The new year is already bringing in so much incredible music, it seems to be getting better and better. Pierre Laurendeau is an artist crafting distinctly unique soundscapes, the sort that fall around you like a delicate storm of colour and excitement. The opening and title track from the album A Friendly Call From Outer Space sets the bar extremely high, offering up complexity and detail – a beautiful meeting of the dream world and reality – all of which gradually evolves into a short yet smooth and intensely calming piece of audio. And that’s just track one.
Get Deep follows on and brings a hypnotic sense of rhythm to the collection. Pierre Laurendeau has a way with applying artistic details within his music to make something that is all at once comforting, familiar, and previously unexplored. This track is stunning, the layers of samples and riffs fade in and out in a mesmerising fashion, and whenever you feel as if you know what to expect, the artist throws in some new break or effect, a pause in the progression, a subtle drop. It’s incredibly satisfying electronic music, gorgeously smooth, but it’s also unpredictable, and that adds character – an element of humanity and realness. This track gradually progresses into a captivating piece of alternative or tribal House, beautiful to listen to.
Silence With Turbulence is a title I love, it strikes me as suggesting the concept of being quietly loud, the chaos behind the calm, maybe the misreading of peacefulness. The music develops in a relevantly experimental manner, fusing retro synths with snippets of the natural world; a repetitive rhythm from one end, an ongoing smoothness from the other. By all accounts, the track feels like a moment in space – you find yourself lost in the quiet abyss, which is both soothingly still and terrifyingly isolating.
The high energy and rhythm return for Break Loose. There’s a slightly funky yet industrial sense of movement to this one, almost as if you’re on a high speed train – once again feeling calm and safe on the one hand, but with the manic vibrancy of the outside rushing past all around you. This track later explodes into action, becoming the perfect midnight moment of energy and rhythm and excitement. Professionalism and creativity meet flawlessly, resulting in precisely the sort of hard hitting house anthem or ambiance that was once the epicentre of a night out.
Possible is sadly the final track of this EP, though as is often the case – it is far better to leave your audience wanting more, than to outgrow their interest. The great thing about these soundscapes is that they fit together brilliantly, and furthermore, they’re loaded with so much detail and colour that every time you listen you’re likely to pick up on something new. Each time you press play, the experience is slightly different. The soundscapes involve you in the moment, so whatever your mood – this is what the music reflects, or enhances, or helps with. Possible presents an incredibly gentle moment of blissful escapism that brings things to a close in a soothing and thoughtful way.
Pierre Laurendeau is an immensely talented artist and producer of fascinating, entrancing music. A Friendly Call From Outer Space is an absolute must hear, particularly – for the full effect – through well crafted speakers or headphones.
Find & follow Pierre Laurendeau on Facebook, Twitter & Soundcloud. Visit his Website for more information.
