Blok at the height of his freedom
Two years after his last exploit, Stéphane Blok reinvents himself once again with his new album.
Stéphane Blok has been out and about since 1988. In the course of a prolific career characterized by striking consistency, he has disguised himself as a singer, choral songwriter, theater musician and composer. He has dabbled in film, theater, production and improvisation, with the freshness of an avid builder.
With the new solo project Chants d'Entre les ImmeublesWith this new album, the singer-songwriter seems to be nearing the apogee of his freedom. This freedom is stretched both in the exploration of new modes of distribution (outside the mainstream) and in the metamorphosis of his guitar, to which, as a patient craftsman, he removes all the frets until he achieves the characteristic slippery sound he seeks. Since his last double-headed creations with Léon Francioli (Boom! and La Grande Eau), we've been waiting for her new trick, her new whim. And here she is, after some two years of trying to tame the instrument, developing a personal technique in search of sound and words.
Chants d'Entre les Immeubles is an open-ended project, destined to evolve and grow, based on the concept of a deceptively nonchalant yet passionately nourished live urban solo, fleshed out on record with chiselled arrangements and the presence of additional instruments such as trumpet and flugelhorn. While some may find it hard to get used to a poetic approach that may seem abstract in comparison with "classic" chanson, it would be a shame to miss out on such a frank invitation to open up to the pleasure of music, and to reclaim time for listening. Eight tracks make up the first instalment, for a suave, hauntingly wordy whole, like an instruction manual for getting into a trance in the middle of the asphalt.
Stéphane Blok: Chants d'Entre les Immeubles (Les Hérétiques). www.blok.ch
