Jacques Lejeune - "Early Works 1969 - 1970" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 2015 (Robot Records)

I picked this album up because the artist is French and due to the oversized bird sculpture or the puppet on the album cover. It reminded me of either Jean Cocteau or Franju film.   So, in the world of chances, this album must be good.   Jacques Lejeune is a composer who I gather is focused on musiques concréte or tape manipulations.  

The piece on side one is "D'une Multitude En Fête," and there is something ceremonial about its presentation.  It's a series of sonic snapshots of an event.  There's a focus on crowd noise, mechanical sounds, and music coming from another recording or radio.  In that sense, it's very much like the David Tudor/John Cage recordings/happenings that took place in the late 1950s, where everything is going on including the kitchen sink, and the hot stove.  Lejeune's piece is humorous.  There is a sense of fun in its process and of course, the listening part of the relationship as well.  My emotional state in listening to this cut is one waiting for the main artist or piece of music to be played.  There is lots of anticipation as the music gets quiet, and one feels something big will happen around the corner. 

Side two starts with "Géodes" is music for tape.  The overall sound is what seems like objects that come with an audio aspect to it but filtered through a process where the noise comes in waves like an ocean.  Lejeune's music is very naturalistic in that it conveys the world as one experiences it.  Of course, it's subjective, but there is something "every day" about what is confronting us on this album.  He's very much of a composer of that moment. 

"Petite Suite" is five pieces of music.  This is an impressive work due that it is based on a traditional musical form, the orchestra.   I'm not sure if this is total work on tape or real instruments filtered through a tape.  There are "voices" that sound like seals or dolphins singing, with the backing of a real drummer and electric guitarist.   Then comes the sound of the audience, laughing or at the very least being amused in what they are hearing. 

With my understanding, this is Lejeune's early works, and here it seems he's fascinated with the idea of transforming everyday performance noise into something compositional or with a foundation attached to the presentation.  I sense that this is not an album to listen to at home, but actually to be in a particular location to get the full flavor of the music by Jacques Lejeune. Impressive work.