Victoire
So I couldn’t be more happy and proud about Victoire, our first classical eMusic Selects artist. Sure, as a classical nerd with aspirations to inflict my tastes on millions, I am psyched in the abstract about “hey, we got a classical artist!” But Victoire are so much more than that. They are a prime example of a much-hyped phenomenon, the cross-breeding of the modern classical and indie worlds, that manages to live up to the hype.
I first heard of Victoire through Eleonore Oppenheim, an absurdly upbeat and jovial bassist-about-town who has played seemingly every style of music New York, Saturn or Neptune has to offer. She came from the world of Bang On A Can, having attended their summer institute that has proved to be a training ground for an entire new generation of gleeful polyglots who can’t wait to find a way to mix their avant-punk, art-rock, electronic, and whatever-else records in with their childhood classical training. Eleonore stepped in as a bassist for The Instruments, I group I play with occasionally, and through the daisy-chaining of Gmail contacts ended up on her mailing list. When I got her email about Victoire (then Victrola), the first thing I noticed was Missy Mazzoli’s name. Missy is a constant presence on the New York new-music scene — if you see her at the concert you’re at, you can rest assured you’re at the right one. She’s also a blogger, an activist, a composer, and, currently, an arts administrator, running the hugely ambitious MATA Festival that’s happening this year at Le Poisson Rouge, which could also be called Indie-Eclectic HQ.
I checked out their MySpace page, and was pretty immediately taken with what I heard. A lot of people are talking rather glibly about “blurring” genre borders, which is always promising but isn’t necessarily good, or interesting, for its own sake. Just because you’ve got a Boards Of Canada record in your left hand and a Messiaen record in your right doesn’t mean you’re going to find a good way to make them fit together. Blurring genres while still making clear music is tough work, and the thing that struck me immediately about Victoire was how easily it sat between worlds. The music is loosely structured, even drifting at times toward ambient, but it never feels vague or incense-y. Missy is a real composer, not a kid with construction paper and scissors, and the songs have weight and purpose. I have kept the EP on repeat this week, and I never fail to get caught by different moments.
When I went to Eleonore’s apartment to interview them, I unwittingly entered a wonderland of Artist-Living-In-The-City. She lives in a tower of apartments that must be one of the last remaining bastions of artists’ housing, and man, it is something. When the elevator doors parted, a dude with a bass and a girl with a harmonium stepped out, presumable en route to the studio in the basement, where Missy was at the time mastering the EP. We sat at her table, crunching chips and drinking beer while they all finished each others’ sentences and jumped on each others’ jokes for an hour or so. They are totally unpretentious and free of bullshit, a rare and wonderful thing. I think I speak for all of us at eMusic when I say that we’re thrilled to be releasing their EP and look forward to more great things from them.
I’ve only recently started to explore modern classical, but this is quite a find (and at only 4 dl’s, quite a deal). Quite lovely!
(It appears that I overuse the word “quite”.)
you may want to include a link to the ep
http://www.emusic.com/album/Victoire-A-Door-into-the-Dark-EP-MP3-Download/11403574.html
“Just because you’ve got a Boards Of Canada record in your left hand and a Messiaen record in your right doesn’t mean you’re going to find a good way to make them fit together.”
Word! Also, regardless of how you feel about, say, Hauschka (I love), this is much more weighty and mysterious. A true treat.
This is fantastic, loving it.
I’m looking forward to downloading it – their track was my favourite from Selected Collected. I was just wondering if the first track is the same as the track on the compilation – I realise it’s the same piece, but is it the same mix? It’s a few seconds longer than the one on the comp, but that doesn’t mean it’s a different version.
Also, the artist on Selected Collected is listed as Victoire (2) who seems to be someone completely different. You might want to fix that, so people can find the comp from the EP and vice versa.
It is not the same mix. This version sounds much improved.
And the Victoire naming issue for the comp and EP *should* be fixed this morning.
Glad you guys like it!
This is really good. Though, I guess I don’t understand “Modern Classical” because it sounds like an electronic record to me. I’m not saying that’s bad. Just saying I don’t really get it. It sounds no more “classical” than say Venetian Snares’ ROSSZ or DJ Spooky & The Freight Train Elevator Quartet’s FILE UNDER FUTURISM. Shrug to genres anyway. This is a really good EP.
“Shrug to genres anyway.”
AMEN, Brad. Amen. Really glad you like!
I’ve considered using the GENRE field in iTunes to instead keep track of record labels.
Thanks for the clarification. I’ll definitely download it then. You might want to put somewhere in the description that it’s different – it would be a shame to lose sales of that track because people thought it was the same.
Better late than never, but I just got the chance to listen to this in full and love, love, love it. Another great find guys!
My favorite thing I think is how the clarinet line never really does exactly what I expect it to. Amazing compositions.
Adamm,
I was listening last night and was thinking the same thing! Love that rising-major-third line Eileen plays on “Door in the Dark” — it sorta sounds like noodling at first, but I am just now noticing how it actually steadily and quietly gains momentum through the piece. My favorite clarinet moment, I think, is this point in “A Song For Arthur Russell,” towards the end, where she completely breaks off and plays this incredibly haunting, chromatic line that reminds me of some ersatz Gershwin thing, like a mournful version of the famous “Rhapsody In Blue” opening.
Basically, this EP keeps getting better the more I listen. So glad to hear you like it!