The adventurous trio Chat Noir has
for the past 12 years defied easy categorization with its organic mix of
ambient music, electronic textures as well as chamber music and jazz. Their
singular approach to the piano trio, cinematic in scope and startlingly
beautiful, has garnered critical raves throughout Europe. On Nine Thoughts for
One Word, their sixth recording overall and second for London-based RareNoise
Records, the two founding members, pianist Michele Cavallari and bassist Luca
Fogagnolo, are joined in their further explorations by electronic, ambient music
composer and producer Jan Peter Schwalm (Brian Eno, Eivind Aarset).
Together they make a conceptual leap on what a piano trio
can be, with the invaluable input of Schwalm's studio magic.
This delicate balance of electronic experimentalism with
acoustic piano and acoustic bass has been evolving gradually from the group's
initial release in 2006, Adoption, and continued on 2007's Decoupage through
2008's Difficult to See You. 2011's Weather
Forecasting Stone and 2014's
Elec3Cities. Their collective experimentation continues on the evocative Nine
Thoughts for One Word. "Experimentation has always been a fundamental part
of our work," says bassist Fogagnolo. "We would describe our journey
as a ship adrift. If jazz was our starting point we've always felt free to
explore different languages."
From the dramatic peaks of "Eternally Tranquil
Light," grounded by the resonant, woody tones of Fogagnolo's upright bass,
to the lyrical delicacy of Cavallari's piano on "Fundamental Mind,"
from the throbbing techno vibe of "Blinking Neon" to the Indonesian
gamelan flavored introspection of "Detuning Leaves" and the
mesmerizing trip-hop of "Uneven" and "Soft Ground," Chat
Noir explores myriad musical languages on Nine Thoughts for One Word. They also
offer a very pleasing vocal number, "Momentarily Continual," which is
underscored by the pure, resonant tones of Fogagnolo's upright bass, and they
close out the program on a gentle note with Cavallari's sparse piano work on
the hymn-like "Crystallized Flow."
"This album has more spatial sound and compositions,
which in turn may sound (paradoxically) more 'acoustic'," Cavallari
explains. "'Crystallized Flow' is pointing towards this different, more
spacious dimension, which is also linked to the new lineup and to the role that
J. Peter in particular had in our project."
Though Schwalm trained as a drummer, he is now playing
mainly electronic instruments and music. "We met him at a festival in
Norway (Punkt 2008) and immediately fell in love with his style,"
Cavallari recalls. "As we rearranged our lineup about one year ago, we
decided to ask him for collaboration. For Luca and I, it was a natural choice
to abandon the classic piano-bass-drums format and try something different, but
in line with the evolution of our style, which incorporated more and more
electronic textures over the years. Peter brought in his experience with sound
processing and treatments, as well as his personal taste as co-producer of the
album. Given his strong background in ambient music, his participation in the
project sound-wise contributed to the very spacious dimension of the album, in
line with the already ethereal vibe of the compositions."
As for his longstanding musical relationship with Fogagnolo,
Cavallari says, "Luca and I are good old pals. Our friendship and music
collaboration informs one another. On the one hand, music made our friendship
even stronger. On the other hand, we can rely on shared ideas about music, and
even more generally about life, when playing together. It's a constant dialog
of spoken as well as unspoken words.
"We often have similar taste for music," he
continues. "But more importantly, when coming from different musical
references and preferences, Luca and I have contributed even more to each
other's musical ideas and ways to perform."
Cavallari adds that his method of playing and recording
together with Fogagnolo changed radically four years ago when the two Italians
relocated to different countries -- Michele to the United States and Luca to
Germany. "Our rehearsal room changed from being a shared space, where we
used to physically meet quite often, to a virtual place. Nine Thoughts for One Word
is our second album recorded through cloud-based sharing of music ideas and
sessions. This wouldn't have been possible without a long-term relationship.
But somehow the distance helped to develop even more our personal taste, before
sharing ideas for new tunes as we've always done. In the process of developing
new tunes, we can count on a strong shared basis, established throughout our
long collaboration, as well as on a naïve attitude and openness towards
different ideas, and potentially surprises."
He further describes the group's modus operandi on Nine
Thoughts for One Word: "Our approach is to try to understand where the
composition is pointing to and to give meaningful contribution to it, by either
contrasting or corroborating the original idea. Basically, the process we
follow to compose and play together is grounded in the root of two essential
and mutually reinforcing aspects: friendship and freedom."
Cavallari also explains that he and Fogagnolo have joint
experience working on soundtrack recordings, which may explain why so much of
their music has such a cinematic quality. "We did work on movie
soundtracks in the past. Some of our tunes were featured in Cristina Comencini's
films - Don't Tell (nominated for best foreign language film category at the
78th Academy Awards) and Black and White - as well as Francesca Comencini's
documentary In Fabrica. Our music has often been associated with cinematic
features. Rather than thinking visually when composing, I guess we approach
compositions in away that has similarities with film direction. We try to
develop 'stories' and 'plots' through melodic lines and sometimes more abstract
parts that overall follow a dynamically organized flow.
"As to the our way to approach compositions, either one
of us usually 'plants the seed' of a new tune on his own. Then, from the
original basic idea, we let the other totally express himself without
limitations. Sometimes we go through multiple iterations of sending music ideas
back and forth between us, as additional contributions can inspire new
direction of the tune. It never happens that we don't like what the other
brought in terms of contribution to the song. In this sense we are totally connected."
It is easy to see how such kindred spirits continue to
collaborate and thrive, even when living on separate continents. And together
with ambient mixmaster Schwalm, they travel to some wholly new musical
territory on Nine Thoughts for One Word, the most transcendent Chat Noir
release to date.
"Chat Noir is definitely one of the most refreshing
forces in the current European new jazz / modern hybrid music movement."
-- Igloo Magazine
TRACKS
Eternally Tranquil Light
Fundamental Mind
Momentary Continual
Blinking Neon
Detuning Leaves
Uneven
Soft Ground
Crystallized Flow
