- To speak of a so-called "French Touch" when describing electronic music coming out of France these days is silly. Sure, there was once a common sound emanating from the Versailles axis (Daft Punk, Air, Étienne de Crecy, Phoenix, et al.) in the late '90s, but it has long since broken into myriad distinctive genre affiliations and peripheral sub-scenes. Consequently, the vociferous Grenoble electro scene (Vitalic, The Hacker, Kiko), for instance, doesn't have much to do with the inflexible, more minimal Parisian aesthetics of the likes of Ivan Smagghe, Tekel or Shonky. Even the one-size-fits-all blog-house of the Kitsuné posse doesn't seem to share much in common with the Nantes-based, Italo-inspired Valerie collective (Anoraak, Russ Chimes, Minitel Rose, The Outsiders). And that's not even getting into the occasional oddball like Krikor Kouchian, France's most mysterious enfant terrible de la house musique.
Although he has been producing for more than a decade now, Land of Truth is Krikor's first official long player. But anyone expecting something similar to 2007's groovier Rock Hard in a Funky Place 12-inch is bound for utter disappointment: Recorded with the imaginary Dead Hillbillies and released at the start of the summer with little fanfare, the album aims at the kind of dance-music-made-with-rockier-means hybrid that doesn't fall too far away from what friend and Tigersushi-owner Joakim has try to convey on his own recent Milky Ways.
Showcasing Nicolas Ker of electro rock weirdoes Poni Hoax and fellow Parisian ice queen Chloé on vocals on four tracks, this is mostly an instrumental affair during which Krikor does dance music for trailer parks and AM rock obsessives. "Wanton Boy," "Everything Fades" and album closer "The Edge," for instance, are the kind of desolate blues Laura Palmer used to take her clothes off to at the White Lodge in Twin Peaks. Even more intriguing are "God Break it All" and "The Mist," both built around crisp guitar riffs and an overall post-punk air of defiance. "The Times" and "Devil in Disguise," meanwhile, are the kind of opiate psychedelia that blends The Velvet Underground and Ableton Live. The slow motion techno of "Dogs on Trial" and "Discipline (Paris)" are the closest to dance floor-friendly you'll get here—even if that floor sounds as bleak as an empty strip club at 6 AM.
Sadly, nothing on here ever reaches the twirling relentlessness of Krikor's other 2009 releases such as the DJ Koze-worthy Erasure Is Our Ally EP and the bass-heavy "Casus Belli" cut he recorded with the aforementioned Chloé under the Plein Soleil guise for her Live at Robert Johnson mix. Actually, it's hard to think of any DJ that would be willing to play anything on here in its original form in a club context unless they were trying to come across as truly confrontational. But in terms of exploring uncharted territories and staying true to one's vision, Land of Truth is a sonic unidentified object in an already prismatic musical land. Let's just hope Krikor doesn't wait another decade to follow it up.
Tracklist 01. The Times
02. Serpico's Wallet
03. God Will Break It All
04. Wanton Boy
05. The Mist
06. Crackboy
07. The Devil in Disguise
08. Dogs on Trial
09. Everything Fades
10. Discipline (Paris)
11. The Edge