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Highly surreal and wonderfully futuristic, Tacet, one of the best kept secrets of the Futura catalog, is the 1971 soundtrack work of Jean Guérin for Claude Faraldo's anarchic 1971 film Bof... Anatomie d'un livreur. This avant-garde psychedelic jazz masterpiece is a blend of abstract vocals, unusual electronics, twisted sound envelopes, and nervous brass instruments. This first-ever officially-licensed vinyl reissue is the fourth in Souffle Continu's series reissues of Futura reissues, fully licensed by Futura founder Gérard Terronès. Presented in a 350-gram reverse-printed gatefold sleeve with obi strip. Limited to 500 copies.

"One of the best-kept secrets in the very wonderful Futura Records catalogue of the late 60's/early 70's (remember Red Noise, Horde Catalytique Pour La Fin, Jacques Berrocal, Semool, Chêne Noir, Mahogany Brain and the others?), this album even missed attaining the cult obscurity status of some of those mentioned, remaining basically unheard because of the difficulty of even getting aware of its existence, not to mention the quasi-impossibility of tracing a copy of the original LP record. It is an original and strange album as only drummers can do (remember Jacques Thollot, Robert Wyatt, Eroc, Bernard Lubat, Skip Spence?), whose music originates from the soundtrack Jean Guérin -- a rather classical drummer, at the time involved in the be bop scene in France, playing mainly in the Guy Lafitte group -- composed in 1970 for Bof, anatomie d'un livreur, an anarchic feature-film by Claude Faraldo which shocked the French audience with its subversive attack against the holy trinity Work-Family-Property. Alhough to further differentate the music here recorded from the film and define it as a work on its own, the title of the album was even changed to Tacet. With the instrumental contributions of Bernard Vitet and Jean Paul Rondepierre on trumpets and trumpet-in water, Philippe Maté on tenor saxophone, Françoise Achard on vocals and gloup ténor, Diéter Guévissler on double basse and himself on bass guitar, darbouka, gloup ténor, percussions, rhythm machine, generator and VCS3, Jean Guérin through many months of studio work on the elements recorded for the film soundtrack -- which made this the most expensive production of the whole Futura catalogue -- created an indescribable and surreal, futuristic and mysterious, liquid and spacious, echoing and sometimes grooving blend of electronics, instruments, abstract vocals and treatments unlike anything else ever recorded. A rather straight (for a change) re-issue of the original record in digi-pack type cover, with reproductions of the original sleeve and notes (with English translation) by Philippe Carles, co-author of the important book Free Jazz, Black Power." Andrea Cernotto

Details
Cat. number: FFL 009LP
Notes:

Recorded in January 1971 at Ossian and Magne studios. Manipulations and mixing done at Europasonor studio (Gaité and Charcot).
A coproduction of Filmanthrope and Futura Records.
Originally released as LP on Futura Records as SON 04 (1971

Trying to compare this record to anything else is difficult because Guerin's adventuresome music, mixing European free jazz and pre-digital electronics, is highly original and unique | Read more

This is another strange avant jazz album originally put out by the Futura label in 1971. On top of the free jazz, Jean Guerin throws in electronics, and even uses electronic processing that at times blurs the identities of the instruments, as well as Francoise Archard's high-pitched wordless singing. "Triptik 2" begins with some off-kilter sax and trumpet melody for a few minutes before the electronics kick in, pulsing rhythm, and squiggly bleeps, and even some high-pitched screeches that sound like an air-raid siren. Most of the album is a bit more subdued, with lots of droning noises to create ambient soundtracks that are disquieting. The steady repetition of water droplets becomes the rhythm on "Reflexion 2 et 1," and there are other places on the album where water noises bubble and splash to the other instruments. On a few tracks with Achard's vocals, Tacet sounds like some kind of surrealistic opera. Trying to compare this record to anything else is difficult because Guerin's adventuresome music, mixing European free jazz and pre-digital electronics, is highly original and unique.

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Tacet