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December 30, 2024


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Sylvain Chauveau
Un Autre D?cembre (130701 / FatCat)

By: Cam Lindsay

Parisian Sylvain Chauveau apparently knows nothing about music other than the sounds that wrestle around in his head and heart. He was never trained on piano, cannot read or write music, yet here he is with his third album, playing the piano like he was raised on it. Though he is not very recognizable outside of his home country, Chauveau is a very established musician. Besides the two other albums he has recorded under his own name, he has composed music for films, supported Sigur Ros on a European tour, and performs in two collectives: the ambient rock outfit Micro:mega and avant-garde project Arca.

Un Autre D?cembre is a romance-filled, minimal recording. Chauveau builds on the stereotypically romantic portrayal of French music, yet does it in the subtlest way. He proclaims it to be his most hushed record yet, which comes to no surprise. Classified as left-of-centre, his music isn't extremely avant-garde, using modern pieces of piano to create a post-modern atmosphere with the odd electronic glitches placed neatly in spots.

Succeeding in mixing uncomplicated traditional sounds with gentle fragments of technology, Un Autre D?cembre is a bona fide, classic romantic of a record. B+

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