Supersonic Riverside Blues

A blast of analogue noise heralds Data 4.5.1 but within 20 seconds it’s clear the listener isn’t going to be subjected to yet another round of harsh circuit abuse. French sound artist Franck Vigroux (aka Supersonic Riverside Blues) identifies his practice as a mix of electro-acoustic and electronica, though to these ears his music has a more visceral quality. Vigroux’s sound sources are hard to identify, though his signature sound appears to be a vintage synth doused in modern digital effects. Submerged voice samples and turntable scratches rise up from the reverbed depths, but this primarily remains a watery realm of synthesized texture, appropriately one more river-like than oceanic, as the music is carried forward by subliminal 4/4 rhythms. Vigroux commendably avoids over-reliance on traditional drum sounds, instead creating repetitive pulses out of bass notes or looped clicks. With its appeal to both the noise crowd and the dance floor, Supersonic Riverside Blues exists in the same liminal space as Toronto’s Nifty or Science of Breath-era Polmo Polpo. The academic crowd’s chin stroking may turn to self-strangulation, however, if they stick around for the album’s closer, "Electric City,” wherein Vigroux drops all pretensions in favour of pounding, epic house.