Les Graciˇs is a collaboration in the truest sense between Paris-based sound artist Ga‘l Segalen and Deepblak co-founder Afrikan Sciences. SegalenÕs experiments in electroacoustic sound met the wider world this year via a debut LP for Erratum, an arresting work that showcases her ability to merge hypnotic murk ala Angus MacLise with the hard concrˇte of Parmegiani & Reibel. SegalenÕs IHearU imprint / organisation is a platform for her various doings, including psychogeographical audio works and multi-media collaborations, as well as servicing as a reference point for other contemporary female artists working across various mediums. Eric Douglas Porter aka African Sciences has been deconstructing and re-building forms of contemporary Black music since the mid-2000Õs, through releases on Deepblak (the label he co-runs with Aybee) and PAN. His musical universe is one of warping cadences and celestial melody, referencing the bold work of percussionists like Milford Graves & Art Jenkins, the dissonant chords of Motor City Techno and stripped back essence of early Chicago House matched with broken Hard Bop sentiments: all tied together with an aesthetic that sits somewhere between Sun RaÕs omniverse, Jean Giraud MĻbius and Dogon cosmology. Together as Le Graciˇs, Segalen and Porter make a wholly unclassifiable strain of music that, while containing recognisable elements of each individual s work, also creates a third entity in the process, which can be heard to stunning effect on their forthcoming debut LP ŌLow DosesÕ for Firecracker Recordings.
