Stones of the threshold

French radiophonic artist Eric La Casa's offering is Series I : "S'ombre" (originally issued as a CD-R collectable limitededition with paintings) uses "only field recordings - water, mineral materials and fire" and is as shady as its title suggests. "Chrysalithe", whose sound sources include prepared piano and small metal objects, is introverted, even claustrophobic, after which the title track's spacious mix of water, wind, traffic, crowd noise and instruments comes almost as a relief (though it could be two thirds its length without compromising either its structure or its beauty). The founding fathers of the GRM can look down with pride on such accomplished work. Dan Warburton, The Wire

La Casa is one of several people from "deep ambient" circles who turn to the soundings of the natural and human world for their source materials. Unlike their peers, these folks weave their immersive waves of sound not from purely electronic sources, but from a wide variety of field recordings. I must admit that all of these works are challenging to get my ears around, but La Casa's is by far the most interesting to this "real world" based listener. While there are several segments of deeply gurgling water sounds, most of the disc is not easily recognizable. Rather, La Casa takes us way beneath the surface of things, conjuring a primal darkness from which movement begins. He combines field recordings with a few segments of humans "playing", objects both orthodox (metal chimes and bowls) and unusual (crumpling paper, stomping on a wodden sidewalk); the overall effect is of becoming immersed in resonance. The interplay between sustained tones and rhythmic, staccato elements dances the edge of unease and the deepest nurturing. Strange stuff, surely not for the literal-minded, but for those with a taste for the mysterious, it's a disc to treasure. Earth Ear catalog, Jim Cumming

La Ground Fault è una neonata etichetta californiana che si affaccia nel settore delle musiche non convenzionali con l'ambizioso progetto di diversificare le pubblicazioni in tre collane il cui criterio di distinzione si basa sul volume (quiet, medium, loud) delle varie produzioni. Alla prima che abbiamo detto appartengono gli album dei francesi Eric La Casa e Jean-Luc Guionnet, entrambieredi della grande tradizione concreta che da Schaeffer in poi ha segnato indelebilmente i destini della sperimentazione d'oltralpe. Di grande rigore ed equilibrio il lavoro di La Casa, giovane ma già navigato autore parigino (si vedano gli album con la sigla Syllyk e il recente "L'Empreinte de l'Ivresse" su Digital Narcis). Suoni d'acqua, legno, metallo, minerali e fuoco, più estemporanei interventi strumentali (ciotole e campanellini tibetani, gong etc.), vengono delicatamente elaborati in materiche scritture... di vuoti e pieni, fragori e aliti impercettibili a delineare una ispirata ecologia del suono. (9) Nicola Catalano from Blow Up

I already found the time to listen properly to your "the stones of the treshold", and I'm really fascinated with it. Your best work. Great flowing and merging of sound matter. "s'ombre" is to me the best part and an incredible piece. I listen to it at night, in my pre-sleep session, and it's just fantastic. Congratulations! I'm your fan. Francisco Lopez

Eric La Casa shows himself to be one of the premier soundscape artists with this release, as he mixes raw soundscapes with various degrees of processing to create powerful sonic presentations. The opening track is composed entirely from field recordings of water, mineral matters, and fire in various locations around France. The power of the piece comes from the roaring storms, but the work's transitions, either via sudden opening out from the firestorm to rushing water, or the gradual metamorphosis of running water to rain, gives the piece an emotional charge rarely present in soundscape recordings. "Chrysalithe" has a much richer assortment of sound sources, including percussion, prepared piano, and voices in addition to wood, vegetable, and mineral field recordings. One of La Casa's most processed pieces, it includes choral drones, bells, and gongs in a triptych around themes of breathing, writing, and large tectonic motions of the Earth. "Stones of the Threshold" is the first three parts of a long suite (continued with parts four through seven on La Casa's next release) investigating the complexities of soundscape art as a threshold between internal and external realities, as well as between real and unreal soundscapes. Composed exclusively from field recordings, the three parts presented here cover a full dynamic range, from quiet winds to thunderstorms. The third part, which closes the album, is a subtle and beautiful meditation on a passing moment, with singing birds, wind blowing through grass, and even traffic that passes across the listener's perspective. Finding a balance in soundscapes between simple reproduction and transformation into a work of art can be a tricky proposition, and La Casa joins other contemporary soundscape artists Francisco López and Douglas Quin in this very successful release.
Caleb Deupree From the All-Music Guide

Monsieur La Casa,
Stones of the Threshold is an immensely satisfying listening experience. Repeated listening reveal true depth in every location, each time just as real as the last. This recording has brought me an intense appreciation in the work of field recordings and the sounds around me. Thanks for your time. Nick Smith, Austin, Texas, USA

I happen to be a big fan of Eric La Casa's music, which is created entirely from composed recordings of natural sounds such as wind, water, trees, things like that. la Casa explins his guiding philosophy: "Beyond a virtual mapping of the world, I go back to the landscapes of the real, within the geography of being. And I find out that, round the body, the microphone is breathing in all the energies of the shore, where ephemeral and eternal are grazing against each other. All sound fabrics are transmuting into a vibratory ground where both real and reality are slowly unfolding a landscape as yet unheard of. My works are then breathing out the musicality of these invisible reaches. And the listener is patiently taking in everything outside and inside as the Reality of a very same world. My work is looking for this frontier, at the threshold of reality and real, feeling as if there is somewhere else everywhere". Got it? Howard Stelzer, intransitive records

La constellation des musiques pour bande bénéficie encore aujourd'hui du mythe de la nouveauté. Pourtant, comme dans d'autres musiques, les stéréotypes sont plus nombreux que les oeuvres vraiment inspirées, alors que le champ d'innovation du genre est régulièrement nourri de continuels progrès techniques. L'accès facilité des compositeurs à des enregistreurs portables, aux possibilités de restitution extrêmement précises a ouvert une nouvelle voie d'exploration qui permet d'observer et d'exploiter, comme avec un microscope, la trame à l'intérieur de n'importe quel grain sonore. Les ~uvres disponibles sur ces CDs s'inscrivent en partie dans cette démarche.
Dès la pièce "S'ombre" d'Eric LA CASA, on est gagné par la sensation que le compositeur donne du temps au temps, nous permettant de plonger corps et âme dans cet écoulement d'eau. Petit à petit, des minéraux flottants s'entrechoquent et le souffle perd sa couleur naturelle pour prendre celle d'une soufflerie industrielle. Dès le retour au calme. l'auditeur est sorti de la simple jouissance écologique du paysage sonore, pour guetter dans cette nouvelle quiétude le moindre élément sonore ambivalent pouvant devenir agressif: l'écoute, gagnée d.une compréhension supplémentaire, devient moins naïve. Chaque son employé garde sa singularité et le travail de composition se refuse à fondre les corps, irréductiblement différents, dans un même continuum. Cette préoccupation éthique permet d'accorder une attention aux différences dont chaque sonorité est porteuse. Eric LA CASA les a saisi dans la vie et ne les emploie pas dans un projet préconçu. La création musicale est indissociable des rencontres effectuées dès le collectage sonore qui renferme la mémoire, les expériences individuelles et le temps de vie.
Bien que les percussions employées pour "Chrysalithe" soient d'origine ethnique, la pièce est de facture très contemporaine, conjuguant à la fois une volonté de rupture dans l'enchainement des sons ainsi qu'un souci d'homogénéité dans le grain sonore et l'ambiance générale de la pièce. Les harmoniques issues de la voix déjouent les attentes de ïauditeur en quête d'exotisme, créant une atmosphère corrosive. La montée progressive d'une sensation d'effort physique. qui succède, reste le moment le plus délicieux. "Les pierres du seuil - Part I - 3" garde. à travers ses transmutations de coulée, un aspect plus proche du cinéma documentaire. J'imagine parfois les séquences épiques d'un paysage de pluie de Pelechian. Comme dans le cinéma de Tarkovski, la poétique d'Eric LA CASA n'oublie pas d'inclure dans son écoute du monde ses cicatrices, qu'elles soient naturelles ou issues de la civilisation. Alain Basso, Revue & corrigée