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Pacha
Affaires Étrangères

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    CST090   180gLP • DL

    Release Date: 26 June 2012

    Duration: 38:03

     

    acha is the solo work of percussionist Pierre-Guy Blanchard, who recorded this album at home with engineer Radwan Moumneh in 2009 and subsequently self-released it in a tiny run of CD-Rs. Affaires Étrangères features intensely satisfying rhythm-heavy instrumentals often propelled by fried, amped-up Middle-Eastern synth lines and sprinkled with guitar, bass and oud along with the odd looped field recording. Think early Trans Am if they had come out of Cairo or Beirut, or Oneida in their motorik mode and with an Arabic pop fixation.


    Blanchard received a BA in music in 2003, majoring in percussion performance, and then escaped the 'new music' trajectory by traveling extensively and immersing himself in Middle Eastern and Balkan traditions, studying under various masters and playing with a wide range of regional groups. During his periods back in Canada he performed in countless ensembles and first came to Constellation's attention when he was recruited as guest percussionist for Black Ox Orkestar and ultimately appeared on that group's Nisht Azoy album, about which Tiny Mix Tapes wrote "Blanchard's freeform jazz-indebted playing opens the album up to even more adventurous terrain… the second leg plays like a Balkan Henry Cow". Pierre-Guy has also performed regularly with Sam Shalabi's jazz/psych/arabic orchestra Land Of Kush.

    Constellation re-sequenced and remastered the Affaires Étrangères CD-R for vinyl and is proud to be giving this album a more substantial life. It marks Blanchard' first attempt at a definitive musical statement of his own and we think it succeeds wildly. 

     

    PACKAGING NOTES

    THIS ALBUM IS PART OF MUSIQUE FRAGILE VOL. 02.

    180gLP FORMAT ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN PURCHASED AS PART OF LIMITED EDITION BOX SET.

    The Musique Fragile Volume 02 box set 3x180gLP vinyl edition is a silkscreen print extravaganza. Each album comes in its own 2-3 colour screenprinted jacket accompanied by a screenprinted poster, and the three albums are contained in a 2-colour screenprinted slipbox hand-made from thick 100% recycled chipboard.

    Please see Musique Fragile Vol. 02 for packaging components when this album is purchased as part of the 3-album Musique Fragile set.

     

    CREDITS

    Music by Pierre Guy Blanchard.


    FEATURED GUESTS

    Jérémie Roy plays bass, guitar and tape loops on tracks 1, 3, 4, 6.
    Omar Dewachi plays saz and oud on track 6.


    Recorded in February 2009 at home in Charlo NB and mixed at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal.
    Recorded and mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh.
    Produced by Pierre Guy Blanchard and Radwan Moumneh.

    Mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market.