Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek
Blank Grey Canvas Sky

Format: LP (white vinyl), CD, Download
Released November 14th, 2009.

Order now.

TRACKLIST

1. Departure
2. Planes
3. Kites
4. Rain
5. Blank Grey
6. Homecoming

Kites

INFORMATION:

Music and words by Peter Broderick and Machinefabriek in 2008 and 2009. Vocals on 'Rain' by Susanna Lundgren. Piano on Planes recorded by Adam Selzer at Type Foundry Studio, Portland, OR. Piano on Homecoming recorded by Nils Frahm at Durton Studio, Berlin.
Mastered by James Plotkin.
Photographs by Peter Broderick.
Design by Rutger Zuydervelt.

REVIEWS:

Rock-A-Rolla Magazine, Euan Andrews:

[...] Blank Grey Canvas Sky is a completely different proposition. Working with multi-instrumentalist Broderick, Zuydervelt’s contributions are much more intangible here. A se- ries of pieces involving piano and wordless voices, there is a sense of deep, groaning melancholy steeped within this music, evoking a sense of vast, unknowable land- scapes. It is hard to tell where the dividing lines between Broderick and Zuydervelt are, and it does at times approach the post-rock-lite of Sigur Rós, but on the whole this is an exemplary, if profoundly bleak, recording.

Ambientblog, Peter van Cooten:

These artist names are probably familiar to everyone even remotely interested in ambient/electronic music. Multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick (from Oregon, now living in Berlin) released quite a few impressive albums under his own name, and is currently touring as a member of Efterklang. The number of albums Rutger "Machinefabriek" Zuydervelt (from Arnhem, now living in Rotterdam) has released can hardly be counted any more (quite some of them are featured on this weblog). So when two such great artists start working together expectations are quite high!

Blank Grey Canvas Sky, released on the Fang [Bomb] label, is a collaboration on which Rutger and Peter stretch their limits even further. The album is as much acoustic as it is electronic, and it's very diverse yet very homogeneous. There are quiet piano and string parts, even some soft vocals ("Rain", with Susanna Lundgren), as well as distorted gritty 'spliced' electronics. Some additional piano parts are played by Adam Selzer and Nils Frahm (who plays the part on the 'Homecoming' track featured below). Broderick and Zuydervelt prove to be a perfectly balanced match of extremes.

This album is one of the best in both artists' discography so it definitely deserves a place in the collection of anyone familiar with either one of them. Or anyone unfamiliar, for that matter.

Vital Weekly, Frans De Waard:

I only heard music by Peter Broderick from his ‘Music For Falling From Trees’, a LP released by Western Vinyl and reviewed in Vital Weekly 680, but he is quite active, either as a member of Efterklang and with his own solo releases. He hails from Oregon, but lives in Berlin these days (who isn’t? well, the Vital people of course). He teams up here with that other guy whose work load always seems to be piling up: Rutger Zuydervelt, also known as Machinefabriek, who pushes out lots of collaborations. Following last week’s release with Tim Caitlin, its now turn for Peter Broderick. Unlike last week, when it was clear that Zuydervelt was using sound material supplied by Caitlin, there is no information here on how these things were made. Did they sit together in the studio (like Zuydervelt did with Andrea Belfi earlier this year) or an exchange of sound files, or one working on sounds of the other. I somehow put my money on the exchange of sound files, where Broderick gets to say his say
in three tracks and Zuydervelt in the other three. I can’t say this is ‘another’ Machinefabriek collaboration, although partly it is. There is the well-known soft guitar playing and sound effects in full operative modus, but throughout I thought there was something altogether more ‘musical’ about this. Maybe its the use of vocals, even so sparsely as here, but also the addition of some clear piano notes (also sparsely) and likewise clear guitar parts that make this wholly more musical than some of the other collaborative efforts undertaken already. An excellent CD.

BLOG, Like a Scientist, Keith Pishnery:

Both Peter Broderick and Machinefabriek have appeared on this blog before, especially the latter, so my predisposition to this collaboration was already fairly established. However, I must admit I wasn’t quite ready to be as taken with this project as I am. Just before it was released I remember reading a quote from Broderick saying it was probably the release he was most proud of and that it felt like a true collaboration. Listening to it, you are able to tell where Broderick ends and Machinefabriek begins based their previous output, but the two sounds are so tightly wrapped around each other and integrated that this lines blurs sometimes, forming an entirely new artist in its wake. Opener “Departure” unfurls like an overture, with a quietly escalating bed of drone struggling to overtake the momentous piano. In many ways, I’m reminded of the Wagner overture “Thus, We Begin In The Greenish Twilight Of The Rhine,” with it’s similarly pensive build-up. The long “Kites” stretches out over eight minutes with a contemplative piano melody, strings, and undulating guitar drone holding it all together. The drones have the effect of submerging the strings so they heard as if from the next room and float in an out of your field of hearing. It’s easy to picture yourself watching kites weave through the wind when listening to this musical concoction. “Rain” is striking for how different it is to the rest of the album. After the low-key guitar drone and strumming of the first half, vocals and a traditional guitar melody take center stage on this track. It jolts you a little bit, but fits in wonderfully, coming mid-way through the album like this. Easily one of the best collaborative albums to come along in recent years, this is a fantastic addition to both Peter Broderick and Machinefabriek’s catalogs. I can only hope there will be more releases in the future.

Onda Rock, Raffaello Russo:

Non sono esattamente due che si risparmiano Peter Broderick e Rutger Zuydervelt: il giovane compositore americano ma di origine danese è da sempre impegnato in numerose collaborazioni (tra gli altri con Efterklang, Horse Feathers e Library Tapes), oltre che in una prolifica attività solista, mentre l'artista olandese è praticamente un'icona dell'intensiva autoproduzione casalinga, con le sue innumerevoli uscite a base elettronica sotto l'ormai affermato alias Machinefabriek.

Non stupisce dunque vederli unire le forze in un album a doppia firma, che funge da ulteriore tassello delle discografie di entrambi, dando altresì seguito alla recente serie di collaborazioni che hanno visto come protagonista Machinefabriek, tra le quali si possono ricordare quelle con Jasper TX, Aaron Martin, Greg Davis e Andrea Belfi.
Le elucubrazioni digitali di Zuydervelt e il lieve neoclassicismo acustico di Broderick si incontrano adesso in un lavoro chiaramente improntato a ridurre le distanze stilistiche tra i due, integrando affinità concettuali e differenti modalità espressive per trasformarle in qualcosa di altro, in un tertium genus nel quale i rispettivi contributi scolorano in un complesso nuovo e sufficientemente omogeneo.

Nei poco più di quaranta minuti di "Blank Grey Canvas Sky", la versatilità da polistrumentista di Broderick si fonde con drone e filtraggi elettronici curati da Zuydervelt, dando luogo a composizioni modulate, nelle quali la profondità di tenebrose maree ambientali completa di crescendo ondivaghi note di piano cadenzate e solenni ("Departure", "Kites"), ovvero sovrasta in maniera impetuosa melodie più fluide e strutturate ("Planes"). In questo secondo caso, sembra quasi che le saturazioni elettroniche abbiano la funzione di riempire con le loro atmosfere spettrali gli interstizi abitualmente lasciati vuoti dal minimalismo compositivo di Broderick, le cui piéce pianistiche vedono qui altresì la collaborazione di altri due importanti artisti ai quali è legata la sua attività sulle due sponde dell'Atlantico: alla registrazione delle sue parti strumentali in "Planes" e in "Rain" hanno infatti collaborato, rispettivamente, il songwriter e produttore alt-folk Adam Selzer (Norfolk & Western) in quel di Portland e l'altro interessante compositore Nils Frahm a Berlino.

E non si esaurisce qui il novero di collaboratori che hanno affiancato i due principali protagonisti del lavoro, poiché proprio a conclusione dell'uniforme fingerpicking acustico di "Rain", si affaccia imprevedibile l'elemento vocale, in un cammeo ad opera dello stesso Broderick e di Susanna Lundgren (Piney Woods, Solander).

Ma è soprattutto ascoltando i quasi quattordici minuti di "Blank Grey" che può ravvisarsi la riuscita dell'incontro sottostante a questo lavoro. Mentre infatti la restante parte dell'album presenta una compiuta integrazione tra parti distinguibili, qui i due artisti si confondono in un ininterrotto gioco di specchi, che si snoda dagli iniziali accenni di rumorismo glitch agli inquieti vocalizzi finali, passando per raffinate modulazioni elettroacustiche filtrate in chiave (dark-)ambient.

Peccato soltanto che l'estrema prolificità di Broderick e Zuydervelt implichi il rischio di considerare "Blank Grey Canvas Sky" come un'uscita "minore" tra le tante firmate ogni anno dai due, poiché il suo risultato va ben oltre una mera sommatoria di stili, per rappresentare invece il completamento di modalità espressive definite e singolarmente autosufficienti, ma senza dubbio suscettibili di arricchimento attraverso esplorazioni sonore molteplici.

Caleidoscoop, Jan Willem Broek:

Ik heb dit jaar ongetwijfeld de meeste woorden gewijd aan de releases van Peter Broderick en Machinefabriek. Van Rutger Zuydervelt, de Nederlandse grootproducent achter Machinefabriek, zijn we dat wel gewend met zijn bijzondere, tot de verbeelding sprekende gitaarambient en elektronische composities, die altijd van hoge kwaliteit zijn. Maar ook multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/componist Peter Broderick begint zich als solo artiest enorm te profileren. Hij is eerder al te horen bij Norfolk & Western, Efterklang (pst: nieuw album op 4ad in 2010), Horse Feathers, Loch Lomond, Laura Gibson en bij zijn zus Heather Woods Borderick. Dat naast zijn vele solo albums van de afgelopen twee jaar op labels als Kning Disk, Bella Union, Type, Erased Tapes en Secret Furry Hole. Peter Broderick weet als geen ander op uiterst droefgeestige en adembenemende wijze filmisch neoklassiek te koppelen aan folk en elektronica. Soms enkel met pianomuziek, maar vaak ook met strijkers, uiteenlopende elektronica, orgel of een gitaar en zang. Dat deze twee heren een keer de handen ineen zouden slaan leek onvermijdelijk, ook al benadert Broderick de muziek meer als songwriter en Machinefabriek meer vanuit de experimentele kant. Waar de beide heren de meeste winst kunnen behalen en ver boven zich uit kunnen stijgen is in hun gemeenschappelijke midden, namelijk het melancholische, filmische deelgebied. Dat is ook precies wat ze gedaan hebben op hun gezamenlijke cd Blank Grey Canvas Sky, ditmaal uitgebracht op het kleine kwaliteitslabel Fang Bomb. De piano-, strijk- en spaarzame zangpartijen van Broderick harmoniseren op natuurlijke wijze met de gruizige laptopkunsten van Machinefabriek. Ze krijgen nog extra steun van zangeres Susanna Lundgren en de pianisten Adam Selzer en Nils Frahm. Het resultaat is eigenlijk nog mooier dan de gedroomde uitkomst. Beide heren weten elkaar tot grote hoogten te drijven. Zinderende, mysterieuze en emotioneel overweldigende klanklandschappen die deels neoklassiek, deels song en deels filmisch experiment zijn. Er is eigenlijk geen vinger op te leggen, want de schoonheid is enorm, om naar adem te happen. Je laten overdonderen lijkt het enige devies bij deze intieme en breekbare pracht. Het maakt elke vergelijking overbodig. Ontroerend mooi. Hulde!

Monsieur Délire, François Couture:

Décidémment, 2009 aura été l'année de Peter Broderick, du moins dans mon livre, avec TROIS disques remarquables. Blank Grey Canvas Sky entre dans la catégorie "musique ambiante et expérimentale" de Broderick (qui fait aussi de la chanson folk et des musiques cinématiques). Cette collaboration avec Machinefabriek est un petit bijou de textures zen, de mélodies au vernis antique et de recherches sonores qui grattent mais apaisent. Les fans de Broderick entendront ici plus de pollutions numériques qu'ils en ont l'habitude, sans pour autant se sentir perdus. Les univers de ces deux artistes s'intersectent bien.

2009 definitely has been the Year of Peter Broderick, at least in my book, with THREE remarkable records. Blank Grey Canvas Sky fits in Broderick's "ambiant experimental music" body of work (he also does alt-folk and film music). This collaboration with Machinefabriek is a little gem, full of zen textures, antiquated melodies, and audio research that grates yet calms. Broderick's fans will be treated to a little more digital pollution than what they're used to, but they won't feel lost. The soundworlds of these two artists intersect in very nice ways.

Bleep 43, Jeremy Yellen:

Blank Grey Canvas Sky,” released by Fang Bomb, is the second collaboration between American multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick and Rotterdam-based Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt). Their first collaboration merely had Broderick contribute to Zuydervelt’s album “Huis.” But “Blank Grey Canvas Sky” was conceived a joint project from the outset. As such, it better marries the ideas of two musicians with different but compatible styles.

There is a light and airy quality to Broderick’s music, which make use of delicate piano and string arrangements. Machinefabriek, on the other hand, creates soundscapes that feature drones, static hisses, processed guitars, and ambient noises. Despite these differences, their styles complement each other. Broderick’s delicate piano and strings provide a perfect foil for Machinefabriek’s heavier soundscapes.

There is much to appreciate in this album. Each of the six compositions is delicately crafted but musically sound, and has a strong sense of build and release. Piano and string melodies melt into haunting soundscapes. Good examples of well-executed tracks include “Departure” and “Homecoming.” The former develops as an unhurried build, where a sombre piano floats above a background of strings and slowly surging drones. “Homecoming,” the album’s closer, begins with a beautiful interaction between a piano and a moving string melody. Drones and other ambient noises then take over, and slowly release into hushed tones.

The album’s best songs are built around a soulful and searching piano. “Planes,” the most gorgeous song on the album, begins with a stirring piano reminiscent of “Opening” in Philip Glass’s masterpiece, Glassworks. Towards the middle of the song a layer of drones is gradually introduced, pulling the listener fully into Machinefabriek’s domain. “Planes” comes to a dramatic conclusion with the re-introduction of Broderick’s piano. This is the best example of their collaborative effort and a fantastic song.

A few blunders, however, tarnish the beauty of the album. The first of these slip-ups come with the song “Rain.” It begins in an elegant manner. A slow drone builds into a simple yet pretty guitar melody, which is contrasted with a background of static hissing that sounds like rain falling. But this is followed with Broderick and singer Susanna Lundgren breaking into the overdone refrain, “Rain is all sound” (which sounds more like “Rain is awesome”). The refrain is a buzz kill that jolts the listener’s attention from what is otherwise a nice melody. The second misstep occurs in the first half of “Blank Grey.” “Blank Grey” utilizes radio interference, distortions, and sports radio commentaries to create a glitchy percussive element. Yet to the listener this glitchy percussion sounds like pocket change run through a broken coffee grinder. It is jarring, to say the least.

These slip-ups do not detract too much from the album, which at its best is deeply moving. “Blank Grey Canvas Sky,” in short, is a very good collaboration. Broderick and Machinefabriek have produced an album that is on the whole pleasing to the ears, and will be enjoyed by fans of ambient and experimental music. Recommended.

Crazybirds:

Op regenachtige dagen, na een onrustige nacht dankzij een volle maan, zal je maar zo in een melodramatische bui terecht komen. Een album van Damien Rice opzetten, is dan een prima oplossing. Maar ik heb een alternatief ontdekt: Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek, een Berlijnse muzikant die samen met het Rotterdamse Machinefabriek de prachtige plaat Blank Grey Canvas Sky maakte. Dit levert een experimenteel en sfeervol geheel op, op de rand van ambient. Maar soms ook met zang. Afijn, ik werd er in ieder geval niet vrolijker van, maar een prachtig geheel is het wel. Beluister een aantal tracks van dit album. Eerst Homecoming, daarna Rain. Ben je dan nog wakker, sluit dan af met Planes.
Koop het album Blank Grey Canvas Sky bij Diogenes Music. Ik zeg, doen. Ambient wordt ondertussen in 2010 groot, een keiharde comeback.

Norman Records:

Now then, now then. Another exciting collaboration is in our midst. I'm holding a CD on Fang Bomb that comes in a lovely new designer digipak and the artists are Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek so if that doesn't juice your sack of oranges right up, you're nothing but a grumply ol' husk y' hear? As you can imagine, from the off, Peter's minimalist piano caressing is suspended & secreted from all orifices and angles in this sound sphere whilst eerie, fizzing electronic static & pulsating atmospherics offer no respite from the listless aura. But then Adam Selzer plinks the ivories on the utterly magical 'Planes' which sounds like the heartstopping soundtrack to a snowy fantasy world. Then 'Kites' changes tack again, an abandoned sombre piano and wispy chamber style strings can be heard discreetly, buried under a fog of wavering, feedbacky drones & drifting organ, the tension & majesty continually building until you're totally immersed in absolute grandeur. With another 3 tracks to go I'm not gonna burden you further, for rest assured this is one pretty essential package from some gifted producers! 'Blank Grey Canvas Sky' it's called!

Boomkat:

Rotterdam's Rutger Zuydervelt has previously worked with Peter Broderick on the Machinefabriek 3"CD Huis, although for this collaboration there's a more even distribution of work. Zuydervelt's heavily processed drone-weaving is countered by luscious acoustic instrumentation, but importantly, none of it feels tacked on, and these two prolific artists make a good job of integrating their respective approaches. It's actually a very natural collaboration: while Machinefabriek often converges on the classical and cinematic, Broderick's instrumental music is rendered with a discerning producer's ear.

After an introductory splash of droning atmospherics on 'Departure', the follow-up track, 'Planes' takes on a more classical sound, featuring Broderick's urgent, Philip Glass-like piano riffing and a wordless, hummed vocal that gels into the swirling Zuydervelt soundscape. Possibly the finest piece on the whole set, 'Kites' operates in a similar fashion, with loose, impressionistic key-work and distant strings melting seamlessly into an electroacoustic sonic environment. It's like a hallucinated symphony orchestra drifting across airwaves before slowly disintegrating into bad reception by the piece's oddly poignant end.

Marking a slight change in direction, 'Rain' features vocals (a duet between Peter and Susanna Lundgren) and acoustic guitar while contact-miced rainfall forms the basis of a backdrop. An altogether more experimental, radio-based sound collage, 'Blank Grey' is predominantly electronic and relatively severe, using acoustic instruments as a brooding, mysterious background while cut-up speech fragments and broadcast signals populate the mix. Eventually, Broderick arrives with processed piano and layered vocal loops lead the fourteen minute composition to a close.

Considerably less perplexing is the lovely closer, 'Homecoming', featuring piano recorded by Nils Frahm and grainy waves of manipulated, fuzzy sound waves. 'Blank Grey Canvas Sky' is a sonically rich album that marries the talents of its two stars without there being any indication that it occupies a compromised middle ground. Gorgeous.

Bleep:

The first player in this delicious six track work is well travelled, ultra prolific, multi instrumentalist Peter Broderick, alongside him is another of the avant-garde's busiest composers, Dutchman Rutger Zuydervelt, Machinefabriek. Glistening in the seams of Blank Grey Canvas Sky are textured drones made up of treated piano, organ and bowed instruments, cut into this canvas are bursts of digital rain and field noise. Quite Beautiful.

Sonic Seducer, Bärbel Scherf:

n the autumn time
when the sky is a blank grey canvas
I don't wanna paint on it

Cause all those colors blind me
spinning all around me
round and round and round
and round and round and
round and round and round

Betrachtet man die CD "Blank Grey Canvas Sky", entstanden 2009 aus der Kollaboration von Peter Broderick und Machinefabriek aka Rutger Zuydervelt, fallen diese Zeilen als Allererstes auf, die die Innenseite des Digipaks zieren.

Obwohl hier viel Interpretationsspielraum gegeben ist, wird in gewisser Weise trotzdem mit einer bestimmten Erwartungshaltung gespielt. Wozu nützt eine Leinwand, wenn sie leer bleibt? Findet man ein düster-melancholisches Album vor, eintönig und farblos, so wie der beschriebene Himmel im Herbst? Hört man zum ersten Mal "Departure", so möchte man das fast meinen. Schwerfällige Pianoakkorde, hier ein Rauschen, da ein Knarzen, irgendwann setzen Streicher mit einem dunklen, langgezogenen Ton ein.

Dann werden die Streicher lauter, übertönen das Piano, alles steigert sich dramatisch, bis sich der Klangteppich wieder auflöst - was übrig bleibt, ist das tiefe Dis und ein gelegentliches Rauschen. Kommt man allerdings zu den folgenden Tracks, wechselt sich diese schwere Grundstimmung mit heiteren und dynamischen Momenten ab - und das ist wohl der Grund, warum es sich als so genial herausstellt. Brodericks verspielte und leichte Art und Weise, die er in das Spiel seiner Instrumente legt (was man vor allem beim Hören seiner diversen Soloalben feststellt) wird durch Zuydervelt's elektronische, schwerer anmutende Elemente ausgeglichen.

Dieses Nebeneinander von Leichtigkeit und Schwere findet man nicht nur in den Tracks selbst, sondern auch in den Titeln. Ein schönes Motiv ist beispielsweise "Kites", also "Drachen". Wer schon einmal versucht hat, einen solchen in die Luft zu befördern, weiß, dass sich das ersteinmal als schwierig herausstellen kann. Ist er dann hoch oben, scheint er wie von selbst zu schweben. Dieser dritte, also in der Mitte stehende Titel erinnert vom Ablauf her an dieses Drachen-Steigen-Lassen. Ein tiefer, schwerer Orgelton, Piano, Streicher, Knarzen. Alles scheint in Drone-Manier zu verschmelzen, steigert sich bis zu einem gewissen Höhepunkt, bis es wieder reduziert wird, sich auflöst. Da hier alle wichtigen Bestandteile des Albums zusammenfinden, könnte man auch sagen, dass dies wohl der Kerntitel desselben ist - denn auch das Cover ziert ein in hochgewachsenem Ährengras liegender Drache - eine Fotografie Peter Brodericks.

"Rain" ist wohl am minimalistischsten gehalten. Hier baut sich, im Gegensatz zu den vorhergehenden Tracks, keine Spannung auf. Stattdessen kommen zu den ruhigen Gitarrensounds Vocals von Broderick und Susanna Lundgren hinzu. Ob das als so passend erscheint, darüber kann man sich streiten. Wo die CD sonst so gar nicht aufdringlich wirkt, bildet der überraschend auftretende, zweistimmige Gesang fast schon einen Störfaktor, allerdings ist das auch der einzig negative Punkt, den man anführen kann. Die letzten beiden Titel holen dann noch einmal alles heraus, was das Album zu bieten hat. Beide gestalten sich als absolut einfühlsam und melancholisch, vor allem "Homecoming", das auch vom Klavierspiel Nils Frahms geprägt ist, der in diesem Track mitwirkt. Von der anfänglichen Düsternis bzw. Schwere ist nun gar nichts mehr zu spüren, da diese im Laufe der Zeit immer mehr verschwindet. Peter Broderick selbst sagt dazu Folgendes:
We tried a lot of different things on this album, pushing ourselves to explore new areasŠ And for me the result is the collection of music I feel most proud of so far.

Im Grunde kann man diese Aussage nur bestätigen, denn durch die Zusammenarbeit mit Machinefabriek erreichen die entstandenen Stücke durch die Symbiose der beiden einen besonderen Reiz. Das Nebeneinander von Drone und klaren Melodiesequenzen, von Instrumentellem und Elektronischem, das Experimentieren mit der Lautstärke - die "Reise" die beide Künstler unternehmen endet in "Homecoming" - und wohl auch in der Liebe zum Minimalismus.
Cause all the colors blind me.

Goûte Me Disques:

La rencontre de Peter Broderick et Machinefabriek se voulait déjà sur papier une promesse d’un grand disque. Le premier a écumé toutes les scènes du monde en pilier du folk/ambient, tantôt sur la structure Bella Union (écurie abritant entre autres Fleet Foxes), tantôt en accompagnateur live d’Efterklang. Le deuxième n’est rien de moins que l’un des producteurs ambient/drone/electronica les plus en vue du moment, passant le plus clair de son temps sur l’excellent label new-yorkais 12k quand il ne nous gratifie pas de collaborations de très haut niveau (notamment le récent Pulses & Places). Toutes les pièces de l’échiquier étaient donc en place pour nous offrir un spectacle d’une grande intensité.

Et Blank Grey Canvas Sky ne se perd pas en phases d’approche superflue, il plonge aussitôt dans les méandres du beau et de l’infiniment touchant. Le programme est simple comme une recette séculière : d’un côté les plages ambient se chargent de résidus électroniques, grondent et tournoient avec légèreté et précision alors que de l’autre côté de la berge, un piano aux allures variables répond avec un doigté et une asymétrie qu’on aime calculée. On pense instinctivement à un Christian Fennesz très en forme qui aurait à nouveau réclamé les services du Japonais ultra-coté Ryuichi Sakamoto (l’ensemble faisant irrémédiablement penser à leur collaboration dans l’album Cendre). Toutefois, il ne faudrait pas en conclure à une relecture sans âme de Cendre : Blank Grey Canvas Sky est infiniment plus folk dans l’âme, s’essaye avec réussite au chant (« Rain »), brille par de superbes plages modern classical (« Kites ») et se débat souvent dans des envolées aux rythmes plus rapides (« Planes »), bien aidé par une orchestration plus variée (violoncelle, drone, guitare, piano et voix). Et quand le risque de voir le disque flâner dans des sentiers trop cotonneux pour lui, le duo sait prendre sait responsabilité et inviter l’auditeur dans un quart d’heure plus escarpé, jouant des coudes au milieu de fractures nettes au son d’une piano multiforme et de commentaires sportifs en boucle en provenance de la BBC, pour un final proche d’un Panda Bear (« Blank Grey »).

C’est cette intelligence là qu’on aime chez ce duo d’un disque, cette tendance naturelle à mêler raffinement et plaisir auditif accessible, bien loin des clichés habituels du genre. Exit donc les tendances à s’écouter jouer, Peter Broderick et Machinefabriek assument leur lyrisme et leur romantisme comme les plus grands compositeurs de notre époque. Les amateurs de belles musiques devraient prendre le temps de s’y arrêter, on tient là une perle qui comptera parmi les plus belles sorties ambient/modern classical/electronica de cette année. Chapeau.