Philippe Petit ~ Needles in Pain

Avant-garde experimentalist Philippe Petit has released many albums over the years, but this is his first recorded foray into turntablism – thankfully, released on vinyl.  While most turntablists use and abuse their favorite records, Petit insists that the needles are in pain, forced to enter grooves backwards, sideways, over cardboard or metal.  A diamond stylus may be tough, but it is not invincible, nor, as one might imagine, without feelings.  Why are you doing this to me?!! a needle might protest, before being plunged into duty by Petit’s firm hand, like a Hot Wheels car being forced to collide with another in the service of pure entertainment.

And highly entertaining it is, this pair of thick, intricate tracks, in which the techniques may be obscured, but the creativity is not.  Unidentifiable samples gather and swirl like hordes of locusts, accompanied by windshield wipers on dry windows.  By choosing to use only his own recordings as sources, Petit retains control of the patina.  There’s never a moment in which the listener is able to identify a song or artist other than the one holding the tonearm.  The only familiarity is in recognizing the wealth of needle-on-wax sounds: static, skip, backspin, the needle against the end groove.

Petit is said to dance to his own performances; most listeners will not be inspired to do so.  The two sides (“First Movement” and “Second Movement”) unfold more like compositions than club songs or improvisations.  The second in particular possesses a recognizable form, a tangled morass of mangled notes, around which everything else (literally) revolves. When the timbre changes midway, it comes as a pleasant shock: suddenly the centre turns musical, with guitar and bass struggling to stay afloat amidst a sea of needles.  This music seems almost unnecessary, a stark contrast to the un-musical music heard for the first 30 minutes.  It’s as if Petit is asking us to choose sides between the needle and the groove; the groove is more obvious, but here, the needle has the power.  (Richard Allen)

Release date:  22 April

Available here soon