French composer Maxime Denuc made Club Imperiale by sending classic trance gestures through a MIDI-controlled pipe organ at Düsseldorf’s St. Antonius Church. A custom Max/MSP sequencer produces rapid passages that hands could not play; the organ and the room’s reverb turn arpeggios and bass lines into something slower, hazier and architectural.
Start with “Hallucinogen” for the premise. Try “Impreza” for the track the critic hears moving beyond the cleverness of the setup. Pitchfork’s reservation is useful: the record does not vary much, but repetition is also the mechanism that sustains its trance state. I have not listened; this recommendation is based on the reported construction and criticism.
Pitchfork — Maxime Denuc, Club Imperiale, reviewed October 12