No amount of preparation would truly ready one for the decent into the chaotic mastery that would be NOUT’s self-titled live record. Bridging some metaphorical gap between pure chaotic terror and some unspeakable esoteric sensation of calm. Through indulging in this record, I found the real wonder is to directly relish in all it has to say as it comes about and to, quite simply, flow along its musical river as a stream of consciousness. Feel every emotion it has to offer as it drops you into them. The uniqueness of this record lies in how it exchanges its styles mid song, or between songs, without the foresight as to where the song is leading. From traditional folk, Celtic, to jazz, Avant-Garde, to full groove hard rock, and chaotic disparity with a touch of industrial noise.

The Chaos and beauty of NOUT’s live record is its Avant-Garde stylistic choices that plunge you into an array of emotions and settings, almost as reading a book where every page is a relative story in a different setting with different characters. Much as you may read a page where a character is sitting in a high tower looking upon their highly maintained subjects, then immediately falling into a post-apocalyptic wasteland of chaos and confusion; This record will soar you through the magical forests of serenity only to drop you into a full groovy hard rock “stink face” and everywhere in between.  NOUT, is comprised of a musical trio from France utilizing an unconventional group of instruments across a very wide array of genres. Delphine Joussein (flute, electronics, vocals) Rafaelle Rinaudo (harp, electronics) and Blanche Lafuente (Drums) sometimes running her voice through an array of effects, using her flutes microphone, leads to some very interesting textures and styles.

The record begins with a solo harp used in a similar style to a traditional Celtic tune, they very cleverly use implicative rhythm to imply a groove that tricks your brain into rearranging when the drums establish the true groove. From here the flute sits on top of the tonal spectrum floating from diatonic melodies into very jazz centered soloing and back again. Easily lost among the pathways of the groove and interesting melody lines you barely know to where it may be leading your ears. Before you know it you are caught in a chaotic whirlwind of emotions one feels on only the worst of Mondays. This is the common motif throughout this record, you are lured (as a magical fairy may lead someone into the enchanted forest) only to be suddenly somewhere else entire.

As though a dying robot from another world is trying to communicate with you personally GROS CANARD starts as a more industrial noise style tune, taking its time to establishing itself, always leaving you on a question to where this can lead. Evolving into a very groovy stoner hard rock section one cant help but bob ones head to. The trio deploys a few clever tactics to keep this song just familiar enough to not get lost but varied enough to be interesting. The drum and harmony groove stays fairly regular throughout the first half, allowing the flute and vocals to reign over freely not restricted to melodic movements. Here Delphine runs her voice through her flutes microphone and through some number of affects using her voice not only as a phonetic instrument, but as a rhythmic noise and textural instrument as well, dancing back and forth between distorted vocal sections, and jazz style flute melodies. Yet at the halfway point, and a couple highly appreciated false stops, the rhythm section speeds up a bit and evolves itself into a still familiar yet different groove keeping it both familiar and unique. These techniques are deployed throughout the record, tricking you into feeling a sensation only to immediately switch leaving you in baffled surprise.

Throughout the record NOUT uses an outstanding array of instruments and textures. The drums at times sound thin and sporadic, then when Lafuente clocks into a set groove they open up and can sound huge, really establishing the basis of the head bobbing rock and roll sections. Periodically throwing in some brief sections with conga, steel drums, digital drums, and various other instruments. All of these adding to a large swath of sounds and textures, all while never deterring too far from the set trio.  A truly creative aspect I don’t recall ever seeing before is how Rinaudo can manipulate the timbre and overall tonal quality of her harp. Yes she at times runs it through distortion and harmonizers, or delay pedals to manipulate the instrument’s character, but even at times using a type of credit card as a pick to pluck the harps strings and making an artificial (effectively) washtub bass. She will at times alter her harp in a way so slick you may forget that it is a harp you are listening to. All while Delphine runs her flute through a variety of guitar pedals as well to reshape the sound. Which is also a perfect conduit for using her flutes microphone to sing into and put her own voice through wild effects to make some interesting and cool sounds. If you’ve never heard a voice and flute through a ring modulator I would buckle up for it.

Overall this record is much akin to a masterful painting done by several mad scientists with the prompt “yes” to everything. NOUT is pushing the boundaries of how to define music and how it can interact with itself as well as the listener. This Avant-Garde record really caught me surprise, drawing me in with the use of sounds, textures, and fashioning grooves out of chaos. After listening through several times, and just allowing the band to whisk my ears in any direction they wish, I came to really appreciate what NOUT has done and what they aim to do with this record. I find it is important to break your normal convention and ask yourself what a melody truly is. Perhaps it doesn’t have to be strictly a line of pitch played by the instrument as intended, and perhaps other devices may be used to substitute melody. You may find that after listening through a few songs you become invested in where they are leading you, only to relish the overall groove under the intertwining melodies and sounds in all of its chaotic, glamorous nature.

NOUT is Delphine Joussein, Rafaelle Rinaudo, Blanche Lafuent with various featured artists

Nout Live was recorded under Gigantonium collective

Produced by Delphine

Mixed by Johann Berger at Studio Hétaman, La Soulane, Jézeau FR

Mastered by Julien Climent, West Master