2009 is undoubtedly a productive year for trumpeter Birgit Ulher and her unconventional artistic path. Three excellent works released so far : Radio Silence No More (solo album on Olof Bright label) Yclept (with Ariel Shibolet, Adi Snir, Roni Brenner, Michel Mayer, Damon Smith, on Balance Point Acoustics) and this duo with Gino Robair (on his own label, Rastascan).

The CD cover summarizes its contents... Signs on the wall, the same signs and scratches which Blips and Ifs contains :  extremely radical improv here, Robair and Ulher renew the collaboration undertaken four years ago and confirm, with the second episode after Sputter (Creative Sources, 2005), their perfect complicity and communion of intents. Purposes fulfilled through seven segments provided by a symmetrical structure : liner notes indicate that Robair plays « voltage made audible » and Birgit also recurs to mutes and radio speakers. The first one takes care to turn analog sources made available via synthesizers into captivating, mesmeric sounds, the second pastes sinewaves and other electronic treatments on alteration stages of her instrument.

The resulting feedback is essentially delicate, passages are rarely a bit more tempestuous, a whispered conversation whose dialogues often overlap and produce interesting composite outputs. Birgit’s playing methods melt into other effects inserted, or, at times, trumpet interventions alternate to spread manipulations, but, however, exchanges between the two musicians are wisely thoughtful, in order to keep uniform the whole recording, which, furthermore, gives continuity to the tracks. A new successful, profitable, creative joint effort, as expected.

Gino Robair, Birgit Ulher, Forty Seven. Courtesy of Rastascan.

Gino Robair, Birgit Ulher : Blips and Ifs (Rastascan)
Enregistrement : 2008. Edition : 2009.
CD : 01/ Forty Seven 02/ Glorp 03/ Five Eleven 04/ Yellow with Antenna 05/ Blips and Ifs 06/ Other Blue 07/ Rings Another Rust
Giuseppe Angelucci © Le son du grisli