short running times only adds to the variety and overall quirkiness of the album. While the tone of Flacana Flacana certainly fits in with the amiable electronic warmth of the Audio Dregs label, there’s something more distinctly song-like about these homely vignettes that makes it well worth an hour or two of your time. Charming.

Boomkat



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Melodium - Music for Invisible People (Autres Directions in Music, 2006)

As his previous album, La Tete Qui Flotte, was being warmly welcomed, the prolific Laurent Girard aka Melodium started working on the new step in his discography. Encouraged by an acclaim both from the public and the media, as the sunny days of 2005 were on their way back, he composed his most orchestrated album to date : Music For Invisible People which is about to be released now, just before the coming of winter.

On La Tete Qui Flotte, Melodium had the courage to open the doors to acoustic guitars and pop melodies, which gave a great breath of air to his chamber electronica. He was at the same time revealing himself as a singer on a duet with his girlfriend. A surprising singer with sorts of lyrics, to be exact. With Music For Invisible People, this opening has been pushed yet one step further : here the guitars (1 being electric) are queens, and he sings everything himself. In an atmosphere as intimate as hospitable.

Composed during a summer stay on the isle of Oleron, most of the time sitting in a garden, then reworked and arranged at home (flutes, melodicas, xylophone, keyboards, jembes, computer), this new album rid of complexes marks a new stage on the route of this artist. It’s a quiet and matured release, that offers in turns beautiful sunny songs -although stamped by a certain melancholy- and others, turmoiled and romantic. More pop and more folk, Music For Invisible People is an organic whole, extremely melodious.

Autres Directions

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