louis laurain | pulses, pipes, patterns @ take effect (us)

Carton/Insub, 2021

8/10

A trumpet wizard, improviser and composer with a very innovative mind, even though Louis Laurain uses trumpets on this very unusual effort, you’d hardly even realize brass is involved as white noise, air sounds, vibrating metal, and nature, among others, are part of the inimitable formula.

“Franzform” starts the listen with what sounds like a helicopter as this percussive effect emanates from a pair of trumpets used like a stereo PA, effectively setting the tone for the record, and “Rhypnoptic” follows with a polyrhythmic pattern built from a sequence on the values amid feedback on the mixer.

Halfway through, “Satellites For Nawel” manipulates feedback from inside the instrument, as well as copper leaves on the bell, for a very distinct form of distortion, while the title track gets ominous, where the improvisation with an open window allows the sounds of birds, a tractor and even kids alongside the skittering, unclassifiable electronics. “90’s” exits the listen and might the most exploratory track, as the trumpet is transformed into a percussion instrument in Laurain’s very creative approach that involves a loop inside a mixer and valves altering the pitch to make a provisional drum pad.

An extremely original outing, Laurain has a history with jazz, electro-acoustics, visual and performance arts and experimental sounds, and he brings all those facets to a truly fascinating listening experience here.