Gisèle Ricard

The brainchild of ex-Pas Chic Chic drummer Éric Fillion, Montreal, QC-based non-profit organization Tenzier has been disseminating, archiving and digitizing the work of obscure Quebec avant-garde artists for over three years, often working in conjunction with art centres, galleries and sizable institutions such as La Cinémathèque Québécoise. Having released the lost recordings of revolutionary free-jazz artists, experimental filmmakers and electronic composers, Tenzier's fourth vinyl offering features three previously unreleased tracks from composer Gisèle Ricard, bridging the gap between generations by displaying the signature visuals of video artist Sabrina Ratté on the cover. Recorded between 1980 and 1987, Électroacoustique provides one with a sense of what Ricard had in mind a few years after pursuing her studies in performance and music education at Laval University's School of Music in Quebec City. Side A tracks "Je vous aime" and "Immersion" consist of ethereal experiments in the art of plundering the subtleties and limits of language and musicality, making for a destabilizing experience, droning away from rigid genres. Originally offered to friends as a wedding present, opening number "Je vous aime" contains samples from nearly a dozen artists, including Gilles Vigneault, Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf. Side B's only track, "Une autre création du monde," created with electroacoustic composer Bernard Bonnier (Pierre Henry's assistant between 1972 and 1976), stands out as the 22-minute-long pièce de résistance. Wisely chosen as the culminating point of this recording, this composition is enough to make the album worth its salt on its own.