Pitchfork review 2005:
With origins in the same Versailles terroir that birthed Air, it's difficult to resist scrutinizing Jean-Emmanuel Krieger's electronic project Baikonour for similarities to his fellow countrymen's distinctively purified synthetic landscapes. And though there are moments on Baikonour's full-length debut, For the Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, that bear comparison to some of the more spacious, iridescent environments of Talkie Walkie, over the album's course Krieger ably distinguishes his work through rigorous, jazz-inflected musicianship and an inspired navigation of spiraling, locomotive Krautrock dynamics.
For the Lonely Hearts also distances itself through its unabashed embrace of reliable (if not precisely traditional) rock-based structures. Most of the tracks here feature live drumming provided by Imitation Electric Piano's Lee Adams, and it's often his muscular, hangar-spaced pummel that allows Ba?konour to avoid the stagnant eddies of soporific post-rock. Following the delicate harp-string shimmer of the opening "Lick Lokoum", Krieger and Adams immediately kick into the unstoppable motorik-cum-Stax propulsion of "Coltan Anyone?" Combining surprisingly humid, greasy rhythms with Krieger's baroque, Floydian keyboard flourishes, this track should provide immediate succor to any waylaid Caribou fans, as it instantly snuffs out any lingering potential for dustless, sci-fi sterility.
This last detail feels particularly pertinent, as Baikonour takes its name from a Soviet missile launch site and the album's title and artwork both imply a certain Sputnik-era retro-futurism. To the contrary, however, these songs remain stubbornly coarse-textured and earthy, even pastoral, as on "Hoku To Shin Ken", a track whose circular melody is fed by tranquil, Byrds-like guitar arpeggios. Elsewhere "Proto-Coeur" plows a recharged Peter Gunn riff around and through various hairpin turns and blind alleys, while tracks like "Rusk Plasmique" and "60 To 0" can recall M83's synthesized My Bloody Valentine atmospheres. Throughout the album, Krieger consistently astonishes with the daring breadth of his playing, as he embellishes several otherwise straightforward pop hooks with as much florid ornamentation as good taste will allow.
Aside from the occasional submerged whisper, as on the classic-Stereolab echoes of "2/3/74", For the Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos contains no vocals or lyrics to speak of, but still the album retains the impression of a cohesive, sequential narrative. Culminating with the vibrant surfside pulse of "Ultra Lazuli", the album's plotline feels primarily driven by Krieger's skill at flawlessly integrating the various strands of his musical memory and appetites to recast the familiar in new, evocative shades uniquely his own. And this he does with such an addictively melodic flair that it should be easy for listeners to find space for this album within their lonely hearts.
-Matthew Murphy, August 01, 2005
www.melodic.co.uk:
The historical Baikonour (in Khazakstan) was known for hosting a Soviet launch base, but its musical counterpart goes by the real name Jean-Emmanuel Krieger and has nothing to do with missiles. He takes residence in Brighton, UK which might be interpreted as a latent need to be closer to his spiritual home and birthplace; Versailles, France. For a rich seam of future like-minded artists has been mined from the denizens of that town in recent years, including names such as Air, Super Discount and Alex Gopher.
Jean-Emmanuel's own musical upbringing progressed through many stages, stages reflected in his own creative output, as the man himself admits. Growing up with 'Pink Floyd from Dad and Marvin Gaye from Mum' he later found himself 'obsessed with British indie pop in the '80s, like Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. I think you can hear a lot of guitars in my album and I've always been facinated by guitars and the variety of sound you can get. This is why I like the Cocteau twins, MBV and Sonic Youth as they have that in common.'
These days, however, you're more likely to find him plugged into a wide variety, 'Jamaican music is a favourite as well as Krautrock (massively) and another love being Indian music. What else? Alice Coltrane (the indian music connection here), Soft Machine, Os Mutantes, Television, Manuel Gottsching, Japanese Noise, Neil Young, Eno, Cluster and Deuter, 60's psych and Scott Walker. I'm still interested in what Amon Tobin, Boards of Canada and Mouse on Mars are up to'. This intricate path of musical touchpoints has served to enrich Baikonour's own output with every flavour imaginable, steering from Kraut-influences to jazz and always underpinning each piece with, simply, great tuneage. All inspired by his predecessors' 'total lack of commercial ambition and the will to do something different'.
That's an admirable ambition indeed, and For The Lonely Hearts Of The Cosmos adheres closely to its principles. For this record, Jean-Emmanuel went back to the style and inspiration of the sounds he grew up with. 'I mixed and recorded everything myself, using mainly old instruments. But everything has been recorded and edited on a Mac using digital emulations of classic 60's compressors and Eqs'. But that's not all, For The Lonely Hearts Of The Cosmos lives by the oath of collaboration and was recorded in a truly pan-continental sense. 'All the live drums have been played by Lee Adams from Imitation Electric Piano except on Hoku To Shin Ken' which has been played by Eiji F Morotomi and recorded in Tokyo, Japan. Etienne Rodes is playing most of the 6 strings guitar parts on this track too'.
The near future beckons more work with Baikonour's contemporaries, namely lining up with some of his old collaborators by 'playing with Imitation Electric Piano, playing bass and mixing the new album'. Until then, you'll have his own opus to admire; it's for the entire cosmos after all.
Michael Jackson died and that night I had a dream, I dreamed that I was
on top of a bike with ET in the basket, woke sad because it was just a
fucking dream. For breakfast I had a revelation: it is easy to
criticize, but it is not easy to take a picture with the ET
I called the computer, it crashed, reboot and have fun with the coolest artist that ET has the hands.
love, affection, samba! Michael, Jesus and me
kisses and hugs.
zé.
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