Michael Begg/Mélenchon Brève ‘One True Vine’ CD ICR DISTRIBUTION

30.11.17  Another new release from Mr. Begg, this being a very musical, almost pastoral, set of tracks.

From the label : ONE TRUE VINE, ensemble works of reflection and devotion, by Michael Begg | Mélenchon Brève, was released by Omnempathy on 20th November 2017.

The songs were recorded in L’Eglise Ste. Kacey, Samöens, and assembled and mixed at Captains Quarters, East Lothian.

As with several previous Omnempathy releases, this recording is notated “a pocket of resistance”

Details will remain necessarily brief but it can be suggested that the work comprises 16th century melancholy, 19th century Romanticism and 21st century longing.

REVIEW FROM VITAL WEEKLY : Very hot on the heels on ‘Titan: A Crane Is A Bridge’ (see Vital Weekly 1104) there is already a new album by Michael Begg, erstwhile known as Human Greed and as a member of Fovea Hex. here he teams up with Mélenchon Brève, of whom I never heard. Discogs list just this release with this person (gender unknown). I couldn’t find any information as the website from Begg just says this about the album: “details will remain necessarily brief but it can be suggested that the work comprises 16th
century melancholy, 19th century romance and 21st century longing”, which is indeed as brief as you can get. It also says this: “The songs were recorded in L’Eglise Ste. Kacey, Samöens, and assembled and mixed at Captains Quarters, East Lothian”. And yet there are words, sentences or explanations (perhaps) for each of the eleven pieces. That can be like this: “In the Old Style – refers back to the broken analogue synths of early Human Greed records. This is surfing multiple channels of feedback with grace and patience as the view of those winter mountains unfolds ahead of a clockwork train”, which is clear enough I should think, to “”Light the Fires. We are auditioning for bell ringers. This track, bogged in mediaeval romanticism is perhaps closer to Russian Sci-Fi than would make any of us comfortable”. To which sounds a rather orchestral piece of music. It’s the eight piece on the release and up to that point it was all rather subdued ambient music, formed by the long sustaining of synthesized tones and an occasional piano, or so it seemed, from this point on it seems more like processed orchestral samples, cello, violin, timpani and such like. Here I can see, perhaps, the 19th century romantic music as referred to on the website. But then I went back to the beginning of the CD, played it again and suddenly it all seemed to be about orchestral sounds and a lot less with synthesizers. The voices of ‘Bury The Choir In Fifteen Feet Of Snow’ gave that 16th century melancholy (of course: I think. I am not that old) and the whole thing sounded in the end like a very curious mixture of modern classical music (think Arvo Pärt) and ambient music (think Eno, Begg himself or perhaps any of your own favourites). The more I heard this, the more it grew on me. This is an excellent release. (FdW)