In the last couple of years, Geneva-based label Bongo Joe have been incredibly prolific, releasing a cornucopia of off-the-beaten-path albums by innovative artists from across the globe. The recent release of Ventre Unique, by label co-founder Vincent Bertholet’s band Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, feels like an encapsulation of all the major threads running through the Bongo Joe catalog. It’s eclectic, multilingual art pop blending existential poetry and overt social messaging. It is the kind of music made for your full attention but with enough rhythmic layers to make decent background grooves. In other words, for all its complex elements, it’s pretty easy to parse the sounds on Ventre Unique, and that works in the Orchestre’s favor.
Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp’s sound is such that it can include just about any instrument in some capacity. Twelve musicians make up the core ensemble for Ventre Unique, allowing for a range of sounds across the album that vary widely within tracks–perhaps even more than between them.
In an obvious example, “Ils Disent” begins with playful marimba from Aïda Diop and Elena Beder and angular percussion from drummers Gabriel Valtchev and Guillaume Lantonnet. Soon, the horn section, made up of Gilles Poizat on bugle and Gif on trombone, sounds an ominous call to arms. An electric storm brews in the hands of guitarists Romane Millet and Titi. Almost exactly halfway through, the melody shifts: Thomas Malnati-Levier hits, over and over, a single note on the viola. He leads the rest of the crew into a nimble instrumental section that could be its own song.
The band’s low end, particularly Bertholet on double bass and Naomi Mabanda on cello, deserves just as much credit for driving many of the tracks forward. Jazzy “Coagule” and simmering “Les Bœufs” are some of the most engaging tracks, primarily due to the deeper frequencies. Further adding to the diversity of sound across the record is the fact that all of the members join in on vocals, supporting ever-earnest lead singer Liz Moscarola and guests Mara Krastina (who sings in Latvian over especially lively marimbas in “Smile Like a Flower”) and François Mary (on gentle “Tout Haut”). It is, to say the least, an array of technically proficient performers.
Between the aloof bounce of the opening track “Tout Cassé” to the brassy Baltic closer “Smile Like a Flower”, the ensemble do a lot, and always densely. At times, that works against them; it can be hard to latch on to specific patterns when each track seems to have so many happening simultaneously and constantly in flux. In general, these concentrated arrangements are vivid displays of creative skill and chemistry. The music here is pop so complex it often borders on symphonic, even with all its jagged edges and heterogeneous textures.
Though their sound often leans cerebral, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp move quickly enough that their music never gets too stale. This is a cohesive collective in which each participant is passionate about the music they make, which is something to be proud of–as is the skill displayed throughout Ventre Unique.