Once again, I find myself writing in the garage; it’s humid, but more importantly, cold. A needed feature during the scorching summer Europe is experiencing right now! I am getting hit by Bastien Pons’ leftfield aural goodness. My brain doesn’t quite know what it’s listening to; is this ambient? Music concrete? Industrial electronica? I sense a stream of haunting, eerie textures, prophetic vocal chants and a heightened sense of catharsis. Slowly, I get comfortable with it; my mind allows ‘BLINDED’s relentless soundscapes to capture my consciousness, sparking an introspective journey of reckoning that echoes a thousand memories and a million regrets. Nostalgia, melancholia; is this how they are supposed to feel?
The listening experience is bittersweet; I used to dabble in experimental, boundary-pushing music too, many moons ago, and I recognise talent when I see it. That said, such striking and powerful music pushes me to confront my deepest self; I am not sure I am ready for that. Hailing from France, Bastien Pons has their priorities straight, blending industrial noises with more rounded, angelic tones. There’s an overall sense of distortion and fuzziness, interrupted only by the occasional field recordings and vocal samples. It’s a formula that appears to work well.
A record such as ‘BLINDED’ is often a result of what one would call ‘holistic artistry’. It requires a comprehensive artistic vision that transcends music, connecting to parallel fields such as visual arts and photography. It turns out, Bastien Pons is heavily influenced by “a background in black-and-white photography and a deep grounding in musique concrète (under the mentorship of Bernard Fort)”. Ok, that’s enough: I would be doing a disservice towards the French creative if I didn’t urge the reader to experience ‘BLINDED’ first-hand… It cannot truly be described. Don’t be afraid – you never know what lies behind that grey, soulless wall.
Recommended! Discover ‘BLINDED’ on Spotify:
