Exarcheia – Εξάρχεια may be rooted in an Athens residency, but the cassette represents a “geography without borders,” with field recordings captured in Athens, Strasbourg and Gdańsk, including a street protest in solidarity with the Bengali July Revolution. Cellist Stéphane Clor also incorporates a baglama (Greek lute), brush motor, cardboard boxes and dune-snail shells, drawing us immediately into the project. This may be the sound of everywhere, but every moment is also the sound of being right there.
The initial recordings were made in the summer of 2024; one can almost feel the shimmering heat. The artist is experimenting not only with instrument, but with the juncture between instrument and object, all against a backdrop of warmth and occasional unrest. The baglama is a newly-discovered joy; Clor is learning to play as we listen. In “petite suite,” the snare-like reverberations are as crucial as the notes being played. “ventil” shakes like a highway mirage, a refraction of sight and sound. Whatever Clor can find, he incorporates.
The set really takes off with “Σοφοκλέους και Ντάκα – ঢাকা,” with loudspeaker expressions of anger and solidarity. The sound of protest may end up being the defining sound of the decade, and Clor is wise to include it; the street demonstration must have been one of the most memorable events of his residency. Crickets and shouts vie for supremacy on “pendulum,” while a reflective baglama piece is sandwiched in-between, as if Clor needs time to process all he has seen and heard.
To travel is to take one outside one’s geographical and philosophical borders. And yet, to travel is also to recognize commonality. As Clor discovers instruments and objects that interact with those he has brought, he composes a metaphorical dialogue. Wherever he roams, he finds aural value both separate and intertwined: a piccolo cello and a dune-snail shell, a baglama and a breeze. The underlying statement is humble, yet profound: listen to the rocks and shells, even the debris. Hear the songs of the places you visit, and let them propose unpredictable duets. As the cassette ends with church bells and fireworks recorded back home in Strasbourg, one thinks less of nationality than of global pride; the world is ever bigger than we imagine. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 