Peter Jacquemyn/Quentin Stokart – qter (qeerecords, 2022)

By Fotis Nikolakopoulos

This very limited handmade CDR, or reused cassette if you prefer, is a real treat. Clocking just under half an hour, the duo or Peter Jacquemyn on bass and Quentin Stokart on electric guitar offer us a small scale, minimal sound world of chords, plucking, percussive sounds and the occasional noises. The improvisational set (first time playing together) was recorded at Stokart’s house early on 2022.

As we already know, the, often precarious, financial conditions of many improvisers define the music itself. Small scale recordings, diy aesthetics (hell yeah!), mediocre equipment have paved an ethos, for decades now, that the listener should focus on the feelings and the energy coming from the music, the sounds. I’m not sure about the financial status of the two musicians, but on qter the listener finds everything mentioned above –and in big doses.

Qter is divided in two tracks and find Stokart and Jacquemyn on a constant linear dialogue. With highs (mostly on part 2) and lows (part 1 is less noisy, if I can say that), their music evolves in a very urgent and upfront way. Sounds that are produced on the spot with no manipulation at all. Testing and checking out the sonic capabilities –and possibilities- of their instruments, while trying to find new ways to make them heard as totally new audio producers.

Trying to figure out what is going on, sonically, in there I stumbled upon a lot of pathos and energy for their music. I really cannot figure out if there were any preconceived ideas on what to play or how this recording could go -even if they talked about it at all before start playing. But this is exactly one of the ways (not the only one of course) to improvise and the fruits from this homemade session are really worth listening.

Here:

 

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