The dynamic processing and detailed sculpting executed by Marie Rose Sarri and Philippe Lamy on Acte de Foi (“act of faith”) begins without hesitation on “La vie à bord”; the immediate appearance of electric whirs and sticky sound extractions is a prompt demonstration of the advanced techniques at work on this short release. Sarri and Lamy, a pairing of sound artists from across the EU, use computer software to produce much more freely manipulable sound objects from raw field recording sources, and the result is a collection of motion-filled pieces that fizz and crackle with energy. Though the two artists’ gathered sounds are clearly significantly altered via this electroacoustic toolkit, the elements often retain their original weight and timbre: the distinct echoes of cylindrical piping, ghostly hums of air vents, gentle metallic clatters and vibrations… these are just a few examples of the skillful retainment of reality that makes even the most active and removed moments of Acte de Foi an oddly space-indebted (and even domestic) work. The tape is spectral and synthetic yet grounded and physical, a contradiction that makes for a unique experience.
Noise Not Music 