In a modern musical and artistic landscape, it becomes difficult to stay unique, fresh, and innovative. Artists and bands do their best to craft and unleash their pieces of work in order to break the rules and shapeshift the boundaries of conventional music. Some of these artists and bands are ready to push their creative and aesthetic limits even with the intention of becoming the next big thing. However, these rules don’t apply to experimental and avant-garde music, those obscure artistic niches where innovation and ideas know no limits. Perhaps the artists and bands sacrifice fame for the sake of art, but after all, it’s the price they’re willing to pay for the sake of true, unfiltered, underground art. Ronan Courty, a profoundly creative French cellist, is one of those artists who are willing to shapeshift his musical boundaries for the sake of art. His debut album Synesthesia is more than rock-solid proof of his dedication to the craft, with two longevous compositions presenting only the finest elements experimental and avant-garde music could offer at the moment.
Armed with the fundamental elements of ambient, drone, musique concrete, and other similar music genres, this material challenges listeners to get lost in a multilayered and multidimensional experience built upon by stacking sonic layers to the point where his compositions resonate with the exact ambiance usually heard or seen in those epic, thrilling, horror-esque movie scores. His music marries rawness, abrasiveness, grittiness, and distortion with tension and suspense yet there’s more than enough space for thematics, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers more appealing to the listening apparatus. As soon as you dive into this epic sonic universe, it becomes apparent that Ronan Courty poured heart and soul into his debut piece, considering all the approaches, possibilities, aesthetics, and paths. It’s a cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed, intelligently crafted soundscape where the ambiance wraps around your ears and refuses to let go long after this material ends.
So, how did Ronan Courty achieve all of this? It may sound simple, but it’s the work of a genius who knows how to stack layers of sound precisely and uniquely. Firstly, he recorded all the instrumentation in the reverberant chapel for that extra reverby, echoic, delayish atmosphere where his instrument resonates with tremendous power. Then, he recorded the remainder in the studio, allowing more modern approaches to writing, composing, arranging, and producing to shine in the limelight. You’ll notice the difference between these two techniques in the second composition because it’s an actual remix of the first track. It’s a wise move that showcases two sides of the same coin while simultaneously demonstrating Courty’s creativity, talent, skills, experience, and knowledge. As much as these two tracks might sound similar to some listeners, they actually differ a lot. Besides the different approaches, you’ll notice how some segments sound go separate ways, allowing listeners to immerse themselves even deeper into the intricacies of this material. The artist unquestionably poured heart and soul while working on this material, making this album such a fine piece of sonic artistry that will indulge listening apparatuses of not only experimental and avant-garde fans but anyone who appreciates innovative, artistic approaches to conventional and non-conventional music.
Let’s talk about the layers. As stated before, Ronan Courty incorporated the entire collection of layers in order to illustrate luxuriant sonic imagery. Whether lurking in those calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal waters or leaning towards those raw, abrasive, gritty, distorted moments, these layers always sound majestic, lush, and beautiful. Even the concentration of distortion is carefully considered so as not to overwhelm other, more clean and acoustic layers. At some moments you’ll notice how Ronan Courty experiments with different strumming, achieving an almost percussive quality that propels this material to new heights. He even considered those tiny details, accentuations, and nuances, pushing his artistry to the very limits of possibility. This dedication to the craft is rarely seen nowadays, as more and more artists mimic each other. But not Ronan Courty, a musician whose creativity and talent know no boundaries. There’s something tribalistic in the way he strums those strings, almost like a sonic ritual that hypnotizes and invites listeners to go even further into this expansive sonic universe. All these qualities prove that Synesthesia is not just another ordinary avant-garde release, but a piece that demands repeated listens in order for a listener to fully grasp everything this clever artist intended to achieve.
Therefore, if your ears crave some fresh and unique experimental music, this material might be a perfect choice for you, as Ronan Courty poured heart and soul into his debut. Synesthesia is available on all streaming platforms and you should immediately place it on your music radar.
Thoughts Words Action 