Album Review: Cabaret Contemporain - Club Sensible

It has been almost 15 years since Cabaret Contemporain embarked on its fearless musical adventure and asserted a distinctiveness within the current scene. Resolute advocates of experimentation, its five members – Giani Caserotto, Ronan Courty, Simon Drappier, Julien Loutelier, and Fabrizio Rat– primarily employ acoustic means, skillfully manipulating their instruments using the famous „prepared piano“ technique to create sounds and rhythms reminiscent of the electronic sphere. The result is fiercely unclas- sifiable music, dynamic and stimulating, a kind of hyperorganic techno mixed with minimalist music.

Six years after „Séquence Collective,“ the group now presents „Club Sensible,“ their fourth album. To create it, a slightly different approach was taken, especially regarding the instrumentation. Elements such as electric bass and synthesizer, integrated into the creative process, blend with the acoustic instruments used since the beginning. However, the approach remains the same, focusing on an intimate dialectical relationship between acoustic and electronic elements. Moreover, everything heard on the album is played by hand, without the intervention of sequencers. This renders the music lively, unstable, imbued with the imperfect human touch—a fundamental aspect of the overall project.

Recorded in late June 2022, the album was meticulously finalized through constant collaboration among the band members. Featuring ten tracks, all previously performed live from various periods, „Club Sensible“ suggests the contrasting nature of the collection, at times highly energizing, sometimes ethereal, occasionally both captivating and soaring.

Starting smoothly, the opening track „Cheval“ quickly accelerates, executing techno beats with finesse, guaranteeing an effect on dance floors without reaching frantic paces. In direct continuity, the following track, „Charpentier,“ builds on an even more sustained rhythm, delicately pounding out joyful techno beats. Infused with a lingering groove and progressive ascent, three other tracks – „Barbara,“ „Ballast,“ and „Velours“ – reveal an irresistible dynamism.

While capturing the fervent, highly communicative energy the group delivers live, the album aims not only to incite dance fever. More atmospheric, meditative, and differently gripping, tracks like „Arc,“ „Bora,“ or „Levante“ create suspended spaces and offer breathing moments. Throughout „Club Sensible,“ there‘s a balance between these poles, seemingly achieving an ideal equilibrium on the title track, at the heart of the album, and on „Polaris,“ the (splendid) final piece. Inclined towards trance through various means, it keeps heads spinning without necessarily driving feet to tap constantly.

Bound by a deep internal camaraderie, both musical and human, Cabaret Contemporain appears here at the peak of its expressive capabilities, constantly reinventing itself and enriching its hybrid language in continuous evolution. „Today, we probably allow ourselves more than in our early days, exploring more avenues,“ observes Julien Loutelier. „We are very excited to release this new album, to share it, and to continue moving forward.“

Verdict: Not a single word from the above overview is an embellishment of the albums content and what Cabaret Contemporain have achieved here as musicians, saying this is Cabaret Contemporain at the peak of their expressive capabilities may appear to be a grandiose statement, that it is not. The fusion of electronic and core instruments (piano. guitar, double bass and drums) are masterfully brought together to create a collection of superb compositions that are a delight. I could not recommend this work more highly and it should get all the attention it deserves. Faultless.