Who has never abandoned oneself for a few moments, lying in a meadow, suspended in the slow movement of the clouds, listening to the grass in the fields? Such pause and inner pleasure seem too rare in our increasingly frenetic daily life. As if these moments were only distant memories of our candid childhood.
This surprise EP from French quartet BRUIT ≤ was precisely conceived as a parenthesis in the middle of our society’s mad scramble, a comma between their debut album and the next one, a step back from the frenetic (and mediatic) whirlwind in which it was caught, a soft reminiscence of the time we don’t have anymore. Or that we no longer take the time to take.
These three sonic meditations allowed the band to experiment freely and create a form of shelter music. Like a tribute to the music of our ancestors, “La Sagesse de nos Aïeux” (“the wisdom of our ancestors”) was entirely written on paper and seems to be carved in stone, as an unalterable memorial groove. Its slow movements soothe our breathing. “Rêveur Lucide” twists more modern means of production, and is thought out like a damaged archive, in which poetry progressively unfolds under layers of blips and alterations.
“Les Temps Perdus” is the synthesis of these first two tracks, with all the experiments taking the form of a dazzling artistic achievement. On this occasion, the music meets Jérémie Brivet’s intimate camera for a short film that you can watch below.
Never short of meaning, the music of BRUIT ≤ invites us to lose our time, as if slowing down was the most essential thing. At full speed, riveted to our screens, we miss out on the fundamentals. As this stranger suggests at the end of “La Sagesse de nos Aïeux”: “to live is not to work like a madman, metro-work-sleep, it is not true, this isn’t to live. It is being a slave. I only have one life, what matters to me is to live it. If I live it badly, it’s nobody’s business but mine. To live well is not about having money. Living well is LIVING! Take your time, have a drink, chat like we’re doing now, go for a walk, do nothing… Wasting your time is the most wonderful way to earn it. People say that time is money, but it is not true! Wasting your time is fabulous, you’re dreaming! Let yourself go.“
The time regained could thus allow building a better time to come. When announcing the latest dates of their tour, BRUIT ≤ warned us that the parenthesis would be long. Doing nothing, a source of creativity? Let’s give them time and bet that BRUIT ≤ will return with new stories just as intense as this one.
Last modified: 6 February 2023
