In addition to its title piece, Mokuhen and Kevin Gironnay’s Kegimo features a pair of tracks entitled “Mo Kegi 11 56” and “Mo Kegi 04 54.” Clearly we’re dealing with a collaborative effort here that both artists are proud to put their name on.
Mokuhen is composer and electronic music producer Laurent Guérel. His work combines acoustic, found sounds and noise with electronics, often producing highly visual, at times tense results.
Gironnay’s discography includes recordings for sound installations, videos and dance. Best known for acousmatic and mixed music, he is both an improvisational artist and composer.
On this project, the two artists sought out opportunities to set their styles in contrast to one another.
“There is no theme, no established rules,” according to the album’s notes. “The only will is to cross two techniques, two personalities, two worlds that meet and intersect. And listen, discover. We are here more in collage, juxtaposition, collision than in ‘conversation.’”
That clash of styles is less pronounced than the artists might think. There is no shortage of ideas over the course of the album’s 44 minutes; to that extent we’re not surprised to see that all three pieces are genuinely collaborative efforts.
I suspect that only those close to Guérel and Gironnay will pay attention to who does what. The rest of us can sit back and enjoy the combined, impressive results.