Mathieu Bec/Michel Doneda - A Peripheral Time (FMR Records, 2019) ****½

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos 

As we object fetishists all do, I occasionally search and hunt down new material from artists that I really appreciate. Be it in the ever expanding Discogs database or just surfing the internet. It has proven fruitful in a number of occasions. Michel Doneda is one of those artists. Along a handful only other musicians he has explored, in every direction possible, the sonic possibilities of his instrument. He does not, in any way, confine himself between even the blurred lines of free improvisation, and is willing to explore and dynamics that shape the sounds he produces. Be it those coming from his instrument, those from the recording space and the interactions with other musicians.

Before A Peripheral Time, I wasn’t aware of Mathieu Bec’s work. What never ceased to impress me through is that for over an hour, his limited resources (only a snare drum) proved limitless in regards to sound. His raw, non-technique oriented approach makes him really unique. If there was not any image of him playing I would totally succumb to the idea of him (like a modern version of Paul Lytton) performing with a vast variety of drums and percussion instruments. Even though I consider Doneda a master of the sax, it’s Bec who attracts most attention on this recording.

This is an improvisational duo though, and the interaction is amazing. Bec uses a variety of approaches and Doneda follows eagerly with the same amount of passion. Their playing as a duo is pretty intense, employing 'a raw animistic approach,' as Bec himself describes it, and he is absolutely right. Sometimes it feels like it’s a battle between them. Even though the sheer volume is totally bearable, the levels of energy and pathos are high up in the stratosphere. Considering that all four tracks of the CD last more than ten minutes (with the titular track clocking just under half an hour) the intensity of their playing never fails the listener.

It seems always so difficult that, at some other points during this CD, they incorporate silence as a means of subverting themselves. It’s those moments, and their integration throughout A Peripheral Time, that convince me they are out on a search, not following one single path. Even though this path (high energy improv following a cohesive straight line) takes most of this CD’s time, they dare to change it, re-approach themselves and allow us to look for more. They take risks, do not take themselves so seriously, and present with clarity and pathos all the swifts and changes that real discoveries produce. They feel like this is an ongoing relationship with more audio fruits to come. We will be waiting.

@ koultouranafigo